North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Stevenson Eagerly Anticipates 30th Season
1/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Gymnastics
RALEIGH, N.C. – Mark Stevenson cites two unrelated events that brought him to NC State three decades ago to start a women's gymnastics program.
First, while he was a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts in 1980, he had dinner with an old friend, Jay Whelan, while they were both attending an AIAW women's regional meet in Boston. Whelan, a member of the World Championship team who knew Stevenson from a summer gymnastics camp in Woodward, Pa., was an assistant coach for the NC State men's gymnastics team back in 1980.
When Stevenson, a native Midwesterner, mentioned how much he didn't like living in the Northeast, Whelan invited him to come to NC State as a graduate assistant. Whelan was the assistant to John Candler, who was the head diving coach and (in title only) men's gymnastics.
Secondly, men's basketball coach Norm Sloan decided to leave the Wolfpack to return to Florida.
Since then-athletics director Willis Casey was busy looking for Sloan's replacement, he took the path of least resistance when Candler relinquished his gymnastics coaching duties and Whelan left NC State for graduate school at North Carolina.
"He called me in and asked me if I wanted to take the men's job and start a women's program," Stevenson said.
They dickered over salary, and Casey agreed to up his offer to a full $10,000 per year. Stevenson is one of the few people who can say he squeezed more money out of the notoriously tight-fisted athletics director. Casey turned his attention to hiring Jim Valvano as men's basketball coach.
Stevenson recruited three scholarship gymnasts – Jenny Ladner and Vicki Kreider of Pennsylvania and Heidi Olsen from Virginia – and a couple of local walk-ons to fill out his roster. He barely had enough gymnasts to post three countable scores that were required back then for AIAW competition.
But the team finished third in the NCAIAW state meet, behind North Carolina and Duke and the program was on its way.
Stevenson –NC State's second-longest serving head coach, after men's golf coach Richard Sykes – coached both the men's and women's teams until 1986, when Valvano succeeded Casey as athletics director. One of the first things Valvano did was eliminate both the men's gymnastics and women's golf programs. Since then, women's golf has returned, but Stevenson accepts that, because of gender equity compliance issues, that men's gymnastics will probably never return as a varsity sport.
Though Stevenson has always maintained a certain standard of success, the women's program has changed significantly over the years. Initially, he had four scholarships. When the Wolfpack won the only ACC Women's Gymnastics Championship ever held, back in 1984, he had six scholarships. Immediately afterwards, however, Duke dropped the sport and there were not enough teams to maintain an ACC championship in the sport.
The school dropped Stevenson's scholarship total to two until 1996, when the Wolfpack became a charter member of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League, which includes schools like North Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and others. Though it was still underfunded at eight scholarships, the Wolfapck was still competitive, making its only appearance in the NCAA Championship in 1998.
Since then, Stevenson has guided his team to four more EAGL championships, including last year's surprise title with a young, inexperienced roster.
In 2005, the athletics department upped the scholarship total to the NCAA limit of 12, which Stevenson credits for his team's recent success. The Pack has finished either first or second in the EAGL Championships the last four years and participated in an NCAA Regional every year.
"I think we are really just now reaping all the benefits of that, as we have a full cycle of kids coming through," Stevenson said. "I have great appreciation for the administration for supporting us and giving us a chance."
At 54, Stevenson has plenty of time remaining in his coaching career. He's excited about what possibilities lie ahead.
"For the first 20 years, we didn't have the opportunity to do what we are capable of doing, because we were underfunded," Stevenson said. "Now, we have that support and I think we will really continue to do well."
There was a positive to being an underdog, Stevenson says.
"The exciting part about it was that for all those years, we really emphasized teaching and making kids bigger," Stevenson said. "We always tried to find kids who we could teach and who could grow in the program. Now, we are bringing in more talented kids and we still have that same ability to coach them. They are still learning because that's the only process we have ever known: to teach and develop.
"They are becoming much better once they are here."
For Stevenson, it's a satisfying position, to grow and stabilize a program he began. He continues to recruit capable athletes and excellent students.
"I think we can only get better," he said. "There is a bigger desire for kids to come to NC State because it is the kind of university that when you get done, you get a job. It has technology, engineering, computer technology, all the things our world operates on now.
"I think the sky is the limit."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
