Green Wave Athletics

Across the board, Tulane athletics programs are achieving at the highest levels on the playing field while producing amazing results in the classroom.

• Director of Athletics - Rick Dickson
• Athletics and Academics
• Facilities
• Athletic Wellness - Athletic Training and Strength & Conditioning
• Staff Directory
• Tulane Athletics Hall Of Fame
• Camp Information

With a eight-sport program that competes in Conference USA in all sports, Tulane Athletics is on the rise on the field, the court, the course and the track. Since joining the league in 1996, and even more noticeably of late, Tulane has realized success by its teams on the playing field and by its student-athletes in the classroom.

Boasting one of the oldest and most storied athletic programs in the Southeast, and indeed the nation, Tulane will field five women's and three men's teams in 2007-08, with a schedule to restore eight more sports to compete by the 2010-11 academic year, returning the program to 16-sport total that Tulane carried before Hurricane Katrina.

Tulane student-athletes have proven to be leaders on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Tulane ranks among the elite teams in Conference USA in NCAA championship appearances and conference championships (see box) and has produced more All-Americans and national award winners in the last five years than at any time in its first century.

Tulane reduced its programs from 16 to eight in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as part of the university's Renewal Plan, a university-wide plan to strengthen and focus Tulane's academic mission and ensure financial stability following the devastation caused by Katrina.

As part of the Renewal Plan process, a plan to bring Tulane's athletics programs back into compliance with the NCAA's Division I-A membership criteria by the end of fiscal year 2011, consistent with a five-year exemption from the NCAA's requirement of fielding 16 sports, was devised and announced January 24, 2007.

Since Katrina, Green Wave athletes have been competing in eight sports at the Division I-A level -- football, baseball, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, and women's indoor and outdoor track and cross country.

The eight sports that continued to compete through the Renewal Plan, was charged by Tulane University President Dr. Scott Cowan to Carry the Torch, Be the Face, and Represent The Name" of Tulane University in the aftermath of the storm.

Tulane's nationally-ranked baseball team is a consistent member of multiple publication's top 25 polls and has produced nine draft picks in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including a school-record six in the 2007 draft, and nine in the past two seasons.

Tulane's women's basketball program -- with nine NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 13 years -- returned to post-season in 2006-07, with a berth in the WNIT. The Green Wave finished one shy of a school record for wins with a 26-7 overall record, and the seventh Conference USA title (the third regular season title for the Wave). Head Coach Lisa Stockton was named Conference USA Coach of the Year.

The Tulane cross country and track & field program's began the season with the return of the cross country program after a one-year hiatus. The Track & Field team finished eighth in the NCAA Mideast Regional Outdoor Championships, and sent senor sprinter Gloria Asumnu and its 4x100 relay team to the NCAA Ourdoor Championships. Asumnu earned All-America honors in three events: the Outdoor 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and the 60-meter Indoor.

Tulane's men's basketball program, under the direction of head coch Dave Dickerson, turned in it's best finish in four years. The Green Wave finished the year 17-13, finishing fourth in Conference USA at 9-7, and earned its first bye in the C-USA tournament since the 1996-97 season.

The volleyball program saw a 10-match improvement from the previous year in 2006-07. Head coach Liz Kritza -- a former Green Wave player -- guided Tulane to its first-ever first-round bye in the Conference USA tournament. Kritza has laid the foundation for a bright future with back-to-back C-USA and AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year award winners (Sara Radosevic in 2005 and Ksenija Vlaskovic in 2006); as well as back-to-back All-America honors (AVCA honorable mention) for Radosevic. The Green Wave will return four All-Conference players for 2007-08.

The Tulane football program ushered in the Bob Toledo era, appointing the former UCLA head coach to run the program on December 11, 2006. For the 2000-07 season, the football team returned home to the newly renovated Louisiana Superdome, the symbol of rebirth in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Coach Toledo enters his first season after spending much time in the summer establishing roots with the state of Louisiana.

The academic accomplishments of Tulane student-athletes place the university among the nation's best as the Green Wave had an excellent graduation rate for student-athletes.

All eight of Tulane's current varsity sports teams scored well above their national averages in the school's most recent multi-year Academic Performance Rates released in May of 2007.

Of Tulane's 229 student-athletes, 98 earned a place on the Conference USA's commissioner' honor roll by boasting a grade-point average of 3.0 or better.

In addition, Tulane student-athletes are committed to community service with such organizations as Habitat for Humanity and Tulane's relationship with Lusher Charter School. Whether working at summer camps, hosting a group of middle-schoolers or helping at a charity function, Tulane student-athletes are reaching out.

With a winning tradition on the court, field, or track, and excellence in the classroom, the Tulane Athletics department is Developing Champions, Defining Success.

June 25, 2007