UNO: A Place to Call "Home"

By Jason Plotkin

Since he was announced as the head swimming and diving coach at the University of New Orleans in July 2007, Randy Horner has shared a vision with potential recruits. The vision was the same he shared with then-athletic director Jim Miller when interviewing for the job and the reason he was ultimately attracted to the job.

What Horner saw was a program that could be developed into one the university would be proud of, while succeeding in both the classroom and in the pool.

When asked by recruits about the team's facilities, the former Missouri State assistant coach spoke about the state of the art Lakefront Aquatic Center and how such an on-campus complex would elevate the program to the next level in the collegiate swimming world.

Doing what was necessary to see his vision through, Horner hired a coaching staff, added a diving component and rebuilt a men's program that had been dormant since 1992 from the ground up. All that was missing was that prized facility.

Nomads since the destruction by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 left the Lakefront Aquatic Center in need of millions of dollars in repairs, the Privateer swimming and diving program had been without a home.

From the 2005 fall semester in Atlanta to spending the last few years practicing in different pools around the Crescent City, the program has traveled near and far to do what most student-athletes are accustomed to doing on campus - practicing and competing.

One week from today, as swimmers from UNO and nationally ranked Stanford step onto the starting blocks to compete in the first event of the season-opening Labor Day dual, that final piece of the puzzle will be put into place.

Next Monday could not come soon enough.

For the student-athletes and coaches of the program, the trials and tribulations of being without a permanent home was at times rough. As challenging as it may have gotten, one looking from the outside would never know this faced much different than any other program in the country.

Driven and focused, not only on their own individual goals, but those of the team, each Privateer continued on.

With determination and will to succeed on their side, the UNO swimming and diving program brought Horner's vision to reality.

Starting with success in the classroom, the all freshmen men's program started their first semester off by ranking eighth amongst Division I programs in GPA to earn Scholar-Athlete All-American team status, receiving the recognition once more in the spring. At the conclusion the 2008-09 calendar year, 21 members of the combined men's and women's team has achieved GPAs of higher than a 3.0.

Working as hard as the classroom as they do in practice, paid off as well.

The men and women combined for 37 school records, 11 Sun Belt Conference Athletes of the Week and the first eight conference meet podium appearances in school history during the 2008-09 campaign. Based on the results, the men's and women's teams each finished the year ranked amongst the nation's top mid-major programs.

If the in-season accolades were not enough, four swimmers carried the UNO banner high in their native countries, combining for nine national championships.

Though the bar is set high, the return to the Lakefront Aquatic Center will only help the team push their limits further.

No longer needing to commute across town twice a day, the Privateers will gain roughly two hours of time daily. This time will not only allow for more focus on academics, but also provide more down time to relax one's body between the demanding practices.

Serving as the crown jewel for the swimming and diving program, the facility provides a tool for which Horner's staff can encourage potential student-athletes to come to the Lakefront.

As is the case with the current group of Privateers, all those who pass through the entrance of the facility wearing blue and silver will be expected to carry the torch of those who came before them. Afterall, they are fortunate enough to have a place to call "home".