TERRE HAUTE — I must have missed the memo — got tied up with TPS reports — on this fall being the time to resurrect former Indiana State coaches.
A week after former ISU coach Dennis Raetz was named interim head football coach for the Sycamores replacing Lou West, Royce Waltman has been named interim head basketball coach at the University of Indianapolis.
Indianapolis coach Todd Sturgeon announced he was stepping down, citing personal reasons, and he may be getting out of the profession altogether. Waltman confirmed Tuesday that Sturgeon’s young family is “among the top reasons” for his leaving Indianapolis.
After Royce Waltman’s 10-year tenure at Indiana State ended in March when his contract was not renewed, Waltman was as straightforward — as he is about any topic — about his future.
“I can’t get a head coaching job, because if you get fired for cheating you can get rehired, but if you get fired for losing, it’s like you have leprosy,” Waltman said. “… I’d like to stay in basketball, but I’m realistic. I don’t want to go back to Bedford [Pa.] High School and coach the team and that’s about the only job I could get. For the right guy, I’d be an assistant, I’d be a scout. I’m not ready to retire.”
Waltman found the right guy to be an assistant for when Sturgeon offered him a job to help coach the Greyhounds on July 6.
“I have mixed feelings,” Waltman said Tuesday. “My intention was to come over and help [Sturgeon’s] team as much as I could. I really appreciated that opportunity. I’m really concerned that everything works out for him.”
At the same time, Waltman is fired up to be a head coach again, even if it is under the interim tag.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m excited to have my own team again,” said Waltman.
Waltman will be a college head coach in the state of Indiana for the 20th straight season in 2007-08.
Sturgeon played for Waltman at DePauw, with the two reaching the Division III national championship game together. When Sturgeon graduated, Waltman had an assistant coaching job for him. When Waltman left for Indianapolis, Sturgeon came with him. When Waltman was hired at ISU, Sturgeon would have came along, but Waltman’s former pupil was offered the head coaching job at U of I.
The two had an 86-49 mark in five years at Indianapolis, winning the Great Lakes Valley Conference title and earning the No. 1 ranking in the nation in their final year. Then Sturgeon became the first Indianapolis coach to reach three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2003-2005 during his 10-year tenure as head coach.
In nine years, Waltman had a 171-78 record at DePauw and Indianapolis — all with Sturgeon as an assistant.
Waltman’s start at Indiana State, which included consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and 2001, had many believing he would retire as Sycamores’ coach some day. But ISU struggled to six straight losing seasons and last-place finishes in the Missouri Valley Conference in five of the past six years.
Indianapolis had a strong start last season but finished up at 13-13. Waltman’s exhibition schedule this season will include a game at Purdue and at Wright State. The Dayton, Ohio, school is coached by another former Waltman player, Brad Brownell. DePauw’s all-time leader in free throw percentage is likely to be a candidate for some top-tier college basketball jobs if his success continues.
The University of Indianapolis, according to the school’s release, said it will begin a national search for a coach after the season. While Raetz’s plans are to only fill a void at ISU, Waltman believes he can still coach and looks at this season as the time to prove it to a school and to himself.
“I think what transpires this season would be what would determine that, whether I’d be interested or they’d be interested. Just see what happens this year,” Waltman said.
Craig Pearson can be reached by e-mail at craig.pearson@tribstar.com or by phone after 4 p.m. at (812) 231-4357.
Given to Fly
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October 3, 2007
Given to Fly: Waltman lands head-coaching job
- Given to Fly
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GIVEN TO FLY: Come to expect new standards of excellence
Records are definitely meant to be broken; athletes today are faster and stronger than those in the past in many endeavors in athletics.
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GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
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GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
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FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
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'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
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'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
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'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
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'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
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'Til It's Over: Hansbrough, Hibbert give Pacers glimpse of future
You might have heard of the Indiana Pacers’ 2009 first-round draft pick. He was on the television once in a while during his four-year career at North Carolina.
- 'Til It's Over: Bertoli, Moore put on show in abundance of events “Anthony and Erica” may not have the marketing capability of “Dan and Dave,” but neither of Indiana State’s outstanding multi-event participants had let-down performances this weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
- ‘Walking wounded’: ISU seniors return to provide spark All three ISU seniors will graduate in May, and all three will be in uniform today as Indiana State battles Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.
- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
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Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
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Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
Indiana State graduate Dani Prince made her debut in the event with a victory in the Columbus Marathon on Sunday.
Prince’s goal was a time under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and she ran a 2:48.56. -
Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
It was an extremely busy weekend for Indiana State athletics this weekend.
- Footnotes: Here’s hoping perfect weather is still around for Nationals in November The weather made for a perfect fall afternoon Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course. For what it’s worth, the Farmer’s Almanac calls for more sunny conditions from Nov. 20-24, with the NCAA Championships falling on the 24th this year.
- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
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Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
The Oregon men and women were almost both unanimous picks as the No. 1 teams in the nation in the preseason cross country national rankings released recently.
- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
- Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo This week, Indiana State signed its most highly-touted football prospect in years, and former quarterback Julian Reese is ripping it up for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena2.
- Indiana State track sending strong group to NCAA regional Three sophomore women and three senior men lead a large Indiana State contingent of track and field athletes into the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend at Fayetteville, Ark.
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