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Islander Athletics Grows

Looking back on his first six years at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Athletic Director Dan Viola is pleased with the progress of both the men’s and women’s programs.


Senior Katie Evans in action during the 2004 season. 		 

In 1997, when Viola took on the task of resurrecting an athletic program that had lain dormant since 1972, he started from scratch as the head of a one-person program in an office with one desk and one telephone. Today, the athletic department has 32 full-time employees and teams competing in 12 NCAA Division I sports. For Viola, the key to the resurgence in Islander sports has been the support of the community and campus.

“The community has been amazing in its support of the Islander athletic programs,” said Viola. “In addition, the University’s faculty and staff have been very supportive of our efforts and the athletes have assimilated well into the campus community.”

The Islanders got off to a modest start in 1998-99, competing in women’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis. The following year, basketball, baseball and softball were added and in 2000-2001 the Islanders began competing in men’s and women’s cross country and women’s volleyball. The A&M-Corpus Christi men’s and women’s track programs took off in 2001-2002 and in 2003, the first group of four-year A&M-Corpus Christi athletes graduated from the University.

In the short time since the athletic department’s rebirth A&M-Corpus Christi teams have made their mark on NCAA Division I sports. The Islander softball team has won back-to-back Big South Conference championships and made two appearances in the NCAA Regional Tournament while the men’s tennis team dominated opponents in winning the Southland Conference title in its first season. In addition, the women’s basketball program has registered five straight winning seasons, including a best-ever 19-9 record in 2003-2004.

In 2002, Islander baseball grabbed national headlines by knocking off the defending national champion Texas Longhorns in their season-opener. In 2001, the Islander men’s basketball team defeated Texas Tech in Lubbock and, two years later, they upset Texas A&M on the Aggies’ home court.

Despite the success of A&M-Corpus Christi’s athletic programs, the one thing Viola covets most for the University continues to elude most of the Islander teams. While the softball and tennis teams are members of the Big South and Southland conferences, respectively, all other Islander teams are still playing an independent schedule.

“I was hoping that by now we’d have a conference affiliation,” Viola said. “We’re closer now than we’ve ever been but we’ve still got a way to go.”

At the heart of Viola’s second five-year plan is an athletic affiliation, preferably with the Southland Conference. Additional sports could also be added but, due to fiscal and Title IX restraints, a return to football, is not anticipated. Other top priorities include increasing the fan base and keeping student athletes visible through fund-raising events and participation in events with local schools. Those goals, he predicts, can be accomplished with the financial assistance of the University’s Tarpon Foundation and corporate sponsors like SSP Circle K, each of which brings an estimated $300,000 into the athletic department’s coffers each year.

“The corporate community has been amazing in its sponsorships,” praised Viola. “With the backing of the community and the anticipated opening of the new arena, we’re closer than we’ve ever been to a conference membership.


The magazine of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

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