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Corbin Stays at Vanderbilt 6/18/2004
Corbin Stays at Vanderbilt 6-18-04 Head Baseball Coach Tim Corbin will remain the Commodore skipper for the foreseeable future, University officials announced today. The announcement comes the same week Auburn University asked permission from Vanderbilt to interview Corbin for the head coach position at the SEC rival. “I told them they can interview him,” said David Williams II, who is the head of Vanderbilt athletics. “But we are going to fight tooth and nail to keep him.” In his second year as Vanderbilt’s head coach, Corbin piloted 2004 Commodore baseball team to its best season ever, accumulating a 45-19 record, playing in the SEC Championship Game, and advancing to the NCAA Super Regional — a Vanderbilt first. While Williams would not discuss the particulars of what he described as a “long term” contract, Chancellor Gordon Gee indicated the agreement will keep Corbin wearing black-and-gold well into the future. “Our coach is going to stay with us for a very long time,” said Gee, who described Corbin as “the best baseball coach in the country.” The agreement includes a new indoor baseball facility to be built as well as locker rooms for the home and visiting teams, the absence of which made hosting NCAA post-season tournament games virtually impossible. “I am a very happy man,” said Corbin, 42. “And I’m very fired up to see my kids come back to campus in mid-August and we can start teaching and coaching again.” The announcement of Corbin’s new contract comes two days after the death of the program’s top benefactor and the baseball field’s namesake, Charles Hawkins. “My feelings for [Vanderbilt] are a direct correlation to my feelings for him,” said Corbin, holding back tears. “We lost a good friend and supporter.” Callers lit up the phones on local talk-radio programs throughout the week to discuss whether the University would negotiate aggressively to keep the coach. Many viewed the question as a test of the administration’s commitment to cultivating a winning athletic program. “As a fan, it’s a great thing because I know we’re going to continue to have great baseball in the future,” said a season ticket holder attending the press conference. “More than that, it shows Vanderbilt is committed to keeping a quality coach.” Corbin and his wife and their two daughters relocated to Nashville from Clemson, S.C. in 2002. |
