Life athletes, staff dazed at shutdown
Wendy Parker - Staff
Thursday, July 25, 2002
 

Gustavo Duran had just returned from his native Costa Rica to enroll in summer school at Life University when he heard that the Running Eagles' sports program, and the soccer team he captained, had been axed.

"I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I can stay in school here until I graduate in December," said Duran, who needs one more physiology course to earn his degree. "But we just don't really know where we stand."

He's not alone.

Wednesday's announcement that Life was dropping intercollegiate sports left athletes and their coaches unsure of their futures. Scholarships of athletes who wish to stay will be honored for the 2002-03 academic year, Life spokesman Will Hurst said. But Hurst and athletics director Roger Kaiser said they didn't know how long the athletics staff will stay on the university payroll.

Life's athletics department produced nine national championships. But the department's $1.8 million budget and the people who depended on it were the latest victims in the crisis that has followed the school's recent loss of academic accreditation.

John Ishee arrived at Life last August to coach the women's basketball team. Now that sport and seven others must shut their doors immediately.

"It's kind of like the guy walking the Green Mile," said Ishee, who didn't know of the school's decision until asked to comment by a reporter. "I guess I'm just waiting on a call from the governor's office saying we're not doing that."

On Wednesday, Kaiser, the Georgia Tech basketball legend who started the Life basketball program in 1991, was busy notifying about 150 athletes and a staff of roughly 30 that there would be no reprieve.

As athletes stopped by his office to inquire about their transcripts, Kaiser proudly reflected on Life's accomplishments. He coached the men's basketball team to three national titles before stepping down in 2000, and the men's track and cross country teams also were NAIA powerhouses.

"We've been so successful," Kaiser said, emotion evident in his voice. "I think it really helped the university."

Life, which leases office space and practice grounds to the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League, will explore similar leasing arrangements for other athletics facilities, Hurst said. The facilities include a state-of-the-art basketball gym, track and soccer fields.

Athletes are scrambling to make decisions about their careers. Golfer Joe Katter of Waleska, a rising senior, said he probably will transfer and try to realize his ambitions of becoming a golf pro.

"I thought that there would be some cuts, but not to this extent," Katter said. "I really wanted to graduate from here and finish out with those guys."

The news also was hard for former Life student-athletes. Basketball player Billy Lewis' retired jersey number (5) hangs from the rafters of the gym, among the many banners signifying one of the most decorated small college basketball progams in the nation.

"All of us who were there in the early stages tried to build a tradition," said Lewis, who played between 1993 and 1996 and is Life's all-time scoring leader with 2,235 points. "To see it fall apart this way is a dark day for everybody."

Soccer coach Graham Tutt said "it broke my heart" to notify his players.

"I tried to tell the lads that everything happens for a reason," said Tutt, who was struck by the man-bites-dog oddity of academic troubles bringing down an athletics program. "But at this moment, I can't find a good reason."

Others weren't as delicate in their reactions.

"I think it's short-sighted," Ishee said. "We've got top-notch facilities here. You can't tell me they can't raise money."

Kaiser, who turns 65 next spring, said he would like to keep working.

"Somebody told me I should just retire and play golf, but I'm not that good a golfer," Kaiser joked.

--- Brad Shepard contributed to this report.

LIFE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Life University won nine NAIA national championships since entering intercolleges athletics in 1991:
Sport........................................Years
Men's basketball...................1977, '99, 2000
Men's track and field (outdoor)..........1997-2000
Men's track andfield (indoor).................1997
Men's cross country...........................1998