Jan. 28, 2010
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -
Q&A with Western Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee Jim Sterk
Editor's Note: Sterk is one of four former Viking student-athletes who will be inducted into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, Feb. 6. Also being inducted are Jerry Joyce, a three-sport athlete at Western who went on to a 30-year career as a teacher-coach, then earned recognition for wrestling officiating; Dwayne Kirkley, a men's basketball guard who led the Vikings to the NAIA National Tournament in 1994; and Gina Sampson Steinauer, a women's basketball center who was named Western's Female Athlete of the Decade for the 1990s The four inductees bring the hall's membership to 113. The ceremony, which begins at 2 p.m., will take place in the Concert Hall at the WWU Performing Arts Center. The hall's newest members also will be honored at halftime of the WWU men's and women's home basketball games that day. The induction ceremony is open to the public with no admission charge. Those wishing to attend are asked to RSVP by phone (360-650-6525) or email (dorothy.goldsmith@wwu.edu).
The 53-year-old Sterk is in his 10th year as director of athletics at Washington State University, overseeing unprecedented growth and success in a 17-sport NCAA I program that competes in the Pacific-10 Conference. Sterk currently is the chair of the Pac-10 Athletic Directors committee. He has also served on the prestigious NCAA Championship Competition cabinet.
Sterk was born and raised in Whatcom County, and is a graduate of Nooksack Valley High School, where he was a four-sport letter winner. He played on the Pioneers' Class A state championship basketball team as a senior in 1974.
Sterk received his bachelor of arts degree at Western in 1980, earning four letters in football and one in basketball. He was credited with a school-record 164 tackles during the 1977 season, being a first-team NAIA District 1 all-star, team captain and MVP in helping the Vikings to the district championship game.
Sterk obtained his master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1986. His professional career has included positions at North Carolina, Maine (Assistant Athletic Director for finance), Seattle Pacific (Associate Athletic Director), Tulane (Senior Associate Athletic Director), and Portland State, where he was director of athletics for five years before becoming the WSU athletic director in June of 2000.
Sterk and wife Debi have three daughters, Ashley 20, Amy 17 and Abby 14.
How did you feel when you found out that you were going to be inducted in Western's Athletics Hall of Fame?
I was contacted a while ago. I teared up. I loved my time at Western, and it is a very important part of my life. It is very dear to my heart and it is a great honor.
Can you reflect back on your time as a Viking?
It is mostly about the people. I was there during a time when (legendary coach) Charles Lappenbusch was walking the halls. I played (football) for Coach (Boyde) Long. He was the one who convinced me to come to Western, and I became close with him. And then a lot of the assistants that we had there, and the players and the people I got to meet during that time. Some of them have remained lifelong friends.
On the football side, it was probably when we went to Eastern Washington (in 1974) and we were favored to win and we lost a big one, and then for us to be able to turn it around in two years with that core group of players.
Were there any experiences with teammates off the field that stick out when you look back on your college career?
The baseball team had a boxing smoker as a fundraiser at Carver Gym. I think the mayor was pitted against a city councilman. A bunch of students fought, and then we, there were three of us - Gill James, Rick Brudwick and myself - against three baseball guys. We did a spoof of all-star wrestling. We curled our hair and had overalls and stuff. There were 4,000 people there, it was packed. When the boxing was going on, everyone was pretty serious, then we come out and they don't know what is going on. We had scripted the whole thing. We did everything from airplane spins to hitting heads with chairs to choking on the rope. We brought the house down. My biggest fear was that somebody who was really one of those wrestlers was going to come out of the crowd and throw us around. They brought us back a few years later and we did it again, which was crazy. I didn't know that underneath the canvas of the boxing ring there were just two-by-fours, and I did this back flip, landed and almost knocked myself out...a little too realistic!
Who were the coaches that impacted you the most?
I hate to start, because there were so many. I was a first-generation college student so I was bright-eyed and naïve to everything. It was a time in the 70s when there were still demonstrations going on, Fairhaven College had its goats and chickens out there, and it was a really a different place to me. Coach Long was a steadying force for me. Roy Clumpner came later and was a defensive back coach, so I didn't have him specifically, but I think in preparing me to teach and coach I think Roy did a lot for me as far as his methods class, that was a big part. I had the good fortune of having two of my high school coaches, Hal Haddock and Bob Plotts, be football assistants at Western while I was there. Those guys were great.
Were there any teachers who had a lasting impact on you?
Kathy Knutzen, she was in kinesiology. Roy Clumpner. Don Wiseman was a classic, he was a big `hold your breath' guy. Probably Roy I remember most. In his methods class, he would really try to hold us accountable [telling us] `You're not a football guy, you are a student here.'
As a student-athlete there are numerous things you learn outside of the classroom and on the field. How has athletics impacted your life?
It gave me confidence. It opened so many doors for me that I wouldn't have had opened any other way. The confidence to do things outside the box, that I wouldn't have had any idea that I could do. I always call it (athletics) the `sweatiest of the liberal arts' when I'm talking to faculty, because there is a lot of learning going on there. I believe that it does teach a lot, how to pick yourself up after [a loss], to be able to fight through setbacks and know that things are going to get better. And knowing that [if] you put your time and energy and effort into something then good things can happen. That is why I have enjoyed transitioning into an administrator after teaching and coaching for six years. I miss the individual coaching part of it, and getting as close to kids as you do when you are a coach. But I do get to be around coaches, support coaches and help them be successful in their endeavors working with student-athletes.
Have you stayed in contact with teammates over the years? If so, who?
Teammates, guys that I have kept up with: Scott Stokes, we went to high school together, roomed at Western and then played together. Gill James, Pat Locker, Hoyt Gier, Rick Vanderyacht, and Dan DeBellis was older, but he was a classic, he scared me. He was a 280-pound Italian kid and just scared me. Most recently when Western played Central in football, [DeBellis and I] met and went to that game, and we have done golf outings and stuff like that.
Can you recall your biggest football highlight at Western?
[The NAIA District I championship] was the last game of my senior year. We played (following the NAIA national title game) - the Apple Bowl. That was probably my highlight of playing. Playing in that kind of environment in a new facility, the Kingdome. Western had never done anything like that.
Your toughest loss?
I think it was my freshman year. We came over to Eastern and were favored to win, and I think we lost 64-0. It was like it snowballed, and everything went wrong. It was totally devastating. I remember losing to Oregon College (now Western Oregon) my junior year, and I had sprained my ankle so I couldn't play full go, and we lost to them. That was a tougher one.
You played basketball briefly for Western. What was that experience like for you?
I loved it. Coach (Chuck) Randall actually used me to beat up on his senior guards. I enjoyed that a lot.
Can you remember any funny moments you shared on the football team? Or just as a college student in general?
We had a house called the `White House' my junior and senior year. One time, we plastered flyers all over, and we thought it was going to be a great fundraiser to have a party at our house. We had too many people and they drank too many beers. We were losing money, but the police helped us out by shutting us down.
Can you remember who your favorite band was in college or who you liked to listen to before practice or games?
We had guys in our house that were really into music. We had so many cassettes and albums. One thing people might not know is that I sang in a musical at Western. I sang in the "Student Prince" in 1978. I really enjoyed that experience.
You have been around sports your whole life. Can you talk a little bit about how you think college football has changed since you played?
The players are bigger, faster, and stronger. I think the training has become more intense and the speed of the sport is a lot faster. The players are bigger. I was bench pressing 360 pounds [in college]. For us that was a lot, but now that would not be a big deal.
Do any of your family members participate in sports?
I have three daughters who are involved in sports. My wife went to Green River CC, and she ran track and played volleyball. But she didn't do it at Western when she [finished her schooling there]. I have a senior in high school playing soccer, basketball and softball. She is going to play soccer at Whitworth next year. My oldest went to Walla Walla CC and played softball there. My youngest is into different things, everything from hip-hop to track.
What was one of your best learning experiences?
I taught [at Sedro-Woolley] in 1982-83, before I went back to grad school in Ohio. The year before I went to Central Point and I taught seventh grade lab science. There was a teacher there who taught it six periods and I taught it one period. I would sit through her classes the day before and then teach it the next day. We did everything from bunson burners to lead tests, and I had no clue. That was probably the year I learned the most.
Do you enjoy coaching or administration more?
I enjoyed coaching. When I went to grad school I thought I was going to be an athletic director at a high school and continue to coach, but then the college side of [athletics] opened up when I was at Ohio. I interned at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. From [North Carolina] I went to Maine for four years. I have been in New Orleans at Tulane as a senior associate, and then Portland State for five years. And now [at Washington State], and I'm in my tenth year. I would like [to stay], it's a great place.
What is it going to be like for you to come back to Western and be recognized?
I'm really looking forward to it. To be back, and see folks I know. Lynda [Goodrich] (current WWU athletics director) was teaching and coaching [at Western] at the time [I was there]. I even took an officiating volleyball class from her. She would always shake her head at us. My parents still live in Whatcom County and my sister. I only get back to Whatcom County two or three times a year and I really enjoy it when I do.
