Echoes

Fall 2002

Sports Wraps

COACH BILL WELCH TRACK & FIELD COMPLEX DEDICATED AT HOMECOMING

The improvements to Rose-Hulman’s athletic facilities continued with the dedication of the "Coach Bill Welch Track & Field Complex" as part of Homecoming festivities.

The red, state-of-the-art, 400-meter track replaces the previous facility installed around Phil Brown Field in 1973.

The track features a Martin ISS 1000 surface, the world’s finest polyurethane athletic surface. The Olympic Games and NCAA championships at all levels are held annually on Martin ISS 1000 surfaces.

Completing the outdoor track is a major step forward for the athletic department. The track improves both the visibility and quality of the college outdoor facilities. For the first time in nearly a decade, Rose-Hulman has a quality outdoor track that can host events and allow student-athletes to compete at the highest level.

The complex is named for current cross country and track coach Bill Welch, a fixture in the Rose-Hulman community since his arrival in 1982. Welch, who took over the cross country program in 1982 before taking the helm as track coach in 1987, has coached countless all-conference and academic all-conference student-athletes at Rose-Hulman for the past generation.

In addition to the track surface, the complex features areas for jumping, pole vaulting, throwing and steeplechase competitions. The track’s versatility makes Rose-Hulman one of just four Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference schools with an on-campus facility to host the league championship.

Completion of the track facility has been possible through the generous contributions of Rose-Hulman alumni, staff and friends. The facility allows Rose-Hulman to continue its track and field tradition of success, featuring 31 All-American awards and six Academic All-American honorees since 1975.

WOMEN’S GOLF ADDED TO VARSITY SPORTS LINEUP

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will add women’s golf to its varsity athletic program, effective this fall.

The first spring season of varsity women’s golf will be highlighted by Rose-Hulman’s role in hosting the 2003 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Spring Sports Festival this April, which includes the men’s and women’s golf championships at Hulman Links Golf Course.

Women’s golf will become the 22nd varsity and 11th women’s sport offered by the NCAA Division III institution.

Matt Egloff, currently serving on the football and wrestling staffs, will serve as the program’s first head coach. Egloff enters his fourth season as assistant football coach and his third campaign as head wrestling coach this year.

FOOTBALL TEAM TOPS FRENCH NATIONALS DURING EUROPEAN TRIP

The Rose-Hulman football team traveled to London and Paris in June, bringing back a gridiron victory and memories that will last a lifetime.

On the field, quarterback Jared Tharpe hit sophomore Sean Ruberg with a 58-yard touchdown pass to break a fourth-quarter tie and lift the Engineers to a 34-26 victory over the French National Team, featuring the 45 best players in the country.

The game served as one of many highlights on the nine-day trip. On Memorial Day, the team boarded an Airbus plane from Pittsburgh to London. The Engineers remained in London for three days, touring Windsor Castle, many sites around the city and several restaurants.

In Paris, the team enjoyed a full-day tour of the city, a trip to Versailles, and tours of the Eifel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Rose-Hulman spent four days in Paris before returning home to Indiana.