State of PC Sports

The buzz word in the Providence College Department of Athletics these days is progress. In terms of facilities, player development, recruitment, and perhaps, most importantly, the Men's Basketball Team, the department is making great strides as we close out another school year.

With the revamping of the Dunkin' Donuts Center, a lacrosse team that is headed to its eighth straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament, and 92 percent student-athlete graduation rate, the foreseeable future looks bright in Friartown.

According to athletics Director Robert Driscoll, this is "a very special time in the history of PC athletics," all because of the growth that is underway right now.

Friartown Rebuilding

It's impossible to walk around the PC campus or attend a men's basketball game without noticing all of the construction that has been taking place.

The basketball team was forced off its home court until late November 2007 and therefore had to start its season on the road. Driscoll assures us that there will be no such delays in 2008.

"We hope to have up to 18 home games there this season," said Driscoll.

Fans will return to new seats and a new concourse, and everything there is on track to be completed by November.

"We have all new seats going in," Driscoll said. "They are black and will look spectacular; we also have new entrances, a sports shop, and an atrium connecting to the Convention Center."

The Dunk is not the only facility receiving a facelift. September 2007 saw the opening of the Concannon Fitness Center, a new, state-of-the-art fitness center on campus. In addition to serving the general PC population, there are a number of projects underway within Concannon to better serve the varsity athletes on campus.

"We have a 3500-square-foot varsity weight room," Driscoll said. "It gives us a spectacular advantage in training and recruiting. We're putting the finishing touches on the sports medicine area in the fall along with two aqua tubs, including one with a treadmill. It's very state-of-the-art."

The last project currently underway is the renovation of the Friar Athletic Hall of Fame in the Men's Basketball Wing of Alumni Hall. A generous gift from alum Joe Calabria '65 and his wife, Sugar, is funding the revamp.

"It's about 80 percent done right now," Driscoll said. "We're getting new plaques this summer and we'll have a Walk of Fame with interactive video."

While construction is winding down at the Dunk and on campus, the trucks aren't ready to pull away just yet. Driscoll recently presented a new five-year development plan that includes several new projects, one of which is a much-needed update to Hendricken Field.

"We're planning on having a soccer and lacrosse artificial surface intramural field on Hendricken Field with an eight-lane track around the perimeter," Driscoll said.

In addition to that, plans are underway to fix up Maullaney Gymnasium in Alumni Hall. Once home to the men's basketball team and now housing the Lady Friars, the gym in not air conditioned and in need of new seats, all of which it should get, pending approval of the trustees.

"We're looking at new bleachers and lights," Driscoll said. "And we're be making some lesser changes at [Schneider], where we're rehabbing the lounge area."

The atmosphere in Schneider once finished should be similar to that in the restaurant in the Dunk, with TVs on sight where donors can watch the game in progress.

Funding

It would be impossible to write about the state of PC Sports without mentioning finances. Like it or not, money is a crucial aspect of college athletics. While many colleges are finding it necessary to cut sports, Providence is fortunately not in a position where it needs to consider making this difficult choice. According to Driscoll, PC took its hit 10 years ago when it was forced to cut its baseball program, a decision still controversial today. The reality is, though, that baseball requires a lot of resources that frankly the school does not have right now.

"The scholarships would cost well over one million dollars for 15 or 16 players each year," Driscoll said. "We could not fully fund that. We would need either a new field or to play somewhere else, both of which would cost more money. Then there's the coaching staff that we would have to pay too."

So instead of reviving old programs, Driscoll and the college are focusing on building the success of the men's basketball team, the school's highest-grossing program.

"Everything spins off of that team," he said. "It helps to raise money by selling tickets. We just got a high profile coach in Keno Davis and we need to make the program high profile through the new Dunk and having all of the games televised. We have the building blocks in place."

In order to concentrate on basketball, the school has constructed a tier system in regard to the athletics department, where only some sports, like men's hoops, are fully funded. The others range from partial scholarships to none at all.

Friars on the Field

This tiered approach makes it harder to judge the school's success based solely on championships. The average PC fan may be very surprised to learn that the men's lacrosse team-which recently qualified for its eighth straight MAAC tourney-has no scholarships. The same can be said for swimming and softball.

"Despite this, they still compete against other scholarship programs," Driscoll said. "They play against teams with the ability to recruit more athletes."

While the swim team may never take home the Big East Championship, it is important to realize the program's gains regardless.

"I think you have to look at teams like men's soccer, which went from 0-16 three or four years ago to making its third consecutive NCAA Tournament," Driscoll said. "One of the programs I'm most impressed with is Ray Treacey's Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams and all they do without an outdoor track here."

While these programs may not have the visibility or funding that men's hockey and hoops benefit from, they have been very successful on the whole. Take Diane Madl's field hockey team. In the past two seasons, the team has made great strides in making the Big East Tournament and narrowly missing the NCAAs. Under the guidance of Phil Seymore, the women's basketball team is rebuilding after a disastrous 2004-05 season that saw it win just one game.

Women's Hockey has been a bright spot for the Friars as well. This season, Bob Deraney's squad made it to the Hockey East finals before falling to Connecticut, the conference champion. Just this week, the women's softball team clinched a spot in the upcoming Big East Tournament, proving that even teams that are not fully funded can succeed in one of the nation's toughest conferences.

"Overall we've done very well," Driscoll said. "All of our programs are working to the best of their ability right now."

Putting the 'Student' in Student-Athlete

In addition to leaving their hearts on the field, athletes at Providence College are generally doing well in the classroom. The school has a 92 percent graduation rate over a ten-year window.

"That's probably in the top one to two percent in the country," Driscoll said.

He attributes this high number to the close-knit community that results from having just 3800 students, making Providence the smallest school in the Big East, along with the influence of the Dominicans.

"We're a small academic institution," he said. "We value education and recruit selective athletes who want their degrees. The type of athlete we get here tells us that the degree is the most important thing. . . It's a small family environment that's at our core."

Friars Betting on Keno

Just as a discussion of money is elementary, it is impossible to not comment on the status of the men's basketball program, as its success has a direct impact on money.

Right now, Friars hoops is at a crossroads. After cutting ties with 10-year Head Coach Tim Welsh in March, Driscoll conducted a month-long search to find the perfect replacement for Welsh. The need for a change in leadership became evident by the end of a season which few would hesitate to call a disappointment.

After offering the head coaching job and being turned down by two candidates-alum Jim Larranaga and Travis Ford, who ended up at Oklahoma State-Driscoll secured the services of National Coach of the Year Keno Davis. The excitement at the press conference announcing Davis' hire was palpable.

"He's a wonderful addition to the Friar family," Driscoll said. "He's been hard at work these last few weeks and his hire has been met with so much positive energy. We're very excited. We have the potential to be very good."

The Friars will need to be very good to stay out of the basement of the Big East. This year, the team struggled to make the conference tournament before falling in the opening round to West Virginia. Injury cannot be ignored as one factor for the team's mediocrity, as junior point guard Sharaud Curry and his replacement, sophomore Dwain Williams, both missed time with ankle woes. But injuries affect every team; it is the best teams that are able to overcome these losses and win with whoever is available on a given night.

Next year, barring any unanticipated transfers or severe injuries, the team should be returning everyone except graduating senior Charles Burch. In addition, recruit Bilal Dixon will be joining the cast in the fall. All in all, it looks like a batter season is ahead for the program. There is no reason why, with a smart, new, young coach and a healed Curry back at the point that this team should not only finish in the middle of the pack in the Big East, but also challenge for an at large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

"We want to maximize our capabilities and live up to our real potential," Driscoll said. "If we do that, the wins will take care of themselves. We will try to be the best we can be, if we can stay healthy."

The Future in Friartown

As of right now, the building blocks are in place for a bright next few years in Providence. Between the ongoing construction and improvements to the facilities and a new start for the man's basketball program under Davis, a positive atmosphere is building in Alumni Hall.

Driscoll credits the leadership of the school as a whole in helping to realize this vision of success in Friartown.

"It's rare to have a leadership that is aligned on the same page," Driscoll said. "It's necessary, to be successful, to have everyone to buy into this vision. We've had more change in the last four or five years than in the last 30. We're after the same goal and we understand that health and fitness has an intrinsic value in our lives. This is why it's a special place to be."

College president Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., has been a vocal supporter of Friar athletics, as well as fitness in general. As a result, athletics has been brought into sharp focus under his administration. He played an important role in the coach-searching process and is dedicated to restoring PC hoops to its rightful place at the top of the Big East.

It was under the guidance of Shanley and Driscoll that a proposal was put together to host the first two rounds of the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Dunkin Donuts Center. This proposal was accepted and the games will bring extra revenue to the school in addition to giving the Friars a chance to show off the improvements to the Dunk. These renovations were a large part in bringing the Big Dance to Rhode Island for the first time in 15 years.

"This is a unique time for the city and for the college," Driscoll said. "There's been tremendous growth and we're excited."