Portland State Magazine Spring 2007

i Athletics ( ' . ......... .. .. . ................. . .... . . . . Torre Chisholm, seen here on the Stott Community Recreation Field, is looking forward to working with the Viking Horde student spirit group as it cheers on PSU athletics. director. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the university. Torre Chisholm leads the Horde Fundraising is something Chisholm is good at, bur it is not his only skill. His creation of student spirit groups is testament to his friend-raising ability. The Completely Insane Anteaters now have more than 3,000 members. "Ir's tradition with a rwist," says Chisholm. He also has experience wim booster and varsity clubs, and at UC Irvine co-founded a homecoming celebration. A SCREAMING, RAUCOUS crowd is Michael "Torre" Chisholm's payoff. Ir is the prize for a job well done, which at University of California, Santa Bar– bara, meant creating the Gaucho Locos student spirit group and at UC Irvine, the Completely Insane Anteaters. It has to be a relief for Chisholm, PSU's new athletics director, to take on the Viking Horde, a nan1e with some muscle behind it and not too many syllables. As of May 1, Chisholm, 37, is set to oversee the University's 16-ream Intercollegiate Athletics program: nine women's and seven men's programs, including the addition of men's and women's tennis in the coming year. Chisholm succeeds Tom Burman, who left Portland Scare in February 2006 for University ofWyoming. Teri Mariani '76, former longtime soft– ball coach, has occupied the position on an interim basis for more than a year. The casks are already set out for Chisholm: increase fundraising, enhance marketing, and capitalize on the addition of former NFL head 22 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE SPRING 2007 coach Jerry Glanvi lle, Porrland State's new football coach. "We have a phenomenal chance for the University ro raise its visibility," says Chisholm of Glanville's hiring. "He can sell any recruit and he definitely found a recruit in me." Chisholm was on campus interview– ing for the AD job the same day PSU held a news conference to introduce Glanville. "I was thinking, I want to be a part of chis," recalls Chisholm. "This would be a great platform from which to launch something big." AT UC IRV I N E, Chisholm had been associate athletic director for develop– ment and marketing since 2000. He helped the Anteaters-a member of me Big West Conference along with UC Santa Barbara-increase fundraising by 200 percent, increase sponsorships by 150 percent, and secure funds for con– struction of a sports medicine center and for the Anteater ballpark. Chisholm's previous nine years at UC Santa Barbara were spent work– ing his way up from assistant women's volleyball coach to assistant athletic In his new role at Porrland State, Chisholm will have the opportunity to work with a growing Viking program. PSU has won six conference champion– ships in the past four years-mree by women's golf, one each by soccer, soft– ball, and men's basketball. In addition , me track and field program continues to climb in me Big Sky Conference Standings, me women's volleyball team is coming off back-to-back 21-win sea– sons, and the women's basketball team has seen rwo consecutive years of improvement in me standings. Most of the programs compete in the Big Sky Conference except wres– rling, which is a member of the Pac-10 Conference, and softball, which is a member of the Pacific Coast Softball Conference. "PSU has tremendous potential, combined with outstanding coaches and staff," says Chisholm. "Together, we will continue to build me Universi– ty's amletic tradition." ■