From the Desk of Athletics Director Ron Prettyman
Perspectives on the Toros Athletic Department
October 15, 2003

Ron Prettyman began his tenure as Athletics Director at Cal State Dominguez Hills in April, 1995, coming to the Toros from Vanguard University. During his administration, Prettyman has expanded the department from eight to eleven sponsored sports, and he oversaw and coordinated the acquisition of the Hughes Education and Athletic Center. Ron is a graduate of Southern California College and has a master's degree from Cal State Stanislaus.

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The Toros are off and running toward California Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships and honors. The student-athletes this year are some of the best we have ever had at CSUDH. They are talented and they are driven to succeed.

The landscape of the Toro's fields and facilities have changed dramatically over the course of the past year or so. Our partnership with the Home Depot Center, which is located on our campus, is progressing nicely. If you have not had an opportunity to attend intercollegiate competitions on the new baseball, softball, soccer, or track facilities, or if you haven't had the chance to see a basketball game or volleyball match on our new floor, please take the time to do so. The facilities are beautiful which feature some of the best playing surfaces in the nation.

We are also very excited about the academic progress of our student-athletes. The Athletics Department offices are busy on a daily basis monitoring study halls and taking care of academic advising for all student-athletes. We are true advocates of the term student-athletes with the student coming first. Our GPA's and graduation rates are on the upswing, and we are excited about the quality of the student-athlete that we are seeing in our program currently.

The Athletics Department staff is a committed group of people that often go above and beyond the call of duty to assist student-athletes and coaches through their experiences at CSUDH. The recent California State budget crunch that we have experienced recently has taken its toll on our staff. We have not been able to replace a couple of vacant positions. Therefore, in order to not limit services to student-athletes and coaches, each member of the staff has had to bear down and take on additional responsibility. The staff is doing an admirable job.

Hopefully you will have the opportunity to take in some CSUDH TORO games and activities this year. There is a great spirit of involvement and support from the student body, faculty, staff and administration. More and more people are proud to be a part of the TORO family. We invite you to join the family too.

Ron Prettyman
Athletics Director
GO TOROS