Quotes from Bubba Cunningham Press Conference
10/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Tulsa Hurricane
Oct. 7, 2005
Lawrence (Bubba) Cunningham
"Thank you very much Dr. Upham it is indeed a pleasure and an honor to be here. I am absolutely thrilled to be here. You talked an awful lot about Lawrence Cunningham and then introduced me as "Bubba". Let me explain a little about that. My mother was 5"1', my father is 5"2' and they are incredibly optimistic. That is clearly not the story. I have two older sisters, my first name is Lawrence or "Larry", same name as my father and my sisters couldn't say brother. I was a short, fat little kid and it stuck. I have had that name ever since."
"By time I went to college I thought this was an opportunity to go by my middle name. My middle name is Richard, so I would have been Richie Cunningham and I didn't' think that was a good option. I decided to stay with "Bubba".
"I am probably involved in the only industry in the country or in the world that you can keep the nickname of "Bubba" and still participate as a professional in that industry.
"I really do want to thank Dr. Upham for this opportunity, this privileged opportunity. As well as thank the entire committee, the University leadership, the trustees, the benefactors and particularly the coaches. This is an unbelievable opportunity. The development and growth of this institution has been remarkable. The energy and the enthusiasm you see on the campus as you walk around in the construction that is beginning to take place. The entire University is moving in such a positive direction. The entrance into Conference USA is parallel to the campus development itself and to lead this department into the future is something that I take very seriously and with great pride, ambition, enthusiasm and I really look forward to the opportunities and challenges that come ahead."
"I too would like to thank Judy MacLeod for assembling such an outstanding group of coaches and individuals. I was fortunate enough this morning to meet with the entire athletic department staff and got to know them a little bit better, and hopefully they got to know me a little bit better. It is a great group of individuals and we have an awful lot of positive things that we can do to make Tulsa a much better university and a great athletic department."
"Dr. Upham also mentioned that Tina is here, my wife of 20 years. In fact, we celebrated our 20th anniversary with Kevan Buck and his wife Shelia here in Tulsa on Wednesday. We began our life together when I was working in the alumni association at Notre Dame. Like any young person, I was looking for some easy way to get a honeymoon. I was working in the alumni association and they sent on us on our honeymoon as a host couple for one of the alumni tours. So in continuing in that free tradition, Kevan hosted us for dinner on our 20th anniversary."
"Seriously, two of the reasons this position is so appealing to me are the vision and values of this institution, as shared with me by the leadership in the past few days and last couple of weeks. As I mentioned, the energy and enthusiasm on the campus is second to none as well as, the support and integration of this university with the entire community. Those are probably the three biggest reasons that stick out most in my mind, of why we can be incredibly successful here at TU. "
"As an athletic department, I truly believe we are an extension of the learning environment of the campus. I believe the role of intercollegiate athletics is to enhance the educational mission of all students at that university. So at The University of Tulsa, our departmental goal will be to enhance the education experience of all Tulsa students, not just the student-athletes that participate in intercollegiate athletics."
"We are the window to the university. All the ambitious goals that Dr. Upham outlined in his 2005 convocation talked about the enrollment, the top-50 in curriculum review institutions, and ambitions goals, but many of the people view the institution through the lens of athletics."
"Our charge as administrators and coaches is to be educators, first and foremost. We will work exceptionally hard to enhance the student-athlete experience for those under our charge. The second thing we will do is we will graduate student-athletes that will become outstanding alumni of the University. The next priority will be winning. We are in athletics and we are here to win. Then last, but not least, in fact it is the most important thing we do, is we want our student-athlete experience to be second to none. We want the student-athletes that participate in Tulsa athletics to say that is a great place to be."
"I sincerely appreciate this opportunity and look forward to working with many of you. It is a great day for our family and a great day for Tulsa."
