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NCAA Division I Men's Tournament Bracket NCAA Division I Men's Conference Tournament Scoreboard
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NCAA men Fitzgerald leaves UCLA to return to Tampa.
LOS ANGELES (Friday, January 9, 2004) -- Tom Fitzgerald, who led UCLA to the 2002 men's NCAA Division I championship, has resigned to become head coach at University of Tampa. Fitzgerald, 52, is from Tampa and coached UT from 1987-1995, leading his team to the Division II national championship in 1994. He was coach of the Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer from 1996-2001 with the club compiling a 70-67-7 record and finishing second in the 1998 U.S. Open Cup. "While my wife, Debi, and I will cherish our experience at UCLA forever, and will take only great memories with us to our next challenge, we miss our family, and we have an intense desire and obligation to spend more time with them," Fitzgerald said. In his two seasons at UCLA, Fitzgerald led the Bruins to a 38-5-4 (.851) mark -- 20-2-1 in 2003 -- and a pair of Pac-10 championships. After taking the 2002 national title, UCLA was ranked No. 1 for most of 2003 and was the top seed in the NCAA tournament before falling at home to eventual champion Indiana 2-1 in the quarterfinals. The Bruins' 15-game winning streak before the loss to Indiana was the second longest in school history and the 0.52 goals-against average for 2003 tied the school best. With the 2002 crown, Fitzgerald became the first coach to win the NCAA championship in his first season at a particular level. He also ranks as just the third coach in history to win collegiate championships in both Division I and Division II. "Tom has had a tremendous positive impact on our program, both on and off the field, during his short time at UCLA," said UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero. "He will be tremendously missed, but we understand his reasons and respect his feelings that his family comes first." Fitzgerald's composite college coaching record is 170-37-15 (.800). "His appointment returns the University of Tampa to instant credibility as a national contender in NCAA II men’s soccer, but it’s also great to add such a well-liked and respected individual to our institution," Tampa director of athletics Larry Marfise said. Fitzgerald replaces Dawson Driscoll who resigned in November with three games left in the regular season, his second at UT.The Spartants finished at 9-7-3. Assistant Maurice Loregnard served as interim coach, leading the team to a 2-2 record including a first-round loss to St. Leo in the Sunshine State Conference tournament. Loregnardf will be considered as a possible assistant to Fitzgerald. "I've been following Tampa's progression since I left there for the MLS," Fitzgerald told Associated Press. "After watching the Spartans fall out of national contention the past two years, I feel a sense of loyalty to put UT back on track." |
