Quotes from Head Softball Coach Howard Dobson's Press Conference
6/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
June 27, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss Athletics held a press conference, today, announcing Howard Dobson as the fifth head coach of the softball program.
"I am very excited about today. When Coach McNutt resigned, I was with the NCAA softball committee, which takes me to the regional, super-regional and the college world series. While I was away I was getting a lot of phone calls from people asking me what is happening with softball, and the players wanted to know when they were going to get a coach. I am happy to say that the process has ended. I would like to thank Dr. (Cheyenne) Trussell, who served as the chair of the search committee, Dr. (Dennis) Phillips, our Faculty Athletics Representative and Shane Coghlan, who also was on the search committee. I also would like to thank the entire Athletic Department for its part in helping with the interview process of all these great candidates.
We had over 55 applicants for the job. There were a lot of quality applicants, but at the end of the day, the young man that I am going to introduce was at the top of our list. We felt that he had all of the tools that we believed were needed to bring our softball program back where needed it to be. He doesn't have head coaching experience, but we have the confidence that he is more than capable. His coach at Oklahoma told me that he should have been a head coach a long time ago, but he stayed around to help her and the team. She said that the kids and parents over there love him, and she is going to miss him. She is sorry to let him go but is sure that he will make an immediate impact on the program.
Howard Dobson
"Thank you and on behalf of my family and myself, I would like to thank Ms. (Sonya) Varnell and Mr. (Richard) Giannini for the opportunity for me to come here and for us to come home. It is great to come to a softball program that is established and has tradition and history and be able to build on that. With me getting older and being able to come home is great. I am really excited about being at this university and being in Conference USA. I am really excited about coming in and taking over Conference USA. It's been a little while since we have won a championship here. We have the opportunity to build on the ones that they have won, and we plan to win more and dominate the conference the best we can in an effort to move on to post season play. Getting to the big show is our main goal.
"We are bringing in young ladies that we are proud of and that will represent this University and this team. They are girls that you will want to come out and see play. That's the kind of team that we're going to build; the kind of program we're going to establish, and the kind of young ladies we're going to produce and have success on the field and in their life."