Colleges: Guerrero is right man for UCLA

Steve Virgen

One job and only one job could have taken Dan Guerrero away from UC

Irvine. On Monday, Guerrero started that job at UCLA, his alma mater.

Yet, his heart and many memories will always be with UCI, which has

become a realistic NCAA Division I-AAA program, rather than an affluent

academic school with some sports. Over the past 9 1/2 years, Guerrero has

made it happen for Irvine and he has also set the table for his successor

to take the Anteaters even higher.

“I leave a big piece of my heart and my soul here at Crawford Hall,”

Guerrero said, while sitting at his desk, last week. “When I move on to

UCLA, that will never go away.”

The Anteaters will surely remember the AD who raised UCI from a

rock-bottom rut to the model of smart management, key hirings and the

how-to of involving the student body.

“(The last two months on the job) has been very difficult from an

emotional standpoint because I’m very close to my staff, I’m very close

to my coaches and I’m very close to the student-athletes who perform

here,” Guerrero said.

Yes, Guerrero also created a family-type atmosphere at UCI. He was the

proud papa, who genuinely smiled at his accomplishments because it was a

team effort and because, as he puts it, he did it the right way.

There was definitely reason to be proud, because when Guerrero came to

UCI, he had huge challenges in front of him.

Here’s an idea of how big the challenges: There were athletic

directors who thought about applying for the UCI job back when Guerrero

also applied. Those ADs asked for $1 million for the budget and then they

would consider coming.

“It was never about that for me,” Guerrero said. “It was always about

taking the positive attributes, building a solid foundation and then

going from there.”

Then, once Guerrero was hired, he presented his plan for UCI and his

belief that the program could be the best Division I-AAA program in the

nation.

“At that particular time we were not meeting gender equity guidelines,

and we were at the bottom of the barrel in scholarships that were offered

to our student-athletes,” Guerrero said. “We had a budget deficit, morale

was at an all-time low, student-athletes were transferring to other

institutions because they felt this ship was sinking. There were so many

negatives that we walked into at that time. But, I truly believe by

laying a solid foundation, by compiling a staff that could believe in the

same things I believed in, and that included coaches as well, that

together we could articulate that vision to the external community and

the campus community, and that we would be able to accomplish what maybe

no one here ever realize could happen.”

Just about everything went according to plan for Guerrero. Throughout

the 9 1/2 years, Guerrero kept a signed baseball at his desk. The ball

was signed by the 1973 UCI baseball National Championship team, and it

gave Guerrero inspiration to bring the sport back to Irvine.

Baseball came back and with some noise. The Anteaters hired a hot

coaching prospect, John Savage, who led Irvine to a 14-10 record in the Big West Conference (33-26 overall), finishing fourth in the conference

and winning six of eight Big West series.

Guerrero and his staff, which included Petrina Long, who is now the

interim AD, got the community involved and rallied the student body to

support athletics. It may seem amazing that Guerrero awakened the spirit

of the student body, which had a stereotype of students who were

disinterested to sports. But, Guerrero said that was easy. He was not

surprised that the UCI students voted for two referendums that brought

upon renovation and new facilities, and the addition of four sports.

“I’m not surprised because all this university needed to do was to

give our students something to rally around,” Guerrero said. “Someone

just needed to ignite the fire. And, that fire was ignited twice and our

students responded to that.”

The referendum helped Guerrero solve the gender-equity or Title IX

problem. Four new sports were added including, women’s water polo, golf,

indoor track and field and baseball.

Not only did Irvine become a model for how to rebuild, but Guerrero

became an example for athletic directors, and people with Hispanic

background. Guerrero thrives in his position as a role model.

“Another reporter asked me, what do you feel about the significance

being that you are the highest ranking Hispanic in the history of your

profession,” Guerrero said. “I never ever looked at it from that

perspective, but what it means is that I have a responsibility far

greater than being a great steward of the program at UCLA. My hope is

that I can be a role model and a representative to all people of color

and to any other individual who aspires to be in a position in collegiate

sports or even professional sports.”

As Guerrero left for UCLA, he stressed with excitement the

opportunities that are left for Irvine’s future. He believes the

rebuilding job is not done.

“This program has barely scratched the surface in terms of what it can

be,” Guerrero said. “The exciting challenge for my successor, is to be

able to take where the program is now and be able to take it beyond

anyone’s imagination.

I believe that great things are in store for this program and for this

campus.”