Memories linger of Aztecs’ 1973 men’s title team
MIKE SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO - The biggest college volleyball event held in SanDiego since 1973 takes place this week at Cox Arena, and it will bea bittersweet experience for one of the stars of the last majorvolleyball competition conducted locally.
Chris Marlowe will handle the play-by-play duties of this weekwomen’s volleyball Final Four for ESPN. Marlowe was one of thestandouts of San Diego State’s 1973 NCAA champion men’s volleyballteam - the only Division I team title ever won by the school.
Marlowe is excited that his alma mater is hosting the premierwomen’s college volleyball event in the nation, but it hurts himthat the tournament arrives at a time when the school no longeroffers a men’s program. Especially when he recalls how popular themen’s program once was.
“It’s always disheartening when I think about what happened tothe men’s program,” Marlowe said earlier this week. “But I thinkSan Diego State has to get its priorities set first - football andbasketball - and when they do the (department) will start makingsome money and maybe they’ll think about bringing the programback.”
Marlowe said he reminisced about the popularity of the men’svolleyball team on Saturday, when he saw the fans at Cox Arenastorm the court after the men’s basketball team upset No. 21 FresnoState.
“I can remember 1973 as clear as a bell,” Marlowe said. “What’skind of interesting is I was asked, ‘When was the last time you’veseen a crowd rush the court like that?’ I had never seen it in abasketball game but the night we won the national championship atthe Sports Arena, the fans rushed the floor after we beat LongBeach, so it can happen.”
The 1973 Aztecs won the crown in front of a crowd of 8,412. Alarger crowd is expected Thursday, when the first two games of thewomen’s Final Four are played. Top-seeded Long Beach State (32-0)faces fifth-seeded Arizona (25-4) at 6 p.m. Second-seeded Nebraska(31-1) meets third-seeded Stanford (31-2) in the late match.
Marlowe, who broadcasts numerous women’s volleyball matches,said the field is a banner one for the sport.
“This is probably the strongest group of teams that have beenassembled for a national semifinal in five years,” Marlowe said.”All the teams are legitimate. They’re big, they’re strong, andthey’re experienced. Nebraska won the national championship lastyear. They went undefeated with everybody back plus their bestplayer (Nancy Metcalf) who sat out and they’re not evenfavored.”
The volleyball tournament, which concludes with Saturday’s titlematch, is the second major NCAA event held at Cox Arena this year.In March, SDSU hosted one of the eight-team men’s basketballregionals and earned high praise for its efforts.
“Any time San Diego State gets a big-time event in any sport,it’s a step up for the program,” said Marlowe, a member of theschool’s Aztec Hall of Fame. “I think it’s great. It’s great forthe sport and it’s great to have it in San Diego.”
Men’s volleyball was dropped in 2000 because of the athleticdepartment’s budgetary problems. Marlowe’s hopeful that somedaythere will be men spiking the ball on campus again. At this point,he says the program’s return is a long shot.
“San Diego has always been a great volleyball town, but there’snothing much you can do athletically if the football team isn’tpulling its weight,” Marlowe said. “If they’re losing money andfans are getting disinterested and donors aren’t donating, you’regoing to lose sports.
“There’s a lot of people who would like to see the program backand would like to donate, but they don’t want to donate where themoney’s going down the drain. Money’s tight right now. “I thinkpeople would donate in a better climate. It’s not coming backtomorrow, but hopefully in the future there’s a chance.”
Mike Sullivan can be reached at (760) 739-6645 ormsullivan@nctimes.com.
12/12/01