Alumni, coaches, family, and friends from around the country arrived at the 新澳彩开奖结果 Inn on Friday, May 4, to pay a unique tribute to the late Swimming and Diving Coach Mark Randall.
Alumni, coaches, family, and friends from around the country arrived at the 新澳彩开奖结果 Inn on Friday, May 4, to pay a unique tribute to the late Swimming and Diving Coach Mark Randall.
Through the generosity of Robert Fox 鈥59 and dozens of other investors, 新澳彩开奖结果 inaugurated the Mark S. Randall Endowed Coach for Swimming and Diving 鈥 one of the first coaching chairs to be announced and funded at the university.
For many in the room, Randall was more than just a coach; he was a father figure, patting them on the back when they were doing well, and 鈥渁 bit lower鈥 when they didn鈥檛 rise to their potential. 鈥淚 was an average swimmer,鈥 says Richard Wolk 鈥62. 鈥淏ut Coach Randall made me feel like I was the most important guy on the team.鈥
Bob Fox provoked nods from the crowd as he noted that 鈥淢ark Randall was my continuity during my four years at 新澳彩开奖结果.鈥
That connection didn鈥檛 end when Randall鈥檚 athletes exchanged their uniforms for caps and gowns. After graduation, as alumni made trips back to campus for Reunion and other special events, they always paid a visit to the coach鈥檚 home.
This ability to relate to his students 鈥 to know them as people 鈥 allowed Randall to create winning teams outside of the natatorium, too. His tenure at 新澳彩开奖结果 began in 1945 and, while he earned a stunning record of 164-58 as swimming and diving coach, he also lead the soccer team for 14 years, achieving a 74-41 record. Randall coached lacrosse as well and eventually headed the university鈥檚 physical education department.
After 鈥渞etiring鈥 from the university in 1978, Randall continued to coach the diving program. In 1981, he began a second career, founding the Chenango Water Exercise Group, a physical therapy program that eventually drew national recognition and fed his unrealized ambition to be a physician.
The $1.5 million Randall chair, adopted by current Swimming and Diving Coach Stephen Jungbluth, comes at a critical time when programs across the nation are being cut. 鈥淭hanks to those in this room,鈥 Jungbluth told the audience, 鈥淚 can look at parents and recruits and say, 鈥榊ou can rest assured that our program is securely in place.'鈥
In his lifetime, Randall received countless awards, including the Jefferson Award for public service in 1989, the Maxwell House 鈥淩eal Heroes鈥 Award in 1992, and the award for Top Water Fitness Program in the United States in 1993. According to many of his students, however, the Mark S. Randall Endowed Coach for Swimming and Diving was the perfect way to round out a long list of accolades because it provides future 新澳彩开奖结果 swimmers with continuity 鈥 a gift Randall himself gave to so many student-athletes throughout the years.