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All's rosy with Raider athletics Commentary By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN Expectations are rising almost as fast the success rate at Southern Oregon University. Almost every sport in the 10-sport department has become a winner or has improved markedly in the past year. Monty Cartwright, into his fourth year as the school's athletic director, runs the department on the premise of seeking wide-ranging success by all teams and not putting an emphasis on any sport. "I'm pleased to say I've surrounded myself with good people in this department," says Cartwright. "Those people are helping me look pretty good right now." All SOU sports are played within the spirit of the program's philosophy, which says players are students first and athletes second. Limited scholarship money, although it's growing due to the increasing revenues generated by the revamped Raider Club, are divided equally, based on numbers of athletes on each team. Suzanne Daniel, athletics research and development coordinator, has played a major role in organizing and helping the Raider Club raise money. Last year, the figure was $89,570. The amount is projected to go over $145,000 during the next year, Daniel says. "The potential for fund raising here is unlimited," says Daniel. "Fund raising starts with having good athletes and a good product. Then, you go from there. Winning creates more interest. That's when more people started joining Raider Club and donating more and more to our program." Raider Club President Dick Hackstedde says he's pleased with the progress of the Raider Club. "More and more people in the community are getting involved," he said. "Winning solves a lot of problems." The top athletic success story this year is in men's basketball. The Raiders rose this week to No. 12 in the nation, an incredible leap from mediocrity last year and downright ineptitude two years ago, when SOU was 2-29 under first-year coach Brian McDermott. As winning has become more consistent, longtime Raider fans have come creeping out of the woodwork to witness the renaissance. The last time the men's team was in the national poll was in 1967-68, when it was 19th. The Southern Oregon women's basketball team is ranked No. 3 in the country, and the school's traditionally dominant wrestling program is also No. 3. Raider wrestling hasn't been out of the top five since 1994. Of SOU's 10 men's and women's sports, six are eligible to be ranked. All except cross country cracked the Top 25 at least once in the past two years. "We hope it keeps getting better," says Cartwright. "We may not have the most (scholarship) money here, but it's getting better. Despite our lack of resources, compared to bigger schools, this is still a great place to be for athletes and coaches." SOU's athletic department budget has grown to $500,699, an all-time high, according to Cartwright. It will continue to grow as fund-raising efforts escalate. But the Raiders will have to continue to win to raise more and more money, Cartwright says. "We hired some good people, including Suzanne (Daniel) and good coaches who know what they are doing," says Cartwright. "And our president (Dr. Stephen Reno) let me try some things that are working. "I'd rather be 0-and-4 and have tried some things to help us grow, than be 0-and-0 because we didn't try anything." With Raider sports on the rise, and increasing numbers of fans coming through the turnstiles, Cartwright and his staff need to continue to try to be creative and innovative to keep a good thing going. The main thing is to be able to attract quality athletes. That takes money, coaching and previous success. SOU would seem to have all of that going. (Randy Hammericksen is the Mail Tribune's sports columnist. He can be reached at 776-4499.) Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford,