WALDROP NAMED USSA ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR
July 25, 2006

DAPHNE, AL:  The story of the events leading to Terry Waldrop becoming the 2006 United States Sports Academy Alumnus of the Year involves a round ball and a square hamburger. Waldrop received his award at the USSA graduation ceremonies on July 22 in Daphne.

On March 4, 1992, the then-high school basketball coach paid a visit to the Daphne campus after reading brochures about the USSA sports management program. Then-Dean of Students Dr. Glen Snyder was on his way to lunch when he met Waldrop.

“He said, come on and I’ll buy you lunch,” Waldrop said. “He took me to Wendy’s and bought me a burger. Then I gave them $10,000 (in tuition, books and fees).”

The head coach of the 2006 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Champion Rams of Texas Wesleyan University meant that the personal service and friendliness won him over to the educational program.

“He was the dean of students and he didn’t know me from Adam and he just took me to lunch,” Waldrop said.

As he was pursuing his Master of Sport Science in Sport Management at the Academy, Waldrop was also making the transition from high school to college coaching. He worked as an assistant at Navarro (Texas) Junior College and NCAA Division One Southeastern Louisiana before his background in Daphne helped him make another leap. USSA Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Albert G. “Skip” Applin, at the time athletic director at Texas Wesleyan, hired him for his first college head coaching job. Applin had prior experience working at USSA before that point, which made Waldrop’s being an alum helpful, the coach said.

“I am thankful for my experience at the Sports Academy,” the 1993 graduate said. “It has opened doors for me that would not have been opened otherwise. Some of the best friends I have in the world I met there – and I was only there for a year."

Seven years later, Waldrop’s Rams produced a magical season.

Prior to 2006, the lowest seed to win an NAIA national championship was John Brown University’s 2005 squad that was seeded 26th going into the tournament. That record stood for a year. Texas Wesleyan, a team that did not even participate in the 2005 tournament, was seeded 27th in 2006. They opened the championships against No. 5-ranked and sixth-seeded Union University, but trashed the rankings immediately with an 82-64 victory. In the second round, the Rams defeated Oklahoma Christian University, 67-62, in their first victory over the Eagles in eight meetings. After wins over Carroll and Oklahoma Baptist, senior guard Ben Hunt from Australia hit a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left in the finals against Oklahoma City University (OCU) to force overtime and spark the Rams to a 67-65 victory.

“OCU is the Kentucky of the NAIA and Oklahoma Christian is Duke,” Waldrop said.

Not qualifying for the 2005 tournament actually worked to Texas Wesleyan’s advantage.

“I was an administrator in last year’s tournament,” Waldrop said. “You get to see a lot of coaches and a lot of different styles. I watched 32 games. The teams that guarded people well always had a chance to win.”

So Waldrop emphasized defense in his approach to the tournament. The Rams’ tournament opponents, who averaged 84 points per game against all other teams, averaged 66.6 against Texas Wesleyan.

“We only shot the ball well in the first and last game of the tournament,” Waldrop said.

The United States Sports Academy has recognized outstanding graduates with the Alumnus of the Year award since 1989. Past honorees include Houston Rockets Vice President Dennis Lindsey, Texas Tech Head Football Coach Mike Leach and Alabama Sports Festival Executive Director Marc Riker.

The United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sport institute designed to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy, “America’s Sports University,” in higher education is to prepare men and women for sport professions. The United States Sports Academy is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Baccalaureate degree (level II), the Master of Sports Science degree (level III), and the Doctor of Sports Management degree (level V).

For more information about the United States Sports Academy, call 251-626-3303 or visit the Academy’s website www.ussa.edu.