Becoming a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II school puts Concordia University Irvine in its rightful place, according to Concordia University Irvine alumnus Jack McBride. Full of humility, McBride isn’t boasting or bragging; he’s just calling it as he sees it.
“It’s a place that Concordia deserves to be in. I was very proud to find out Concordia was transitioning to NCAA Division II.” McBride said. “We’ve always competed against schools that were at that level, across the board, not just baseball, but other sports as well, and always held our own and played very well against those schools.
“In my mind, it doesn’t really change anything besides the league,” he continued. “We’re as good as we always were, and we’re continually getting better. I’m glad to see them playing at that level because we’ve said all along that we were at that level.”
We’re as good as we always were, and we’re continually getting better.
Concordia is completing its three-year membership application process to become a NCAA DII school. Anticipating full membership in 2017-18, it will be the only NCAA DII school in Orange County, if approved by the NCAA. Concordia University Irvine is currently a provisional member of the PacWest (Pacific West) Conference and the NCAA Division II.
Concordia University Irvine was previously in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) under the auspices of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
McBride said being a NCAA DII school will bring Concordia much more notoriety and help the sports program attract higher quality recruits. However, at the local level, he doesn’t anticipate much change.
“It won’t have much impact on the Concordia family and community,” McBride said. “We’ve always been a tight knit community of faculty and students. Our athletes have always been close, not just individual sports, but all sports, men and women. That won’t change because we’re playing in a different league or organization.”
Our athletes have always been close, not just individual sports, but all sports, men and women
McBride, 28, of Garden Grove, enrolled at Concordia in fall 2006 and started playing baseball the following spring. He played for four years and red-shirted one.
McBride was a member of the CUI baseball team that was recently inducted into the university’s new Kenneth A. Walker Athletic Hall of Fame for winning the NAIA World Series in 2011. The 2011 team won the first baseball national championship in Concordia University Irvine history. The team also won the first national championship in baseball in GSAC history, were the NAIA Champions of Character Award Winners, and had an overall record of 43-19.
Extremely proud to be a member of that winning team, McBride said, “Our national championship put us on the map. Anytime any sport can achieve that, it brings the school that much more notoriety and attracts more student-athletes and students. It makes us proud to be able to do that because the university faculty and staff give so much to you, it’s nice to be able to give that back.”
McBride said he was humbled when his team was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
“I was so proud of the guys that I played with,” he said. “I was blown away that the university that we poured our blood, sweat and tears into was willing to recognized what we accomplished. That was very special for us.”
McBride was honored to be able to represent all the greats who came before him.
“Every time I think about it, it gets a little harder to talk,” McBride said. “It’s such an honor to represent some of the great guys that had mentored me. There’s such a great lineage of great young men who tutored one another and great coaching staff that tutored young men. It’s great for that to get recognized because of the accomplishment of one team, but it was really the accumulation of so many years of guys working very hard. I was so glad for those guys that we finally reached the pinnacle.”
There’s such a great lineage of great young men who tutored one another and great coaching staff that tutored young men.
“Personally, I was very humbled by it,” McBride continued. “There are so many guys who put in so many hours, and I had such a very small part to do with it. I guess I just ran my mouth more than everyone else and that’s why they had me speak at that ceremony.”
The Walker Athletic Hall of Fame, created through an endowment established by Walker’s daughter, Dr. Terilyn Walker, Concordia University Irvine alumnus and dean of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, was unveiled on Jan. 27. The endowment also includes the establishment of an annual $50,000 renewable scholarship for student-athletes.
Walker was a Southern California real estate developer who was known for his community involvement. After graduating from high school, Walker joined the U.S. Army where he served as a chaplain’s assistant and played basketball. After his military career, Walker attended USC where he continued to play basketball and earned a bachelor’s degree in business. Following his father’s footsteps in real estate, Walker ran Ken Walker Realty in Southern California for more than four decades until his death in 2015.
Concordia has had an Athletic Hall of Fame for years, but there has never been a physical location on campus for it. It is now housed in the gym, complete with plaques honoring past and new inductees.
The Class of 2017 Hall of Fame inductees also included Concordia University Irvine alumnus Alexsondra Peters. A member of the women’s swim team, Peters was named NAIA National Swimmer of the Year in 2011; three-time NAIA National Champion 2011; nine-time NAIA All-American 2011-2012; and Concordia University Irvine school record holder in five individual events and two relays.