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:
"Mr
Morrison:
My name is Andy Yuan and I am a senior this year. I am a transfer
student and when I first came to UCR, I was very impressed
by the strides the school was making athletically. I truly
believe in order to be a good school and to be known as one,
the school must have a good athletic program. With a good
athletic program I believe the school can also make further
strides academically. I do not know for sure if there's a
direct correlation between a school's sports program and the
quality of the schools education, but it seems like it to
me.
I was
wondering if you proposed a plan to create another gym for
the Division I athletes only? It just does not seem right
that they are using the same gym as the regular students to
play their official games. By creating a new gym just for
the athletes I think the school would be able to instill some
school spirit as well as draw more students to apply to our
school, which in turn might help us grow academically.
Submitted
by Andy Yuan
Stan's
Reply :
"Dear
Andy,
Thanks for your great email. I get asked this question often.
The truth is, our University needs an arena. I am not sure
as to the size, but many folks know that I would love to have
a 12,000 seat arena on our campus at the site already determined
for it - on the corner of MLK and Chicago. In addition to
basketball and volleyball, we could have concerts, the circus,
X Games, wrestling, ice shows, etc. which would really increase
the social aspect of UCR and create a stronger college environment.
And, we could conduct our Commencement exercises in an air
conditioned building!!
It is definitely tough for our basketball teams to not have
an opportunity to practice where they play. Anyone who understands
the game of basketball knows about the importance of familiarity
with shooting backgrounds, depth, etc. I do believe that the
demand for seats will be the single most important feature
in moving us closer to getting an arena. I hope our Women's
and Men's Teams can create that kind of demand. In Intercollegiate
Athletics, we understand the needs of the Student Recreation
Center and we simply cannot afford the rent to practice there.
Besides, there are tons
of other activities that need to be conducted in the gymnasium
area. That said, our teams do a great job of preparing over
in the Practice Gym.
I do know that successful
teams often contribute to increased applications to institutions.
Whether good grades follow, I don't know. I am very pleased
with the academic success of our teams in Intercollegiate
Athletics where our men and women have a higher accumulative
GPA than their non-athlete counterparts in the student body.
Andy, thanks again for
your email. I look forward to seeing you at Highlander events.
"Braveheart is Alive!" - Stan Morrison
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