head coach dave dickerson

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1 head coach dave dickerson dave dickerson Head Coach Tulane University Maryland, 1990 Fifth Year The mastermind behind the resurgence of the Tulane men s basketball program, Dave Dickerson begins his fifth season as the head coach on the Uptown campus in -10. Dickerson has an overall record of and a Conference mark of Dickerson has taken Green Wave basketball from a program that registered just one winning season during the five years prior to his arrival and overhauled the squad into a conference contender by his second season. Dickerson guided the Wave to back-to-back winning seasons in and , a feat not accomplished since the days of Perry Clark 11 years earlier. Along with the improvements during the regular season, Dickerson has opened the door to postseason success in the Conference Tournament where the Green Wave is 4-0 in opening round games. With the Wave s recent success on the court and the team s performance in the classroom, Dickerson takes great pride in his 100 percent graduation rate by Tulane seniors under his watch. The campaign turned into a rebuilding season for much of the opening half of the season, but the Green Wave finished strong with an eighth-place showing in Conference play. Off the court, Tulane basketball once again placed high in the NCAA s annual Annual Performance Rate, finishing in the percentile. Season highlights from the campaign included a 10-4 non-conference record with a 3-0 mark against Southeastern Conference teams, including wins over SEC Tournament Champion Georgia, Auburn and LSU, 10 victories inside the city of New Orleans, including an impressive victory over in-state rival LSU, and TU improved to 3-0 under Dickerson in Conference Tournament opening round games with its victory over Marshall in the first round of the 2008 C- Tourney. Tulane s success did not go unnoticed in the coaching circles as Dickerson was tabbed as the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 8 Coach of the Year, and was the lone coach from Conference to receive the national award. Off the court, the Green Wave was recognized in the NCAA s annual Academic Performance Rates as one of the NCAA s top 10 percent basketball squads, and was just one of 33 school s from around the nation that were singled out for its elite success. However, Tulane s success under Dickerson has not come easy or been the norm of most rebuilding jobs. Dickerson has been forced to take the road less traveled for most coaches, but still managed to mold the Green Wave into a winning program. He had to withstand the ordeal brought on by Hurricane Katrina during his first season and the distractions of the rebuilding process both in New Orleans and on the Tulane campus during his second campaign. Has any coach in America had it tougher than Dave Dickerson? He not only had to rebuild a struggling Tulane program, but he had to do it in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It is hard not to root for Tulane. And it s easy to recognize that Dickerson is one of the most courageous coaches in the country for the burden he has shouldered, said ESPN s Jay Bilas. After Tulane s 17-win campaign and fourth-place finish in , one ESPN analyst stated that Given everything he s had to deal with, Dave Dickerson should be coach of the year. Along with the 60 victories and four straight opening round victories in the Conference Tournament during his first four years, Dickerson has helped three players earn All C- recognition, including Quincy Davis (third team), David Gomez (second team/ third team), Kevin Sims (all-freshman team) and Chris Moore, who was a two-time C- Player of the Week honoree. Dickerson has shaped the Green Wave into a stingy team on its home court and city. IN 17

2 head coach dave dickerson graduates pictured with coach dickerson (l-r): nick scott, robinson louisme and daniel puckett. IN Tulane has a record of (.672) at Fogelman Arena and a mark of 22-8 (.733) against non-conference teams in New Orleans. During his second season, Tulane was once again picked to finish close to the bottom of the Conference race, but Dickerson and the Green Wave proved the league wrong with a overall record and TU recorded its best conference finish in nine years with a 9-7 league mark, which was good enough for fourth place. Dickerson led the Green Wave to its most wins in seven seasons and the program s first winning season in four years. Tulane was tough to beat at Fogelman Arena with an 11-4 mark and concluded the year riding a four-game win streak on its home floor. Dickerson s 29 wins in his first two seasons put him in third place for the most wins by a Tulane coach in the first two seasons. During his first season at the helm of the Green Wave basketball program, Dickerson was faced with perhaps a challenge no other first-year basketball coach in NCAA history has ever had to overcome. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall south of New Orleans and the effects of the storm devastated the city as levees broke and flooded a majority of the city.. The Green Wave settled in College Station, Texas, home of Texas A&M University, and Dickerson, along with his players and staff, began their first campaign together..despite the challenges, Dickerson led Tulane to a overall record and a 6-8 Conference mark, which tied the Wave for sixth place. The Green Wave continued to jell late in the season, winning seven of its final 12 games, including a first round victory over Marshall in the Conference Tournament. TU dropped a hard-fought decision to eventual champion and NCAA Elite Eight team, Memphis, on its home floor in the C- Tourney quarterfinals..dickerson came to Tulane from his alma mater of Maryland, where he spent nine years as an assistant under Gary Williams. In , he was the program s associate head coach. He helped the Terrapins to nine straight postseason appearances, five Sweet Sixteens, two Final Fours and one National Championship in Accolades for Dickerson have included his recognition as an AFLAC Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003, the ACC s No. 1 Assistant Coach as named by Basketball News ( ), Athlon Sports No. 4 Assistant Coach in the nation ( ), and an Assistant Coach on the Rise as tabbed by ESPN s Andy Katz..After six straight winning seasons as an assistant coach at three schools, Dickerson was tabbed by Gary Williams to return to his alma mater as an assistant. Williams had built a foundation for success with the Terrapins in his first seven years as the head coach, but with Dickerson at his side, Maryland enjoyed an unprecedented run. In their nine years together, the Terrapins made nine postseason appearances, posted eight 20-win seasons, advanced to two Final Fours and won the first National Championship in program history in Winning the national championship at Maryland was a dream-come-true, Dickerson said. It validated the reason I went to Maryland as a student-athlete. I thought we were the type of school that could get into a position to win a national championship. One of my goals after winning the championship as an assistant coach was to try and be a head coach and chase that dream again. With his impressive run as an assistant coach, his strong family background and his reputation as one of the hardest-working coaches in the business, Dickerson was an easy choice for Tulane Athletic Director Rick Dickson as the man to take charge of the Green Wave basketball program..soon, Dickerson recognized that Tulane matched his personality and requirements as well.. The first thing that attracted me to Tulane was the opportunity to be a head coach at one of the best schools in the country with a national reputation for its academics and the potential to be a nationally-recognized basketball program, Dickerson said. As I did more research, I could see that it was also an opportunity to come into a program and make a difference by winning basketball games, which has always been the type of situation I saw myself going into..upon settling into New Orleans and Tulane, Dickerson quickly embraced his new family the Tulane basketball players. As a collegiate player, he had experienced a coaching change and knew the stress and confusion it could cause. He set up individual coach Dickerson joined a cast of former Green Wave stars for the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame ceremonies following the induction of Phil Hicks and John Hot Rod Williams. Pictured (l-r): Carlin Hartman, Kim Lewis, John Hot Rod Williams, Phil Hicks, Coach Dickerson and Jack Capella BASKETBALL

3 head coach dave dickerson meetings with all of the returning players and his first road trips were to the homes of the two players who had signed letters of intent to play for the Green Wave. From there, Dickerson s goal was to change the atmosphere and attitude surrounding the program. Dickerson, facing what was likely to be among the most trying first years for a head coach in history, responded with strength and determination, drawing on his own experiences as a player at Maryland to guide the Green Wave players through the challenges. Following Dickerson s freshman year at Maryland, that program experienced a tragedy when All-American Len Bias suffered a drug-related death shortly after being selected No. 2 in the 1986 NBA Draft. Dickerson, who had served as Bias backup, saw the Maryland program thrown into disarray. I learned so much from everything that happened to our program when I was a player at Maryland, Dickerson said. You can approach adversity in two ways, you can shrink from it and hide, or you can meet it head-on and learn from it. As much as I wish that none of that happened, I learned from it, I grew up much quicker than I would have otherwise. Seeing how things were handled at the time, both positively and negatively, made me realize that I wanted to be a basketball coach. Dickerson s long-term goals for his men s basketball program are consistent with the same values Tulane holds as a university. My long-range goal for the program is for us to be as good as the school, Dickerson said. If we are a top 30 school in the country, then my goal is for us to be a top 30 basketball program. If we can be at that level, then we will be competing for postseason play every year. My top priority is to make sure that our players have a great experience, both on and off the court, in and out of the classroom, and that they are better people from being at Tulane. I want the Tulane experience to be one of the best experiences of their lives. The dave dickerson File Dickerson s Year-By-Year Record as a Head Coach Year School Record Team Accomplishments Tulane C- Tourn. Quarterfinals Tulane C- Tourn. Semifinals Tulane C- Tourn. Quarterfinals Tulane C- Tourn. Quarterfinals Dickerson s Year-By-Year Record as an Assistant Coach Year School Record Team Accomplishments Maryland NIT Semifinals Maryland NCAA Phoenix Region Second Round - ACC Tournament Champ Maryland NCAA South Region Semifinals Maryland 32-4 NCAA Champions - ACC Regular Season Champions Maryland NCAA Final Four, West Region Champions Maryland NCAA Midwest Region Second Rd Maryland 28-6 NCAA South Region Semifinals Maryland NCAA West Region Semifinals Maryland NCAA Southeast Region First Rd Radford Big South Tournament Radford Big South Tournament, Semifinals Radford 20-8 Big South Tournament, Semifinals Radford Big South Tournament, Semifinals James Madison Colonial Athletic Association Finals- NIT 1st Round Gardner Webb South Atlantic Conference Tournament Finals Coaching Experience 2005-P Tulane University, Head Coach University of Maryland, Associate Head Coach University of Maryland, Assistant Coach Radford University, Assistant Coach James Madison University, Assistant Coach Gardner Webb College, Assistant Coach Playing Experience , University of Maryland IN Playing Honors Maryland team captain, 1989 Career Contribution Award, 1989 Most Improved Player Award, 1987 Personal Education: University of Maryland, 1990, B.A. in government and politics Date of Birth: March 29, 1967 Family: Wife Laurette, son Dave III (9) 19

4 head coach dave dickerson IN As his teams come together as a family each season, Dickerson is clearly the mentor and role model for his kids. Winning basketball games is a goal for every coach, but Dickerson also focuses on developing his players into responsible young men with the tools necessary to succeed in life, whether on or off the basketball court. The guys that come through a college basketball program are not all going to be professional basketball players, Dickerson said. Our guys can look at me and see that going to college and getting a degree can do something for you. You don t have to be a pro basketball player; you don t have to be a great basketball player in college to be successful. I hope I can rub off on them. I am a true student-athlete. I used basketball to get a scholarship and I used basketball to be successful in life. That is what 90 percent of our basketball players at Tulane have to do, use basketball to earn a Tulane education which will allow them to be successful in life. Dickerson wants each and every Tulane basketball player to know that they will always have the support of their Green Wave family to help them achieve success, just as Dickerson has relied upon his original family of his parents and sisters, his number one family of his wife and son, and his basketball families at Maryland and now Tulane. Growing up in a small town in South Carolina, Dickerson did not have to look far for positive role models. When his mother passed when he was eight years old, his father and his older sisters provided the drive for his success. I have six older sisters and they are all very, very successful in different ways, so I had instant role models because they were the people I wanted to be like and they demanded that I be successful, Dickerson said. There was pressure from them just to go to college, not to play basketball, but just to go to college. My father was also a role model for me. He worked every day for 35 years, never complained and the most he ever made was $15,000. I never knew I was poor, because we had stability and discipline within the family, and everyone in my family knew they had to do something with their lives. With that support, Dickerson grew into a standout high school basketball player before making his first big move - to the University of Maryland, where he was a standout basketball player. In , he was selected a team captain for the Terrapins, a tribute to his leadership skills. From there, coaching was the obvious next step. I knew in the back of my mind that playing basketball was not going to be a career for me, so I started looking at different things, Dickerson said. I was the type of student-athlete that always wanted to give back; I was always a leader. Even though I had a tough career at Maryland with a lot adversity, my coaches were always the people that kept me going in the right direction. I wanted to be like them. So coaching was my destiny. A native of Olar, S.C., Dickerson is married to the former Laurette Newsom, a 1991 graduate of Maryland. The couple has one child, Dave III (9) BASKETBALL

5 assistant coaches dick bender Assistant Coach Western Maryland, 1986 Third Year Dick Bender begins his third season as an assistant coach for the Green Wave in - 10, and will once again assist in every aspect of the men s program at Tulane. Bender, 46, joined the Green Wave staff in the summer of 2007, and has helped Tulane post 31 wins in two seasons, including 17 victories during the campaign, and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2008 and Conference Tournament. Bender is no stranger to TU head coach Dave Dickerson, as both coaches served on the men s basketball staff at Radford University for four seasons ( ). Bender came to Tulane from Indiana State University where he completed his 10th overall season on the Sycamores staff in , and his fifth campaign as an associated head coach after being elevated to the position following the 2001 campaign. Bender, who also served as former ISU head coach Royce Waltman s top assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., was responsible for the Sycamores daily basketball operations, served as the recruiting coordinator and he assisted in individual player development, scouting, game preparation, and academic support. While at ISU, Bender helped lead the Sycamores to consecutive Missouri Valley Conference titles and two NCAA Tournaments, including a victory over Big 12 Conference champion Oklahoma in the 2001 NCAA Tourney first round. During his tenure at Indiana State, he coached 10 all-academic team performers, three All-MVC selections, Nate Green, the 2000 MVC Player of the Year, and was also credited for his game planning in defeating rival Butler five times and Indiana on three occasions. Bender was hired at Indiana State from Radford, where he spent six seasons as an assistant for Highlander head coach Ron Bradley. In those six seasons, Radford compiled not only the best non-conference record of any member of the Big South Conference, but also the top conference mark. Bender witnessed one of the biggest wins in school history, when Radford traveled to Baton Rouge, La., and upset LSU, 73-72, during the season. The Highlanders also posted excellent marks in the classroom, as the graduation rates of Highlander student-athletes ranked ninth in the nation at one point of Bender s tenure. Prior to Radford, Bender spent those aforementioned seasons with Waltman at DePauw from Bender helped lead the Tigers to a four-year record of They were twice ranked number-one in the country in Division III during that span and were national runners-up in the NCAA Tournament in Before arriving at DePauw, Bender spent one year teaching in Maryland while also serving as an assistant basketball coach at Charles County Community College. A native of Grantsville, Md., Bender graduated from Western Maryland in 1986 and received his master s degree from DePauw in Bender played two seasons of basketball at Western Maryland and was the team MVP as a senior. Bender and his wife, Beth, have two sons: Dalton (18) and Dillon (16). kim lewis Assistant Coach Tulane, 1994 Second Year Former Tulane standout Kim Lewis returned to his alma mater in and began his third tour with the Green Wave. Lewis enters his second season as a member of the Green Wave s coaching staff. He was a four-year letterwinner for Tulane from , and later served an assistant coach from Lewis spent the last two seasons at Duquesne under head coach Ron Everhart, a former Tulane assistant coach under Perry Clark who recruited and coached Lewis during his playing career with the Green Wave. Following the season with the Dukes, Lewis was hired by Centenary head coach Greg Gary as the top assistant for the Gents. Lewis and Gary each served as assistant coaches at Duquesne and were teammates at Tulane from Prior to Duquesne, Lewis had coaching stints at Northeastern ( ), McNeese State ( ) and Xavier (La.) ( ). In 1995, Lewis was drafted in the seventh round with the 92nd overall pick in the CBA draft by Sioux Falls. He spent 1998 through 2001 playing professionally in the Icelandic Basketball League. While in Iceland, he led his team to a championship, earning MVP and best all-around player honors in the process. During his first season in Iceland, he doubled as his team s head coach. As a collegian, Lewis played a major role in resurrecting a Tulane program that had disbanded from through the season. He made his mark quickly as the Metro Conference Freshman of the Year in During his sophomore campaign, Lewis became the leader of the famed Posse. Although he started only nine games that season, he was named second-team All-Metro and led Tulane in scoring with a 15.4 average as the Wave won its first conference championship and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. The Green Wave reached a ranking of No. 14 in the AP poll and advanced to the second round of the 1992 NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional. Lewis helped Tulane to 18 wins and an NIT appearance in and to a return trip to the NCAAs as a senior in with a mark. Lewis led TU to 78 victories during his career, including opening round wins in two NCAA Tournament appearances and during one NIT showing. He still ranks as Tulane s 11th alltime leading scorer and holds school career records for steals and games played and also ranks on various individual and career lists for 3-pointers made, attempted and percentage as well as free throws made and attempted. Lewis was Tulane s T-Club Male Athlete of the Year in Lewis returned to coaching in 2001 when he accepted an assistant s position at Xavier University (La.). After one season at Xavier, he moved on to McNeese State, where he was a recruiter under Tic Price for one year. It was following the season that Lewis was reunited with Everhart at Northeastern, and followed him to Duquesne. A native of Angie, La., Lewis earned his bachelor s degree in media arts/communications from Tulane in IN 21

6 assistant coaches IN andrew novick Assistant Coach Chicago, 1999 Fifth Year The longest tenured coach on Dave Dickerson s staff, Andrew Novick begins his fifth season as an assistant coach for Tulane basketball team. In four seasons, Novick, 32, has played an instrumental role in helping the Green Wave to 60 wins, four straight Conference Tournament opening round victories and three players have garnered all-conference honors. In , Novick helped the Wave to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in over 10 years with a 17 victories, and TU posted a win over Marshall in the first round of the Conference Tournament before falling in the quarterfinal round. Novick s second season saw the Wave post a overall record, a 9-7 Conference mark, which was good enough for a fourth place finish, and TU advanced to the C- Tournament semifinals for the first time since Tulane s league win total was the most in 10 years. During his first season on the Green Wave staff, Novick helped Tulane to a overall record, a sixth-place finish in Conference action and to the quarterfinals of the 2006 Conference Tournament with a first round victory over Marshall. Novick was the final hire by head coach Dave Dickerson for the Tulane men s basketball coaching staff two years ago. Novick was reunited with Dickerson after serving as a graduate assistant with Dickerson at Maryland. He was a graduate assistant on Gary Williams staff at Maryland for the last two years. He joined the Terrapins for their ACC Championship campaign, making his return to basketball after three years in corporate America and a stint as the assistant varsity basketball coach at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine. A native of Portland, Maine, Novick became Maryland basketball s inaugural graduate assistant after being introduced to the program during the 2003 Gary Williams Basketball Camp. In addition to assisting in the day-to-day activities of the basketball office, Novick s responsibilities included supporting recruiting, assisting in the management of Coach Williams daily schedule, supervising the student-managers and assisting in operations. After earning a varsity letter and captaining Deering High s basketball team, Novick earned a bachelor s degree in political science from the University of Chicago in During his college years he managed and coached in the Yes! To Youth program in Portland, Maine, a basketball clinic that serves approximately 400 middle and high schoolers annually. Novick is married to the former Sabrina Saraf and the couple resides in New Orleans. The couple has one son: Alexander Remy Novick, who was born on October 1, yotam yemini Director of Operations Tulane, 2007 Second Year Beginning his second season on the Green Wave basketball staff as the director of operations is Yotam Yemini. Yemini, 24, returned to his alma mater a year ago after spending the campaign in a similar capacity at Chicago State University under head coach Benjy Taylor, a former Green Wave assistant coach from Yemini s responsibilities included team travel, team budget, meals, ticket distribution and serving as the team s public relations and academic point man within the department. He oversaw the installation of a video exchange program, implemented conditioning and weight lifting programs for student-athletes and organized and supervised the Cougars summer basketball camp. Yemini also served as the team liaison to the Chicago Sports Information Director and assisted in game-day operations. He received his bachelor s of science degree in psychology from Tulane in 2007, having spent two semesters conducting hands-on research into teamwork and stress responses. During his time at Tulane, Yemini also served as a student-assistant coach for the Green Wave men s basketball program from , and assisted TU s coaches with scouting reports preparation, team travel, meals and equipment. A native of Rehovot, Israel, Yemini and his family moved to the United States in 1988 and lived in the Milburn, New Jersey area. He attended Millburn High School, where he was a two-year starter on the varsity boys basketball team, served as team captain his senior year and received all-conference recognition. He served as a camp instructor for numerous basketball skills camps on the East Coast from , and spent six weeks as a volunteer coach for the varsity boy s basketball team at Millburn High School in BASKETBALL

7 basketball support staff Derick Atchley Asst. Strength & Conditioning Todd Graffagnini Director of Broadcasting Leeann Laing Program Coordinator Greg Rachal Equipment Manager Justin Richard Athletic Trainer Greg Stewart Team Physician Lindsey Stineman Academic Coordinator Allie Horowitz Student Manager Kyle Lange Student Manager Sam Hyatt Student Manager Zach Schreiber Student Manager IN the 10 tulane green wave basketball coaching staff. 23

8 president Scott S. Cowen IN Scott S. Cowen President, Tulane University Connecticut, th Year Scott S. Cowen is Tulane University s 14th President. He also holds joint appointments as the Seymour S Goodman Memorial Professor of Business in Tulane s A. B. Freeman School of Business and Professor of Economics in the School of Liberal Arts. Since President Cowen s arrival in 1998, Tulane University has more than quadrupled its undergraduate applications while experiencing all-time highs in student quality. In addition, Tulane has more than doubled the level of total private giving to the university and received a record level of research awards. The university has implemented a number of innovative academic and research program initiatives and significantly increased its community outreach. In recognition of Tulane s accomplishments, it has been nationally recognized on multiple occasions for its civic engagement programs and was noted as one of the Hottest Schools in America by Newsweek magazine in 2002 and 2008 while also being consistently ranked in the top tier of national research universities., On March 17, 2005, President Cowen announced the public launch of Promise and Distinction: The Campaign for Tulane. By 2008 the campaign had raised more than $700 million, making it one of the largest university fundraising efforts in the history of Louisiana. In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, flooding 70 percent of Tulane s uptown campus and all the buildings of its downtown campus. The storm dispersed Tulane faculty, staff and students around the country for an entire semester. On December 8, 2005, the Board of Tulane approved President Cowen s Renewal Plan, a sweeping effort that strengthens and focuses the university s academic mission while strategically addressing its current and future operations in the post-katrina era. Under President Cowen s leadership the campus was repaired and a remarkable 87 percent of its students returned for classes in January of In response to Katrina, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin appointed President Cowen to the city s Bring New Orleans Back Commission and charged him with leading a committee to reform and rebuild the city s failing public school system. President Cowen has devoted his days and nights to these monumental tasks and has already had impressive results. As part of this effort, Tulane chartered a K-12 school in New Orleans and created an Institute for Public Education Initiatives to support the transformation of public education in New Orleans. In addition, President Cowen has served as a commissioner of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority and the New Orleans Building Corporation, both of which play a major role in the rebuilding of Orleans Parish in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He is currently chairman of the Southeast Regional Airport Authority, which is tasked with turning Louis Armstrong International Airport into a world-class transportation center and a significant economic development powerhouse. President Cowen is also the co-founder of the Fleur-de-lis Ambassadors program, a group of New Orleans civic leaders dedicated to spreading the message nationwide that post- Katrina New Orleans is an economically viable, livable city with a recovery plan in progress. The Ambassadors also actively seek additional support for the recovery of New Orleans from businesses and philanthropic organizations around the country. Prior to coming to Tulane, President Cowen was a professor and later dean at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio for 23 years. He is the author of four books and more than 100 academic and professional articles, essays, and reviews, as well as the recipient of several national awards/ honors, including multiple honorary degress. Dr. Cowen s areas of scholarship and teaching focus on strategic financial management systems, corporate governance and leadership. He has held leadership positions in national academic and professional associations, including the American Council on Education, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the NCAA. In 2003, President Cowen led an effort with his fellow university leaders to reform intercollegiate athletics and ensure that their sports programs are consistent with the values, missions and aspirations of their institutions. President Cowen also currently serves as a board member for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). President Cowen has consulted with dozens of companies, from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. He is currently a board member of Newell Rubbermaid, Inc., American Greetings, JoAnn Store and Forest City Enterprises. President Cowen received his bachelor s degree from the University of Connecticut in 1968 and after serving a three-year term in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer from he went back to school and received his master s and doctoral degrees, respectively, from The George Washington University in the fields of finance and management. President Cowen and his wife, Marjorie, are the parents of four adult children BASKETBALL

9 director of athletics Rick Dickson Rick Dickson Director of Athletics Tulsa, th Year Rick Dickson has proven to be the right man in the right place at the right time for Tulane Athletics. Beginning his 10th year as the Director of Athletics, Dickson has not only sustained Green Wave Athletics, but led its transformation to a model Division I Athletics program. Dickson was the recipient of the 2004 Award for Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, for his leadership in guiding Tulane Athletics through the difficult time of the university s Board review. In 2006, he was awarded the United States Sports Academy Distinguished Service Award, for skillfully directing the department through the unprecedented adversity of Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in United States history. His swift and decisive response to these challenges saved Tulane Athletics, allowing TU s student-athletes and staff to continue to represent Tulane as one of the nation s premier universities and athletics programs. During the campaign, Dickson kept Tulane Athletics teams viable by first overseeing the evacuation of student-athletes from New Orleans in advance of Hurricane Katrina, and then providing opportunities for the Green Wave s teams to continue competing while dispersed to four campuses in Louisiana and Texas. Working with no home facilities, a depleted budget, and Tulane University shut down for the fall, Tulane Athletics was charged to Carry the Torch, Be the Face and Represent the Name not only of Tulane University but New Orleans and the entire Gulf region. In , Dickson oversaw Tulane s plan to return to a full-time Division I status, with the full complement of the required 16 athletics teams scheduled to come on line over the next three years. Dickson took great satisfaction in the reinstatement plan adopted by the Tulane Board of Administrators restarting many of the sports programs suspended because of Hurricane Katrina. Dickson and NCAA President Myles Brand were among the many to praise Tulane s student-athletes and staff for their strong academic performance despite Hurricane Katrina. In the fourth year of the NCAA s Academic Performance Rates (APR), all eight of Tulane s current varsity sports teams scored well above their national averages, marking the third straight year that TU s student-athletes had performed above the national average in the classroom for their respective sports. The campaign saw the addition of two new programs women s golf and women s tennis return to the varsity sports lineup and both sports turned in solid first seasons with the golf team capturing the Conference championship and posting a 20th place at the NCAA Championships, while the tennis team registered a mark. The TU volleyball team won its first Conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round. Off the playing field, Tulane University student-athletes once again proved to be one of the best groups in the country with their performance in the classroom as all eight of TU s varsity sports teams for the campaign scored well above their national averages for the fourth straight year according to the most recent multi-year APR. Each year of Dickson s tenure Tulane student-athletes have achieved the highest levels in the classroom compiling semester grade point average of 3.0 and ranking among the NCAA leaders in graduation rates while excelling on the field; Tulane remains among the C- leaders in conference titles and NCAA appearances. In 2003, Dickson assumed the task of building a permanent foundation of support for Tulane Athletics through the Perpetual Wave Campaign. The $65 million campaign was initiated in 2003 following a Board review, which resulted in a unanimous resolution reaffirming the institution s NCAA status. During the review, Dickson guided the department through an intense campaign that saw football season ticket sales more than double, as well as securing funding for the new baseball stadium and numerous other facilities and program updates. Dickson s efforts to grow the fan base and establish a plan for long-term financial stability comes on the heels of some of the most successful athletics seasons in school history. Under Dickson s watch, Tulane teams have won 20 Conference Championships and advanced to NCAA postseason play 29 times, including the 2001 and 2005 College World Series and the NCAA Women s Golf National Championships. Dickson s innovative scheduling strategy resulted in some of the best-attended events ever at the school, highlighted by the three-game 2001 Super Regional series at Zephyr Field that attracted more than 35,000 fans. In 2002, he scheduled a national record breaking regular season baseball game vs. LSU (28,736-since broken). Football games with teams such as Alabama, Mississippi State and Texas have attracted regional and national attention. The renewal of the 96-year-old rivalry with LSU continues in Baton Rouge this fall with the fourth contest of a 10 year home-and-home series. Under Dickson, Tulane continues to upgrade its facilities. The recently completed Greer Field at Turchin Baseball Stadium is the new crown jewel of the Tulane campus, and the renovated and resurfaced Goldring Tennis Complex for the women s tennis program and for the returning men s program this next season. Improvements to Fogelman Arena are ongoing, and a new field surface and track for the Westfeldt Practice & Competition Facility was recently installed. Dickson has hired and retained successful coaches, bringing in Bob Toledo (football), Dave Dickerson (men s basketball) and Heather Van Norman (track & field) and essentially retaining successful coaches Lisa Stockton (women s basketball) and Rick Jones (baseball) with long-term contract extensions. Dickson took the first step in the rebuilding of Tulane s sports programs when he hired head coaches J.T. Horton (women s golf) and Terri Sisk (women s tennis) in 2007 and last summer Mark Booras (men s tennis) and Lena Guariella (women s swimming and diving) joined the coaching line-up, while Sinisa Momic (volleyball) was hired this past spring. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Dickson came to Tulane from Washington State, where he served as athletics director from At Washington State, Dickson oversaw an athletics program that was recognized nationally for its success in dealing with gender equity issues. He raised funds for a capital campaign for scholarships and endowments, an indoor practice facility, and the renovation of Bohler Gymnasium. Washington State enjoyed on-the-field success during his tenure, highlighted by the football team s first Rose Bowl appearance in 67 years in Prior to that, he spent six years as athletic director at his alma mater, The University of Tulsa, where he was instrumental in forming a football scheduling alliance that evolved into Conference, and the expansion of the Western Athletic Conference. Dickson and his wife, Brenda, are the parents of three daughters and a son. Kari, Kasi and Kelli, a four-year letter winner in volleyball for the Green Wave, are all Tulane graduates. Doug is currently an undergraduate student at Tulane, and Kari is also a graduate of Tulane s Law School. IN 25