May 3, 2006

MILWAUKEE - Marquette men's golf head coach Tim Grogan was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches.

Grogan, in his 14th season as head coach, led his club to team titles at the Cardinal Intercollegiate and the BIG EAST/MAC Challenge prior to the Golden Eagles' third-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships on April 24-25. By finishing third, MU, which competed in its first season as a member of the BIG EAST and set the school record for the highest finish in a conference tournament.

"I think this award is a result of having good players," Grogan said. "All five seniors -- Nathan Colson, Mark Eldridge, Kyle Murphy, Steve Sass and Joe Weber -- made this a very committed team. They were committed to winning the BIG EAST and being successful in the BIG EAST.

"The impressive thing to me was that we were in a position to win every tournament we were in this season. That's all you can ask as a coach. This award is more of a tribute to the team as a whole, especially the seniors," Grogan concluded.

The Golden Eagles' cumulative scoring average of 74.85 over the course of the entire season was also the best in school history. All-BIG EAST honoree Joe Weber's second-place finish at the conference tournament was the highest any Marquette golfer has finished in a league championship event.

"Tim brought a core group of guys in that knew how to win and had a desire to succeed," senior Kyle Murphy said of his coach. "Because of this graduating class, Marquette golf has turned into the top program in the state without a doubt and one of the best in the region."

The Coach of the Year award is the first such honor for Grogan and the first for the men's golf program.