By George Robles
SMCGaels.com Contributor
The athletics program at Saint Mary's College plays a major role in shaping atmosphere and enhance school pride among fans, students, alumni and staff.
Despite being one of the smaller schools in NCAA Division I athletics, the Gaels compete against some of the largest levels of competition and aren't intimidated by larger and more traditional powerhouse schools.
During his tenure, SMC Athletic Director Mark Orr has turned Saint Mary's into much more than a Cinderella program.
Within roughly the last five years, Saint Mary's has experienced some of its successful athletic seasons in school history under Orr's guidance. He was appointed to the position in 2006 and now oversees the school's 14 men and women's intercollegiate teams as well as the recreational sports program. And, he does this while serving as one of the youngest athletic directors in all of the NCAA.
Orr's love for collegiate athletics began when he was a collegiate student-athlete as a scholarship defensive back on the University of California football team in the late 1990's.
"Being a former student-athlete gives me a lot of perspective on what these athletes are going through," said Orr. "I learned a lot of life lessons as a student-athlete, such as dedication, perseverance and how to my manage time."
After earning honorable mention All-Academic honors his final two seasons, he was presented several other academic awards before graduating. Orr then took a job at Saint Mary's as assistant athletic director for student support services in 2000 and was promoted to the position as athletic director just six years later.
Since 2006, Saint Mary's has enjoyed significant success both on and off the field. Several teams have won West Coast Conference championships and Gaels sports team have earned berths into NCAA postseason play 13 times. Also, the college has produced many individual athletes that have gone on to play professional in their respective sports, both in the United States and overseas.
"I have been very fortunate to be surrounded by great people, faculty, staff, the president of Saint Mary's, coaches and players. Their hard work has led to the success of the school," describes Orr.
The rise of Saint Mary's athletics began in 2004 when Orr helped develop a new plan for athletics, which was anchored by the difficult decision to discontinue the school's storied football program. This decision has led to the best span of success ever for Gael athletics. Specifically, the men's basketball program has earned major national exposure after making it to the NCAA tournament in 2005, 2008 and 2010.
Other than basketball, men's golf, women's volleyball, women's tennis, and other sports have had honored with inclusion in NCAA postseason play within the last five years and fan attendance is at an all-time high. In addition, Orr takes pride in the academic achievement of the school's student-athletes, with many of them receiving WCC All-Academic recognition as a reward.
"I am very proud of the academic success we have. It's the most important part of their lives," he says.
Orr has also done a lot for the program regarding media coverage and local and national sponsorships. A few years ago, he signed the largest television agreement in school history with Comcast Sports Net. He has also negotiated many of the men's basketball home games on national television through ESPN and broadened the program's international coverage through ESPN Australia. These have not just only helped the athletic program, but Saint Mary's as a whole gain international exposure that was once not thought possible.
"It has been amazing the amount of exposure our athletic program has received. I never would have dreamed we would have so many games on television," he explains. "The exposure opens a huge window of opportunity for people to learn about the college."
Yet, as the Saint Mary's athletics program has grown, so has the competition. The West Coast Conference has also seen a lot of success in many different sports and this year will be the toughest with the addition of Brigham Young University.
"The WCC is an outstanding league with great partners to be a part of, is very competitive and the addition of BYU strengthens the league in every aspect," Orr adds.
This past year, Orr spearheaded an effort to upgrade many of the athletic facilities at the college. These include the addition of a new baseball stadium, new recreational sports facility and a new all-purpose turf field located behind McKeon Pavilion. In addition, several renovations for various athletic facilities have taken place over the years. The new $30 million Athletics & Recreation Corridor project broke ground this past summer and is expected to contribute much needed first-class facilities to help support Saint Mary's athletics to become even stronger and to provide recreation opportunities to the entire student body.
"Athletics is a part of the fabric of the institution, but what it does is bring a sense of pride to the school, promotes activity and provides the opportunity for Saint Mary's to be exposed all over the world," said Orr.
Orr's ultimate goals for the athletic program is to bring conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances to all 14 sports and he hopes to be a Gael for a long time as he explains, "The job is a job, but I am very fortunate to be here at Saint Mary's."
It is very safe to say that the future of Saint Mary's College Athletics is in good hands under Mark Orr and Gael fans should be excited for many bright years to come.
