Bocce ball tourney gets the revolution to SJSU athletics rolling

By Lindsey Boyd

The most coveted, spirited, trash-talking and jaw-dropping tournament of the year took place on SJSU’s new golf facility today — the much anticipated bocce ball tournament.

Coaches and staff from several SJSU sports attended the annual tournament and captained a team of family, friends, alumni and donors.

“It’s a great tournament,” said defensive back’s coach Will Harris. “I was actually here last year and it’s actually a bigger turnout … A lot of fun.”

Hundreds came out at 11 a.m. to watch 28 teams relentlessly battle to win the prized trophy … and bragging rights.

Who exactly was in attendance?

“Basically everyone,” said beach volleyball head coach Aaron Shepardson.

The participants included football head coach Brent Brennan, men’s basketball head coach Dave Wojcik, women’s basketball head coach Jamie Craighead, gymnastics coach Wayne Wright, as well as Shepardson … the list goes on and on.

Some teams got creative in naming their teams — “JC’s Bocce Ballers” captained by Craighead for example. Director of football relations Ben Thienes led “Brennan’s Grid Iron Gang” and running back coach Carter energized the “Advanced Rollers.”

Others, such as men’s water polo head coach Bruce Watson, went with a simpler name: “Men’s Water Polo.”

With all official names aside, there was a lot more name calling and trashing talking at the courts set up on the grass of the driving range.

“I am,” Wright said when asked which coach is most competitive. “I like to win.”

Plenty of unconventional athletic hydration such as lattés, beer and wine were held in hand. The secret weapons from women’s golf and swimming and diving fed appetites with snacks, dinner and dessert, but the hunger to win remained.

SJSU Athletics isn’t just hungry to win, but is starving to transform itself.

“It’s just kind of a touch point moment for us in athletics to have the bocce battle on campus,” said athletic director Marie Tuite. “We won’t move the athletics department program forward unless we have everyone all in … Today is a great day to sort of start that process.”

Rich Thawley, the man behind the change to SJSU athletics and south campus, spoke his vision for the future. He and his wife donated millions to reconstruct new sports facilities.

“We had a slide in our presentation that showed south campus in 1950. And then we showed it in 60, 70, 80, 90, 2000 and 2010, and it’s the exact same dog-on slide,” Thawley said as he explained the revolution he’s started at SJSU.

To him, SJSU has gone too long without a change to athletics which is reflected in the Spartans’ standings and rankings.

“San Jose State is a disease,” Thawley said. “We’ve had a mental approach around here that is really limited what’s been done … but we are going to completely change the game.”

Thawley hopes to build SJSU the best sports facility in the country, and says that he’s already built the best short-range golf facility in the nation — and yes it’s better than Stanford’s.

Together, everyone celebrated the golf facilities with bocce ball and putting on the new course marking what many hope will be the beginning of a new direction for SJSU athletics.

As the day rolled on, so did the bocce balls. Cheers and high fives for one team meant an oh too familiar feeling of defeat and loss for another.

“We were rolling pretty strong and then we had a tough first round loss in the playoffs,” Brennan said of his K-Dogs Crew. “It was tough but we had a great leader … we just came up short in the end. I’m hopeful for the future.”

By 6 p.m. 28 teams were narrowed down to two. The semi-finalists were each given a cheeky prize of Fresno State bottles of wine. By 6:30 p.m. the official referees brought out the tape measures to determine the winner.

Ironically, the winning team lacked SJSU coaches. Instead, it was comprised of members from the athletic department and their families.

By the time a winner was finally chosen, most of the donors, alumni and coaches already departed. Slowly but surely, the last of the remaining players left the tournament as the bocce ball courts were dismantled by men’s soccer players.

After a day of lively festivities, all that was left was a brand new driving range and chipping green with a few golfers quietly putting into the sunset.

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