A lot can happen in one year ““ just ask the UCLA
men’s soccer team.
But don’t ask Todd Saldaña.
Almost one year ago ““ Jan. 31, 2002 ““ the
Bruins’ men’s soccer coach resigned after UCLA
discovered his diploma from Columbia State University was
fraudulent.
Columbia State University was revealed to be a scam
“distance learning institution,” not an accredited
institution of higher education. The UCLA Athletics Department
stipulates that all head coaches must hold either a Bachelor of
Arts or Bachelor of Sciences degree to coach.
Not that a lack of such a degree equated a lack of success.
During his career at the helm of UCLA, Saldaña compiled a
respectable 43-17-4 record and took the Bruins to the NCAA
tournament in all three years of his tenure, including the
semifinals in 1999.
Named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Far
West Coach of the Year during his first year as head coach, things
were looking good.
But on Dec. 14, 2001, Notre Dame football coach George
O’Leary stepped down after it was discovered that he
fabricated a degree on his resume. A rash of other coaches at
Division I schools began to resign, as national scrutiny of the
issue became inescapable.
When Saldaña’s degree was discovered to be false, he
maintained that he was unaware of Columbia State University’s
unaccredited status.
Now, Saldaña is unavailable for comment and UCLA’s
Athletics Department is not eager to discuss the issue, either.
“That’s behind us,” UCLA Associate Athletic
Director Betsy Stephenson said. “This is a great program.
We’ve moved ahead.”
After all was said and done, UCLA agreed to keep Saldaña
until his contract expired during spring 2002. Tom Fitzgerald,
previously a coach for Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew,
was hired to take over for the 2002 season. Saldaña’s
replacement guided the Bruins to an overall record of 18-3-3 and
the squad’s first national championship since 1997.
Which leaves a lingering question: what happened in the one year
during which this team lost its coach in arguably one of
UCLA’s most scandalous athletic events ever, and proceeded to
turn a potentially debilitating experience into a national
championship?
It seems like the new guy on the block made all the
difference.
“(Fitzgerald) can relate to the players,” said
senior forward Tim Pierce. “He knows how to reach each player
and knows what each player needs. A positive came out of what
looked to be a negative situation.”
Both Saldaña and Fitzgerald had the advantage of coaching a
group of very talented athletes. This year, however, the team
dynamic changed enough to take them where they wanted to go ““
namely, to the top.
“We were always united as a team but there’s a lot
more communication this year than in previous years,” senior
midfielder Jimmy Frazelle said. “From the coaches to the
players and players to the players, people aren’t scared to
voice their opinions.”
Fitzgerald’s mantra of always staying positive and looking
toward the future seemed to benefit the Bruins as they defeated two
teams en route to the national championship that they had lost to
during the regular season.
“You learn not only as a coach, but also as a player, that
you’re not going to win everything,” Fitzgerald said.
“We don’t talk about the past; we just look toward
future games. Before, I think maybe there was a lot of negative
reinforcement, and I don’t think players respond well to
that.”
Whatever players respond well to, Fitzgerald has ““ and on
Monday, he was recognized as the NSCAA/Adidas National Soccer Coach
of the Year.
Saldaña, however, has yet to reappear on the national or
collegiate radar. Other coaches in similar situations have not
found their respective scandals to debilitate their reputations,
and have since reappeared on the national sports landscape.
O’Leary, for example, was hired by the Minnesota Vikings
in Jan. 2002 ““ only one month after his resignation from
Notre Dame.
Saldaña’s current situation is decidedly more
low-profile, as he is currently serving as the director of coaching
for the South Bay Soccer Club, a division of the American Youth
Soccer Organization.
Now that the storm has come to an end in Westwood and the
national championship trophy is resting peacefully somewhere in the
Morgan Center, no one around the team is looking to dwell on the
past.
But it will be a while before those involved with this program
will forget the events of last year.
UCLA firmly supports its rule regarding holding a diploma to
coach ““ and the players agree with it, too.
“If you’re coaching student-athletes, you have to
understand what it’s like to be one,” said Pierce.
“So if you never graduated I don’t think you can 100
percent relate. You have to understand the college life to be able
to relate to the college athlete.”
Other players strongly echo those sentiments. And so does
Fitzgerald.
“As an educator by trade, I think if you haven’t
gone through the educational experience you can’t
successfully relay information,” he said. “You have to
understand how the players are learning, and if you haven’t
gone through high school and higher education, I think it’s
extremely difficult to do that.”
Good thing Fitzgerald has that degree, because after this year,
it looks like he’s here to stay.