Jim Schlossnagle Press Conference Quotes
7/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 9, 2003
(Opening remarks): "I appreciate Mr. Hyman's words. This is a great day for me and my family. There's a couple of people in this room who know how long I've thought about this-with no disrespect to UNLV. As an assistant coach at Tulane for eight years, I really became fond of private schools and the opportunity to coach in that setting, and I felt like (TCU) is one of the best places, if not the best place in the nation, to coach and have something occur that could be really special. I have followed the progress of the stadium, the club and the success of the athletics department in all its sports.
"I'm really excited to be here. I was not looking for a job when I was at UNLV. I was very happy there, but I just told the players who I met that are still in town that there was one place in the country that I would have left it for and that was here. This is the place I want to be and I want to be here as long as they'll let me be the coach.
"I do want to thank Eric (Hyman), Ross Bailey and Jack Hesselbrock. Those guys have been great through this process and have been very thorough. They certainly did a great job of showing great respect to the position. I also want to thank Dr. Carol Harter, president of UNLV, and Gerald Koloskie, senior associate athletics director there. They gave me this opportunity. Until today, I was still under contract with them and they let me do this because they knew how strongly I felt about TCU.
"This is my wife, Kami. I have to thank her because she certainly has sat through many days with me on the road and out of town. To be honest with you, a lot of it would get back to her and I told her 'just sit tight because eventually something will happen at TCU.' I wanted this job and she is to be commended for her efforts.
"I do want to introduce one member of my staff from UNLV who will be joining us at TCU and that's Matt Siegel. We'll talk more about him as the weeks come along."
(On why he came to TCU): "If you look at the teams that have gone to the College World Series, and certainly the two teams that played in the championship game this past year, the landscape of college athletics, in general, has changed-especially college baseball. Private, strong academic schools in baseball hotbeds are the places to be. We're talking about Rice, Stanford and Georgia Tech and the success at Tulane. So, I really feel blessed to be here."
(On why TCU should win): "Everything is in place here to win. All of those schools that were in Omaha have common denominators with great facilities, which Lupton Stadium is now. There is a tremendous commitment to baseball here and an outstanding recruiting base. Baseball alumni and a great city like Fort Worth to attract players and draw from are also contributing factors.
"The most important of these is commitment. Again, I had a good job, but I found a place that really fit me in every sense of the word."
(Citing the four aspects of his program the public can expect to see): "Number one, we're going to work. No disrespect to these activities, but I don't golf, hunt or fish. I'm a pretty dull guy, other than the fact that when I'm not on the baseball field, recruiting a player or trying to market our program in the community, I have a three-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter and my free time is spent with them. I don't do those things and I won't have anybody who does those things. I believe this is a lifestyle-it's not a job. I wake up every morning, having been in the College World Series, trying to find some way, whether it be rake the field or recruit a player, or talk to someone that I think can help us get there. That's what you can expect from me and my staff.
"The second thing is we're going to be visible in this community and we're going to be around. You're going to see us and probably get tired of seeing us. We're going to see the high school coaches and junior college coaches in the area and state, parents, players-all those things within the confines of the NCAA rules. We're going to be out there.
"We're also going to produce really productive members in this community. I just talked to the players and the first thing I demand from my players is they have to be good people. I don't care how good of a player or how good of a student you are. If you're a bad guy, you're not going to be around. But, if you are a good guy, then you're going to move on to becoming a good student and then of course the baseball end of things. Those are the kinds of things you can expect from our program and anything outside of that will not be tolerated.
"The last thing, of course, is that we're going to win. I've never been 30-30 anywhere. My first year at UNLV was the worst record I've ever been a part of. I'm not an old guy, but I aged about 10 years that season and hopefully I'll never have to go through that again. But, programs go through different stages and certainly our goal is to be a part of the College World Series as quickly as we can-hopefully sooner, rather than later."
(Closing remarks): "I'm really, really excited and I can't wait to meet everybody, certainly in this room and beyond. Believe me, over the course of the past eight or 10 years this is one of the greatest days of my life. I'm very excited and thank you very much."
Open Floor Question and Answer
(On the impact of Lupton Stadium for recruiting): "Facilities show commitment. You don't build a great ballpark and then not commit to baseball. It's things like that building that sold me (on TCU). The thing I say to players all the time, whether they are players on the team or recruits, is that their goals are the same as mine. This isn't just their future, it's my future too. To be honest with you, I wouldn't be here if TCU didn't have a ballpark like that."
