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FROM GAMECOCK TO BLUE RAIDER
New AD Massaro must replace Smith; advocates
student-first plan
By Randy Weiler and Tom Tozer
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After being introduced by President Sidney
A. McPhee as MTSU’s sixth director of athletics, Chris Massaro
shared prepared remarks and fielded questions from the news media
at the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame. Also in the crowd of about
200 were alumni, administrators, faculty, staff and students —
all of whom gave him a standing ovation.
Photo by Jack Ross
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Barely had Chris Massaro been introduced by President
Sidney A. McPhee as MTSU’s sixth director of athletics to a standing
ovation at the Kennon Sports Hall of Fame when it was off to work.
His April 8-10 weekend included attending a Bill Cosby concert, viewing
the Blue-White scrimmage to conclude spring football practice, throwing
out the first pitch in the Blue Raiders’ 9-7 Sun Belt Conference
baseball loss to New Orleans and learning that he and the university
will have to hire a replacement for eight-year Lady Raiders’ head
Coach Stephany Smith.
Smith left MTSU after accepting an offer to become coach at the University
of Alabama on April 10.
After accepting Smith’s letter of resignation and then consulting
with Smith and associate AD Diane Turnham, Massaro elevated Kim Rosamond
to interim head coach.
Rosamond has been a member of Smith’s staff the past two seasons
when the Lady Raiders compiled consecutive 24-win seasons, Sun Belt
Conference championships and first-round NCAA Tournament upsets of North
Carolina and North Carolina State.
Selected from a total field of nearly 70 candidates,
a short list of seven, and a final four, Chris Massaro, who has served
for 20 years as a professional athletics administrator at the University
of South Carolina, hit the ground running officially May 1 to lead MTSU
athletics to newer heights.
“He emerged quickly as the leading candidate,” McPhee told
the audience in introducing Massaro. “He brings a wealth of experience
and knowledge. I am confident in his leadership.”
McPhee said that after hearing coaching legend Lou Holtz sing Massaro's
praises for 10 minutes over the phone, the choice was clear.
Massaro shared that his old boss taught his coaches and student-athletes
to dream big.
“Together we can dream the dream,” he said, looking directly
at his Blue Raider audience. “This place can be fantastic.”
He punctuated his observation by referring to the men and women who
participate in Blue Raider sports as student-athletes, emphasizing the
word “student.”
“That's why we’re here,” he said, taking on the tone
of an AD who had just assumed command.
“The student comes first. That will be the focus of every meeting
we have. And that message will be carried down to the coaches and the
student-athletes. We have an obligation to them and they to us. Out
of that obligation we want their very best. We’re going to pull
and push and prod to get the very best. But we also want their very
best in the classroom. We will demand that.
“We’re going to have a big community outreach program,”
he added. “One of the requirements is that each student-athlete
will be required to do 10 hours of public service. We’re going
to ask a lot from Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, but we’re
going to give it back, too. We will be good stewards of the community
to do what we can to help causes that are out there.”
Massaro made it clear that the student-athlete will be privy to important
decisions, particularly on those issues that directly affect them.
“I want to keep the student-athlete front and center,” he
said. “They are the lifeblood of why we’re here. We have a
duty and obligation to serve them. They’ve been entrusted into
our care for the four or five years that they are on this campus, and
it’s our duty to make sure they receive the best possible experience
at MTSU.
“When they walk out of here, there will be no greater success story
than when they walk out with their diploma in hand. And that's why we’re
here.”
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(Left) The Massaro family includes wife Cindy and new AD Chris,
who are parents of Hank, 10; Rachel, 6; Ben, 5; and Lainey, 8.
(Above) Alumnus and National Alumni Association Board member Bob
Lamb (B.S. ’69, M.S. ’77), left, welcomes AD Chris Massaro.
Photos by Jack Ross
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Croft continues to make curtain
calls
Croft |
Kentucky native, MTSU alumna and New York City resident
Sara Croft (B.S. ’60) maintains a busy schedule as an actress.
Since moving there in the mid-1960s, she has pursued a successful career
in television, Broadway and off-Broadway. She has appeared in regional
theaters throughout the country.
In February, Croft made her third appearance as guest
artist with The Murfreesboro Ensemble Theatre, reprising her role of
Boo Levy in “The Last Night of Ballyhoo.” Her two previous
appearances with the MET were as Madame Ranevskaya in Anton Chekov’s
“The Cherry Orchard” in 1998 and Amanda Wingfield in “The
Glass Menagerie” in 1999. In TV, she played the young Myrtle Fargate
in“All My Children.” On Broadway, she understudied Elizabeth
Ashley in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”
Croft speaks fondly of MTSU, frequently citing Dorethe and Clay Tucker,
David LeDoux and Lane Boutwell “as major influences in my life
and career.”
Van Wicklin earns prestigious nursing honor
Van Wicklin |
The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
recognized Sharon Van Wicklin as the recipient of the 2005 AORN Outstanding
Achievement in the Application of Perioperative Clinical Research Award
April 2 in New Orleans during the AORN Congress Awards dinner. Van Wicklin
(A.S. ’74, B.S.N. ’04), a Brentwood resident who is an operating
room nursing supervisor at Williamson County Medical Center in Franklin,
is working on her master’s in nursing.
The award recognizes a registered nurse whose application of perioperative
clinical research reflects the goal of excellence in patient care, said
Lorrie Briggs, director of member services for AORN.
Van Wicklin’s daughter, Sarah, finished her freshman year at MTSU.
Son Jim (B.Unv.S. ’02) is a development officer for the College
of Basic and Applied Sciences.
Heading toward homecoming Oct. 22
Alumni, students and fans will celebrate homecoming
Oct. 22. Details in August Alumni Record. |
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