2:41pm | Those hot stove summer league sessions designed to kill time until the fall sports kick in produce some interesting twists and turns. In no particular order here are the top four hot button topics engaging the Beach gang at Seventh and Bellflower.

1. Who is public enemy No.  49, or No. 1, for the 49ers? The University of California Santa Barbara wins that status. The Gauchos get the nod over one-sport wonderFullerton and Black and Blue surfboard rival UC Irvine. UCSB, not withstanding what one local pundit recently said, virtually owns the Big West Conference Commissioner’s Cup. The 2010-2011 winner was LBSU but the Beach had won just twice before in the Cup’s 13 years — 2008 and 2005. Overall UCSB has won eight times and Pacific twice.  

  • 2009-10 – UC Santa Barbara
  • 2008-09 – Long Beach State
  • 2007-08 – UC Santa Barbara
  • 2006-07 – UC Santa Barbara
  • 2005-06 – Long Beach State
  • 2004-05 – UC Santa Barbara
  • 2003-2004- UC Santa Barbara
  • 2002-2003- UC Santa Barbara
  • 2001-2002- UC Santa Barbara
  • 2000-2001- UC Santa Barbara
  • 1999-2000 – Pacific
  • 1998-1999 – Pacific

2. You can’t forget volleyball, but which LBSU program gets the most national press? Probably baseball if you believe this note from national blogger Phil Riggelman of the Chicago Tribune. Fourteen former Niners are in the show right now but Phil especially likes the ex Dirtbag (and current Washington National) 24-year-old second baseman Danny Espinosa. He compliments the Dirtbag program saying that Danny came from what he calls “the infielder factory at Long Beach State. Riggelman says Danny should be a National League All-Star and, just maybe, the 2011 Rookie of the Year. “

3. Last year in your German class you taught us about Schadenfreude, “the pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.” So what’s going behind the Orange Curtain at CSU Fullerton? The F-hats who have beaucoup problems milking their cash cow basketball, just lost their head coach again, this time after just four years when Dave Serrano took off for Tennessee. Ironically Serrano replaced George Horton who took Oregon’s money and ran. Today’s tempest in the minds of the Nutwood faithful is in the academic resume of their new guy Rick Vanderhook. Hook is widely acknowledged as a smart Titan baseball loyalist who, except for a recent stint assisting at UCLA, learned his craft at CSUF. The issue is that like Serrano, Vanderhook is hardly a poster child for academic achievement. Neither guy earned degrees from Fullerton, or any accredited US University. Both of them took distant delivered degrees from Trinity College and University in Malaga, Spain. 

 

Fullerton fan Bequick posted this: “(it is) administrative insanity to hire a person with a diploma mill degree, AGAIN! Sign of the times. End of the run for Cal State Fullerton. Need to toss my CSF hat — ick. Thanks for the memories.”

 

Others are more supportive, this from Diablos06, who challengers “Bequick” to remember the Titans:  “Let’s say Rick had his degree from MIT  . . .  Would you consider staying  . . .  I would say even with a prestigious degree a coach would still need some on-field experience  . . .  Rick is more than qualified to lead our program based on his years of experience  . . .  Could I convenience you to stay by buying you a Kettle Corn at our 2012 season opener?” And in these tough budget times, Vanderhook is a much less expensive hire so the prices of that Kettle Corn shouldn’t rise.

 

The academic bottom line for many is how credible is a head coach in encouraging his student athletes (90 percent who will not go pro) to earn a bachelor’s degree from the name on the shirt they play for? Footnote — Tennessee changed their job description to read “bachelor’s degree preferred” from “bachelor’s degree required.” 

 

4. Was-sup with The Jeff Severson Pigskin Dream Department? The old Singing Safety has become the poster player for the return of Football to CSULB so he is genuinely excited that eight new college football teams are set to take the field for the first time this season, with 17 more programs set to launch between 2012 and 2014.  


“It’s exciting to see the launch of these programs because they are giving players the opportunity of playing at different levels in regions of the country where those options did not previously exist,” said Football Foundation President Steven J. Hatchell in a statement. “Football’s popularity has never been greater, and the fact that so many schools are embracing it is a testament that more and more college administrators see the value of the sport to a student’s overall educational experience.”  


Thirty-six institutions have implemented firm plans during the past few years and 20 more have exploratory committees in the hope of “creating a more vibrant on-campus community and connecting with alumni.” Want to build a schedule for the renewal of the Brown and Gold?  Here is the 411.

8 College Football Programs Launching in 2011:


  • University of Texas at San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas): NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision, Western Athletics Conference (2011 as an FCS independent) – President Ricardo Romo, Athletics Director Lynn Hickey, Head Coach Larry Coker.
  • Ave Maria University (Ave Maria, Fla.): NAIA, Independent (2011): Chancellor Thomas S. Monaghan, Athletics Director Brian Scanlan, Head Coach Barry Fagan.
  • Concordia University (Ann Arbor, Mich.): NAIA, Mid-States Football Association (2011) – Interim CEO Russell L. Nichols, Athletics Director Ben Limback, Head Coach Nathan Robbins.
  • Presentation College (Aberdeen, S.D.): NCAA Division III, Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (2011) – President Lorraine Hale, Athletics Director Rick Kline, Head Coach Andy Carr.
  • Robert Morris University (Chicago, Ill.): NAIA, Mid-States Football Association (2011) – President Michael P. Viollt, Athletics Director Megan Smith Eggert, Head Coach Jared Williamson.
  • Siena Heights University (Adrian, MI): NAIA, Mid-States Football Association (2011) – President Sister Peg Albert, Athletic Director Fred Smith, Head Coach Jim Lyall.
  • Stevenson University (Owings Mills, Md.): NCAA Division III, Capital Athletic Conference (2011) – President Kevin J. Manning, Athletics Director Brett Adams, Head Coach Ed Hottle.
  • Virginia University of Lynchburg (Lynchburg, Va.): Independent (2011) – President Ralph Reavis, Athletics Director and Head Coach Bill Williamson.

         

Closing Numbers — Casper Ware had 43 points for his summer Drew League basketball team, and that was against a roster filled with NBA players.

 

Misty May-Treanor continues her off-Broadway tour of world volleyball FIVB contests … after their great finals effort in Rome, the dynamic duo of May-Treanor and MM-T and Keri Walsh is now in Stavanger, Norway, until July 2. In Italy, the pair split $45,000 and a trophy so big that Lufthansa Airlines wanted the gals to buy a separate seat for it.


Need live v-ball? Then find your way to the Pyramid this weekend. 
 

The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team will play two matches against Puerto Rico as part of the 2011 FIVB World League Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m..  Former 49ers David Lee, Paul Lotman, Robert Tarr and Scott Touzinsky are all on the 20-man U.S. Men’s World League roster. Alan Knipe, who took a three-year leave of absence as the head coach for Long Beach State, is in his third year at the helm of the U.S. Men’s National Team and, like Misty, hopes to plant the 49er flag in beautiful downtown London during the 2012 Olympic Games.—DR. DAN