1993_12 Insight December 1993

              Page 12
Insight/California State University, Fresno
December 8,1993
The Whole 9 Yards
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Water polo founder still making waves
By Karen Toth
StaffWriter
Dr. Ara Hairabcdian is a walking
encyclopedia of sports.
Especially when the topic is Fresno
State water polo, or what it used lo be.
The 5-foot-7-inch, aihlctic-built
Hairabcdian, 66, started the Fresno
Stale water polo program in the spring
of 1958.
"It was dropped as a school sport
last year, certainly noi from lack of
interest." Hairabcdian said.
"Wc finally proved u was a viable
thing," he said. "Wc had a sport thai
did not take a lot of money to run."
The team was organized in the
spring, after the swim season ended.
A fcwofHairabcdian's swimmers-
he was ihc men's swim coach —
expressed an interest in playing water
polo.
"No one really knew the rules," he
said with a laugh, "so wc learned as
wc went along."
The challenge was nothing to the
jack-of-all-sporLs Hairabcdian.
They had no water polo balls, so
Hairabcdian used old rubber soccer
balls.
They had no goals, so he built his
own, using discarded tennis nets.
The boys wanted to play so much
that ihcy provided their own transportation to and from the games and
bought their own meals at those
games.
In I960, seeing their desire,
Hairabcdian convinced the athletic
director lhal ihey were ready for a
legitimate tcam. Up until this time,
ihcy had been playing as a club.
"Most of ihc players were swimmers, so ihey had good stamina,"
Hairabcdian said. "Some of them had
played basketball in high school, so
they had good hand—eye coordination."
Over the years, the team had built
a pretty good record. In 1983, they
were rated 6ih nationally after defeating Pcppcrdinc and UCLA (whom,
incidentally, also lost their water polo
team, bul had it re-instated with private funding).
When the sport was dropped after
Still physically fit at 66, former gymnast Dr. Ara Halrabedian often joins his students for a workout In his swim for fitness class.
the 1992 season, the Fresno S late team
was ranked12th in the nation.
Previous to waterpolo, Hairabcdian
was involved in a number of other
sports.
As a siudcni at Roosevelt High
School in Los Angeles, Hairabcdian
was captain and fullback of the football team, which won the Los Angeles cily fooiball championships.
He continued to play fooiball at
Los Angeles Cily College, and
switched to gymnastics when he transferred to USC.
Hairabcdian excelled in gymnastics and he won the national AAU
floor exercise in 1950 and 1951.
In l95l,aftcrgraduaiingfromUSC.
Hairabcdian left the West Coast and
headed cast, where he became assistant gymnastics coach at Pcnn State.
He headed west once again, after
graduating with a master's degree at
Pcnn Slate. This time it was to coach
football and wrestling at San Dicguito
High School in Encinitas, California.
Atih is lime, Hairabcdian'sold professor from USC, Larry Pape, was ihe
athletic director at Fresno State.
"He had a vision lo build physical
education here," Hairabedian said of
Pape. "He saw potential in mc and my
ability to coach teams."
In the fall of 1953, Hairabcdian
came io Fresno State as a P.E. instructor and an assisitant football coach.
"The only buildings here were the
main gym and the lab school,"
Hairabcdian said. "We were using
both campuses."
Hairabedian said he would get mail
for sports teams even though there
wasn't actually a team.
"It was probably due to the fact
thai I taught a class in that sport," he
said with a laugh.
In 1954, Hairabcdian became the
Fresno Slate's men's swim coach. He
left the football progTam in 1957,
after starting the water polo team.
For iwo to three years in ihe 1960s,
Hairabedian was kept extremely busy.
During the swim season, he also
coached the gymnastics tcam.
"I'd be ai a swim meel down south
one day, ihcn have io be at a gymnastics meet in the Bay Area the next
day," he said.
Hairabcdian retired from the aquatics scene in 1976. but not before becoming instrumental in bringing water polo to ihc local high schools.
Along with Gene Stevens, now retired from Fresno Cily College,
Hairabcdian approached the local
school board.
"Most sports programs arc buili
from the bottom up. from the high
school level on up." he said. "Water
polo in this town was built from the
top down."
WhenthcCSUFadminisiralionde-
Former Bulldogs still
in the swim of things
By Karen Toth
StaffWriter
After 34 years, CSUF played iLs
last water polo game Nov. 22. 1992.
Previously ranked 12th in the nation, ihis left a lot of talented players
out of the water wondering where to
go next.
Where did ihcy go?
Some of the players who chose to
stay al CSUF have formed aclub team
that practices at the Clovis West Swim
Complex.
Others turned up al this year's
NCAA Water Polo Championships
held in Long Beach Nov. 26 —28.
Drew Ncthertonand Ivan Hurtado,
iwo of Fresno Slate's leading players
last season, arc now juniors ai USC.
USC lost io Sianford in the championship game, but nol before
Ncthcrton scored three points and
Hurtado scored one point.
Some did not make the NCAA
finals this year but arc still part of a
powerhouse water polo tcam.
Long Beach Slate, who co-hosted
the NCAA Finals this year is now
home to sophomores Kyle Hildcbrand
and Mark Stccnhauscn.
Former Bulldog goalie Ryan
McMillcn is now a UC Santa Barbara
Gaucho.
McMillcn, a junior, is tenth on the
Fresno Slate saves list for one season
and seventh in career saves with 203.
Todd Warshaw/Speclal lo INSIGHT
Former Bulldog Drew Netherton scored three points for USC In
the championship game against Stanford at the 1993 NCAA finals.
cided to cut ihc water polo team lasi
year, Hairabedian was very disturbed.
Following other universities across
the country, Fresno State decided to
have an equal number of teams offered to both men and women.
With state budget cuts in effect,
that was virtually impossible' without
cutting an already established team.
So, in the spring of 1992, the water
polo team was officially dropped.
After protests from thespori's supporters. Dr. Gary Cunningham.CSUF
athletic director, reinstated the prom-am fnr one more season.
It turned out to be the lasi season.
"I have always been in favor of
womens athletics, but the whole equity thing is very disturbing to me,"
Hairabcdian said. "Is it aboul dollars
or is it about participation?"
Hairabcdian used the women's
gymnastic team as an example.
Women, he said, were ihc ones who
dropped the tcam because of a lack of
interest in coaching from a woman
coach.
"I had jusi finished coaching at ihc
Cathy Rigby summer gymnastics
camp,and I volunteered tocoach (the
women's team)." Hairabcdian said.
"Thcy.said no — they didn't want
a man coaching them."
In the spring of 1992. when the
water polo team was dropped.
Hairabcdian also had his own job to
worry about.
Not only did the budget crunch
eliminate waier polo, but it also eliminated the Faculty Early Retirement
Program (FERP) that Hairabcdian
was on.
"I couldn't even go to him (Tom
Milich, the water polo coach ) and
say 'Let me help you. Let me put in a
good word for you.' because I was
oul, too," he said.
Il wasn't until just a few months
ago that the courts found the elimination of the retirement program illegal.
"Wc had a contract," said
Hairabedian. "(New) President Welly
was very sympathetic to our plight.
He fell the importance of senior faculty members and the contributions
they had made."
Welty told ihem if thev went on
leave for one year without pay. he
would hire them back the ncxi year
for number of years they had left of
their retirement.
For Hairabcdian, that is two years.
Until then, he'll go on teaching
and keeping fit.
He currently teaches two sections
of P.E. for children, a capstone class
on the history ofthe Olympics, and
iwo swimming classes.
Many times, he will join the swim
class in their workout.
He also has scored over 200 on the
fitness tcsi for P.E. majors.
Looking back on the decisions lhal
had to be made regarding the sport he
Started at CSUF. Hairabcdian was
thoughtful.
"It's easy to sit on the outside and
criticize," he said. "Those of us thai
arc critical don't always have all the
facLs."
"Someone has to make the decisions. Il's never easy."
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