University of California Riverside Athletics Director Stan Morrison will answer selected questions from our online readers throughout the school year. To submit a question to "Ask Stan Morrison", click here.

Question:

"Stan:

This is going to be the 4th year of UCR going Division I (mind boggling that time has gone by so fast since I have been here). What are some of your memories from the first year and what have athletes said to you that they can pass down to the younger athletes of UCR? Thanks for answering my question!
Submitted by Ricky Fong

Stan's Reply :

"Dear Ricky,
Thanks a million for your email and questions. I have some wonderful memories from the first 3 years of Division I and Big West Conference competition that we have experienced at UCR. Several student-athletes, after competing in Division II initially and then moving up to Division I, later commented to me on the "Braveheart is Alive!" theme. They fully comprehended that the two divisions were so very different and that the competitiveness of Division I taught them to get up off the ground/floor and come back to compete again the next day.

There have been some great victories along the way and it would be unfair to point out any particular one as most significant. Certainly the emergence of Veronica O"Brien's women's soccer team has been wonderful to watch. Jack Smitheran's baseball team was the first UCR team to get to the NCAA Regional Championships... and in only our second season of D-I !! Paul Hjulberg's men's golf team duplicated the feat in our third year of D-I with a trip to the NCAA West Regional. New Men's and Women's Cross Country/Track and Field Coach Irv Ray, has recruited aggressively and I believe we will see a very real resurgence in his sports immediately. Several individuals have been to the NCAA Championships and Jeff Midgett won the men's high jump in the NCAA Regional at Stanford in his sophomore year. We are looking for Jeff and many more to return this year.

At the top of the list of fond memories will always be the "find a way" attitude of our coaches who have encountered untold hardships, along the way during our transition to D-I, with the cloud of the California state budget crisis hanging over their heads. They are champions and I am rooting for them to get us to the level of success that we all aspire to achieve.

The best messages from past and current veteran student-athletes have been: 1) get organized; 2) prepare; 3) work harder than you have ever worked; 4) get in the strength and conditioning room; 5) be a great listener; and, 6) be a great teammate! That provides solid direction for any young student-athlete coming to the blue and gold for the first time. Thanks for asking. I look forward to seeing you at Highlander events this year again.

Braveheart is Alive!

-Stan Morrison