A closer look -- UCI loses a top motivator

Deirdre Newman

UCI CAMPUS -- Dan Guerrero came to the university as its athletic

director with great expectations. He leaves, to take the same position at

UCLA, with the athletic department transformed into a cadre of

high-caliber teams with championship potential.

Not bad for a guy who came to UC Irvine when it was “rock bottom,” as

he describes it.

“The morale was at an all-time low in the department and among the

boosters because they essentially saw the ship sinking,” Guerrero said.

In the past 9 1/2 years, Guerrero has that ship going full speed

ahead. His two main legacies have been resurrecting baseball and

revitalizing the basketball program.

Guerrero came to UCI because of his experience and faith in the

University of California system, which he deems “the finest education in

the world.” He graduated from UCLA in 1974 and was recently inducted into

the school’s baseball hall of fame.

During his first week on campus, he received an autographed baseball

from the 1973 UCI National Champion team. The ball served as a constant

incentive to bring baseball back, Guerrero said.

But before that could happen, Guerrero knew he would have to nurture

the existing programs to ensure they had what it took to compete for a

championship.

After nine years -- voila -- baseball rose like a phoenix from the

ashes, with a new baseball stadium to boot.

Its successful comeback is raising eyebrows across the country,

Guerrero said.

“The exciting thing is that this late in the season we are still in

position for a postseason birth,” Guerrero said. “It’s truly a

phenomenon.”

The basketball program also experienced a renaissance, starting when

Guerrero made a coaching change. He hired Pat Douglas, who was his rival

at Cal State Bakersfield when Guerrero was at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

“We saw results immediately -- not necessarily in wins-losses, because

the cupboard was relatively bare with student athletes that could perform

at this level,” Guerrero said. “He immediately established a frame of

reference that future recruits could use.”

The wins followed.

For the past three years, UCI has been one of only a few teams on the

West Coast to average more than 20 wins a year. The team has also earned

the Big West Conference Championships for the last two years.

The tremendous support for the basketball program from the community

has helped, Guerrero said. Students have even passed two referendums to

tax themselves to help with funding.

The team also engenders a sense of delirium around campus as evidenced

in a spirit group known as the CIA -- or Completely Insane Anteaters --

that serve as a sixth man at home games.

Guerrero will be trading the insanity of UCI athletics for the

intensity of UCLA sports, which often compete under a national

microscope.

Guerrero, who will start as the chief Bruin in July, said he was drawn

back to the campus because of the challenges it presents as an athletic

powerhouse.

“UCLA is looked upon as one of the finest athletic programs in the

country,” Guerrero said. “When you’re an institution that’s being chased,

there are inherent challenges in the forefront.”

Namely, maintaining a program of excellence without compromising

integrity, Guerrero said.

For that lofty goal, Guerrero is well-suited, said Manuel Gomez, UCI’s

vice chancellor for student affairs.

“I think Guerrero is one of those individuals that sets the standard

of ethical behavior and a high level of integrity,” Gomez said. “He is

emulated by those individuals that he comes into contact with, not just

the coaches, but all the students.”

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .