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48-682: The South Alabama Jaguars represent the University of South Alabama in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics. USA competes in the Sun Belt Conference ; it is the conference's only remaining charter member from its inception. USA's athletics teams are nicknamed the Jaguars. Popular sports are baseball and men's basketball . USA sponsors 8 men's sports teams and 9 women's sports teams. The board of trustees voted to start

96-751: A football program that began play in the fall of 2009. South Alabama has Sun Belt rivalries with all of the East Division schools (Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State, Georgia Southern, and Troy). South Alabama's main Sun Belt rivals are Southern Miss and Troy . Men's Sports: basketball, baseball, cross country, golf, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, football (FCS Independent 2011–2012, full Sun Belt Conference play began in 2013) Women's Sports: basketball, softball, cross country, golf, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball, soccer Though not officially recognized by

144-756: A .336 batting average to help them win the National League 's western division . Arizona would fall to the New York Mets in the divisional playoff series . Gonzalez was selected to his first All-Star Team in 1999. In 2000, the Diamondbacks fell to third place in their division, but Gonzalez had a fine season, blasting 31 home runs among his 192 hits, while hitting .311 and driving in 114 runs. In 2001, Gonzalez astonished many when he hit 57 home runs, his personal best for one season and almost twice as many as he hit in any other season. This included

192-469: A .986 fielding percentage primarily as a left fielder. In 24 postseason games, he hit .253 (22-for-87) with 12 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 12 RBI and 11 walks. With businessman and entrepreneur Anthony Conti, Gonzalez founded IsTalking, LLC, a Phoenix-based company that develops new social networking Web sites exclusively for college students. The company launched a new social network with Arizona State University called ASUIsTalking.com. He has also formed

240-649: A combined score of 413–130. On September 17, 2011, South Alabama suffered its first loss in the new program's history when it traveled to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. After the week 3 game of the 2011-2012 football season S. Alabama's season record stood at 2–1, with an all-time record of 19–1. The baseball team is typically a powerhouse in the Sun Belt Conference, and has produced

288-425: A lawsuit was filed against a former University of South Alabama volleyball coach due to alleged sexual and mental abuse in 2019 and 2020. The lawsuit included eight former players as plaintiffs. The amendment also alleged that university administrators had knowledge of the abuse and added the university's athletic directors and coaches as defendants. A second lawsuit was filed in 2022 by a former player uninvolved in

336-631: A natural grass playing surface and is named after former coach Eddie Stanky who compiled a 488-193 (.717) record in 14 seasons as coach. Stanky Field seats 4,500 spectators, and features the Jon Lieber Clubhouse and Luis Gonzalez Hitting Facility. The success of the Jaguars at Stanky Field continued under Steve Kittrell . Kittrell led the Jaguar baseball program to more than 1,000 victories, 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, and numerous Sun Belt Conference championships. On July 15, 2010, it

384-587: A number of successful Major League players, such as Juan Pierre , Adam Lind , Luis Gonzalez , Jon Lieber , Marlon Anderson and David Freese . Since the creation of the Sun Belt conference in 1978, South Alabama leads with 12 Sun Belt Tournament titles; the next highest is The Louisiana–Lafayette with 4. In addition to the 12 conference titles, South Alabama has participated in the NCAA Tournament on 28 occasions. The South Alabama baseball team plays its home games at Eddie Stanky Field . It features

432-534: A one-year deal for the Tigers in 1998. In 1998, he batted .267 with 23 homers and 71 RBI. He hit the first home run at Tropicana Field (the home stadium of the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays ) on Opening Day. In 1999, Gonzalez was traded to the Diamondbacks for Karim García . He had a strong debut season for Arizona on his way to becoming a star during his tenure with the team, leading the NL in hits with 206 and posting

480-663: A partnership with the ASU Alumni Association to be the exclusive online social-network for its 250,000 members. Gonzalez has served as a color commentator on ESPN Radio 's broadcasts of National League Division Series games in recent years, and also worked on Fox Sports ' television broadcast of the 2006 National League Championship Series . Gonzalez formerly owned and operated a restaurant called Gonzo's, located in oldtown/downtown Gilbert, Arizona . After several name changes, it closed in 2009. In 2012, Postino opened its 3rd Arizona location in its place. Gonzalez

528-562: A press conference to deny that he had ever used steroids. On September 14, 2006, the Diamondbacks announced that they would not pick up the team option of $ 10 million to re-sign Gonzalez after the 2006 season. On December 7, Gonzalez signed a one-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $ 7 million for the 2007 season. Gonzalez hit his first home run as a Dodger on Sunday, April 8, 2007, versus Barry Zito of

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576-601: A record nine home runs in his first 10 games (shared with Mike Schmidt in 1976). The total is the third-most in National League history for a left-handed batter (behind Barry Bonds 's record 73, which also came in 2001, and Ryan Howard , who hit 58 in 2006). Gonzalez was selected to his second All-Star Team and won the Home Run Derby at the mid-season classic. He ranked second in the National League in hits with 198, while batting .325 and posting career highs in runs (128), RBI (142) and walks (100). He finished third in

624-522: A shutout of an NCAA Division III team with a 35–0 victory over Huntingdon (Ala.) College. USA completed its first season undefeated at 7–0, outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 321–41. The 2010 schedule was made up of schools from National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I-FCS, NCAA Division II, and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. USA finished the season undefeated at 10–0, outscoring its opponents by

672-675: A spring training game was sold for $ 10,000 on April 15, 2002. The buyer was Curt Mueller, owner of Mueller Sports Medicine Inc., manufacturer of the gum, Quench. In 2003, Gonzalez topped .300 (.304) for the fourth time in his first five seasons in Arizona, and eclipsed 100 RBI (104) for the fifth consecutive season. On May 22, 2004, Gonzalez got his 2,000th career hit in a game against the Florida Marlins , though his season ended early when he had Tommy John surgery in August. In 2005, he

720-476: Is a prominent member of the Republican Party . As a resident of Arizona, he wrote a letter of endorsement for Arizona's Junior Senator, Jon Kyl , who won his bid for re-election in 2006. He endorsed Arizona's other Senator, 2008 GOP Presidential Nominee John McCain , over former congressman J.D. Hayworth in 2010. In 2022 he endorsed Kari Lake for the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election . Gonzalez

768-641: Is an American former baseball outfielder who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams. Gonzalez spent his best years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and was one of the most popular players in the organization's history. His game-winning hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera clinched the Diamondbacks' first and only World Series championship to date. Gonzalez

816-443: Is governed by a board of trustees appointed by and including the governor of Alabama . The board appoints a president of the university. Frederick Palmer Whiddon served as president from 1963 until 1998 and was succeeded by V. Gordon Moulton who served until 2013. John W. Smith, the current executive vice president, served as an interim president until the arrival of Tony G. Waldrop in 2014 and after his retirement in 2021. Jo Bonner

864-825: Is the second-largest employer in Mobile. The university claims to have an annual economic impact of $ 3 billion. The university offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degrees in ten colleges and schools. Several programs offer masters level degrees in addition to undergraduate degrees. Doctoral level degrees are offered in several areas, including a Doctor of Pharmacy degree offered in collaboration with Auburn University . USA also offers classes in nearby Baldwin County at its Fairhope campus, and in 2015 opened Gulf Coast Campus. Students at South Alabama can choose from more than 50 bachelor's degree and certificate programs and more than 40 master's degree programs. As of 2011, USA ranks as

912-551: Is the team's most successful professional golfer with four PGA Tour wins. University of South Alabama USA is divided into ten colleges and schools that include one of Alabama's two state-supported medical schools . In the fall semester of 2018, South Alabama had an enrollment of 15,093 students. By the spring of 2019, the university had awarded over 90,000 degrees. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". USA has an annual payroll of more than $ 400 million, with over 6,000 employees, and

960-611: The Chicago Cubs for Rick Wilkins . Gonzalez finished the 1995 season with the Cubs by batting .290 with seven homers and 34 RBI. Overall in 1995, Gonzalez had a .276 average, 13 homers and 69 RBI combined while he played with the Astros and Cubs. In 1996, Gonzalez batted .271 with 15 homers and 79 RBI. Gonzalez signed a one-year deal to return to the Astros in 1997. During 1997, he batted .258 with 10 homers and 68 RBI. Gonzalez signed

1008-549: The New York–Penn League , where Kenny Lofton , the Astros' 17th-round pick in 1988, was also making his pro debut. Gonzalez hit .312 with 5 home runs and 10 doubles in 39 games for Auburn before being promoted to the Asheville Tourists to finish the season. Gonzalez made his major league debut on September 4, 1990. He finished the rest of the 1990 season with four hits (two doubles). The year of 1991 became

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1056-466: The Sun Belt Conference . After a successful stint in the late 1980s and 1990s, South Alabama basketball declined in the early part of the 2000s. In 2002, John Pelphrey was named coach and brought the team back to its winning ways. In 2006, South Alabama won the Sun Belt Conference tournament, defeating Western Kentucky 95–70 in the championship game; thereby earning a bid into the NCAA tournament . This

1104-412: The 10,000 seat Mitchell Center . South Alabama's home park is Eddie Stanky Field, a 4,500-seat stadium with a natural grass playing surface. On October 12, 2012, 18-year-old freshman Gil Collar was shot and killed by a campus police officer, after appearing naked outside the police station. The university released a statement saying a campus police officer "was confronted by a muscular, nude man who

1152-571: The 2001 NL Most Valuable Player voting. The Diamondbacks reached the World Series that year and faced off against the New York Yankees , who featured Gonzalez's childhood friend Tino Martinez starting at first base. In a climactic moment, Gonzalez came to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning of game 7, with the score even at 2–2, the bases loaded and one out. The Yankee pitcher was Mariano Rivera , widely regarded as one of

1200-551: The 22nd best public university in the southern United States, and 52nd overall in the South. It has an acceptance rate of 86.5%. The student-faculty ratio at USA is 18:1, and the school has 44.1% of its classes with fewer than 20 students. USA students are 57% female and 43% male. As of 2018, the university had a 44% six-year graduation rate and a 22% four-year graduation rate for bachelor's degree programs. The University of South Alabama has ten colleges and schools: The university

1248-503: The Diamondbacks front office as a special assistant to the president. In 2010, Gonzalez's number 20 jersey was retired on August 7, making him the first player to have his number retired by the team. In 2,591 games over 19 seasons, Gonzalez posted a .283 batting average (2,591-for-9,157) with 1,412 runs , 596 doubles , 68 triples , 354 home runs , 1,439 RBI , 1,155 bases on balls , 128 stolen bases , .367 on-base percentage and .479 slugging percentage . He finished his career with

1296-630: The Dodgers before the season was even over. He hit .278 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI in 2007. Gonzalez was the first player to hit a home run off of the touch tank on June 24, in Tropicana Field . On February 7, 2008, he signed with the Florida Marlins . The deal was reportedly worth $ 2 million for one season. Gonzalez played in 136 games for the Marlins in 2008, batting .261. Gonzalez announced his retirement on August 29, 2009, and joined

1344-456: The Jaguars. On December 6, 2007, the school's Board of Trustees approved the addition of football to the intercollegiate athletics program. The team began play in 2009 with a planned full transition to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) by 2013. On February 15, 2008, President Gordon Moulton and Athletic Director Joe Gottfried announced that Joey Jones, former University of Alabama and Atlanta Falcons receiver, would be

1392-489: The San Francisco Giants. He hit two home runs in that game. In his only season with the Dodgers, he was productive offensively, but struggled defensively. Many times throughout the season, he was benched for a defensive replacement. Towards the end of the season, he was benched in favor of Matt Kemp , a top Dodger prospect at the time. He was upset about it and publicly said he was not interested in returning to

1440-450: The Sun Belt Conference, a Division I / FBS conference. The university announced the creation of an NCAA sanctioned football team on December 6, 2007, with the goal of fast tracking the program to full FBS status by the 2013 season. Since starting the football program from scratch, South Alabama has built a football facility and practice fields. The Hancock Whitney Stadium opened in 2020. South Alabama men's and women's basketball play in

1488-446: The administration, the students of The University of South Alabama maintain a multi-sport battle cry "South in your Mouth." It is used widely across the school, though primarily heard in reference to football and basketball. USA formerly used Lady Jaguars for its women's teams, but by the 2012–13 school year, only the women's basketball team was using "Lady Jaguars", and starting with the 2013–14 school year, that team also became simply

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1536-419: The best closers of all time (Rivera had never blown a save chance in a World Series before, or since). Gonzalez swung at Rivera's 0–1 pitch and hit the game-winning bloop single into left field that sealed the first franchise World Series title for Arizona. He was also selected to All-Star Teams in 2002 and 2003. During the 2002 season, Gonzalez received publicity as a piece of gum chewed by Gonzalez during

1584-425: The first full season of Gonzalez's career. During 1991, he batted .254 with 13 home runs and 69 RBI. In 1992, he batted .243 with 10 home runs and 55 RBI. In 1993, he batted .300 with 15 home runs, 72 RBI, and an NL leading 10 sacrifice flies. In 1994, he batted .273 with eight homers and 67 RBI. His 1995 season began with a .258 batting average, six homers and 35 RBI. Gonzalez along with Scott Servais were traded to

1632-625: The first head football coach in the university's history. In early August 2009, the President Moulton hired Dr. Joel Erdmann to take over as athletic director tapping into Erdmann's experience building sports programs and his experience with both football operations and game day programming. On September 5, 2009, the South Alabama Jaguars defeated Hargrave Military Academy 30–13 in their first ever game, and finished their first ever football season on November 12, 2009, with

1680-773: The first lawsuit. WKRG-TV reported that the claims of abuse made by the second lawsuit was similar to the first and that both allegations included inappropriate touching and overtraining. The volleyball coach was hired by the University of South Alabama in December 2018 and resigned in February 2021. Notable alumni of the University of South Alabama include: 30°41′48″N 88°10′43″W  /  30.69671°N 88.17873°W  / 30.69671; -88.17873 Luis Gonzalez (baseball outfielder) Luis Emilio Gonzalez (born September 3, 1967), nicknamed " Gonzo ",

1728-457: The first player so honored by the Diamondbacks. Gonzalez grew up in the West Tampa neighborhood of Tampa, Florida in a Cuban-American household. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1985 along with childhood friend Tino Martinez . After high school, he attended the University of South Alabama , where he earned Baseball America 's All-Freshman Second Team honors. He

1776-500: The interview, Kendrick mentioned whispers of alleged steroid use by Gonzalez; in the interview Kendrick never directly accused Gonzalez of using performance-enhancing drugs. The interview came eight days after Diamondback relief pitcher Jason Grimsley was released by the team after the team learned that federal agents had searched his home looking for evidence that he was a distributor of human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs. On June 16, 2006, an angry Gonzalez called

1824-573: The lawsuit, paying the students an undisclosed amount of money. According to a copy of the settlement document provided by the Alliance Defending Freedom , the university "denied all material allegations and Plaintiff's claims of constitutional infirmities". USA agreed to change a portion of its policy on use of its space and facilities, and to pay an unspecified sum settling "all of plaintiff's remaining claims, including liability, damages, and attorney's fees". In September 2021,

1872-619: The nation, ahead of Brigham Young and Memphis who both had 11.5 differentials. South Alabama followed that with three more 20-win seasons in a row, and in 2008 received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, but lost to Butler University in the first round. Since the Sun Belt expansion to 13 members in the 2006–2007 season, South Alabama is second only to Western Kentucky in conference winning percentage (65.3% to WKU's 76.4%). The men's golf team has won 10 Sun Belt Conference championships: 1991–92, 1994–96, 1998–99, 2002, 2005, 2010. Heath Slocum

1920-565: The officer was cleared in a civil suit. The shooting inspired Brian Burghart, then editor of the News & Review in Reno, to found Fatal Encounters, a database that tracks killings by law enforcement officers . In 2014, a group of students belonging to Students for Life USA, a pro-life student organization, filed a complaint about alleged discrimination in federal court against University of South Alabama officials. The university later settled

1968-450: Was a five-time All-Star and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2001. In addition to good power (354 career home runs), Gonzalez was known as an exceptional gap hitter. His 596 career doubles currently rank 19th on the all-time MLB list . After retiring from baseball in 2008, Gonzalez joined the Diamondbacks' front office in 2009 as a special assistant to the president. The following year, the team retired his uniform number #20, making him

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2016-438: Was acting erratically." Collar was 5 foot 7 and weighed 135 pounds. Authorities state that Collar appeared to be on drugs when the incident occurred. The student's family filed suit against the university, the officer involved, and the police chief, Herbert Earl "Zeke" Aull. In February 2013, a Mobile County judge ruled that the university was not liable for the student's death. in 2014 the case moved to federal court. In 2015,

2064-501: Was announced that Mark Calvi , pitching coach at College World Series Champion University of South Carolina , would be Kittrell's assistant coach for the 2011 season, and take over as the new head coach in 2012. In 2011, alumnus David Freese was named the National League Championship Series MVP and World Series MVP . The men's basketball team has a strong history as a founding member of

2112-492: Was appointed as university president in 2021. The Jaguars participate in 17 NCAA sanctioned sports (8 men's and 9 women's), and are founding members of the Sun Belt Conference . Men's sports include football, basketball, baseball, tennis, cross country, golf, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. Women's sports include basketball, softball, soccer, tennis, cross country, volleyball, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and golf. All sports participate in

2160-531: Was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fourth round of the 1988 amateur draft. Gonzalez played American Legion Baseball for Post 248. Other Post 248 alumni include Lou Piniella , Tony La Russa , Tino Martinez , and Gary Sheffield . Gonzalez was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 4th round of the 1988 June draft. After signing, he was assigned to the short-season Class A Auburn Astros of

2208-501: Was selected to his fifth All-Star Team. On April 18, 2006, he got his 500th career double, becoming the 20th player in Major League history to hit 500 doubles and 300 home runs. On May 13, 2006, he passed Babe Ruth for 38th place all-time for the most doubles hit in league history. On June 15, 2006, The Arizona Republic printed an interview by columnist E. J. Montini with Diamondback managing general partner Ken Kendrick . In

2256-745: Was the Celebrity face for a cornfield maze in Queen Creek, Arizona for the Schnepf Farms' annual Celebrity Maze. Gonzalez is the first local celebrity featured; Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, and Jay Leno were previously featured. Gonzalez serves as a member of the board of the Baseball Assistance Team , a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league players through financial and medical hardships. The Diamondbacks built

2304-483: Was their first since NCAA bid since 1998 and were seeded 14th in the Minneapolis bracket. They lost to the 3rd-seeded Florida Gators , 76–50, who went on to win the 2006 NCAA men's basketball tournament. The 2005-2006 basketball season marked the best turnaround in the nation for a Division I basketball program. South Alabama was 10–18 in 2004-05 and went 24–7 in 2005–2006. This yielded a 12.5 differential to lead

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