By Steve Holt, Sports Writer
In cases of coaching changes, it’s rare that both the departing and arriving coaches end up with their “dream job.”
Not so with Vince Jarrett and Mike Campbell.
On Aug. 9, it was announced that Campbell, a high school golf coach from Andrews, would be replacing the veteran ACU golf coach Jarrett, who earlier in the summer stepped down to take the coaching spot at the University of Houston, his alma mater.
“I always wanted to come back to ACU; I just know what a special place it is,” Campbell said. “That’s kind of been my dream job, and I just always hoped I could come back when Coach Jarrett decided to retire or move on. It just seemed to work out perfect.”
Campbell played golf under Jarrett at ACU from 1989-91, earning all-America status twice and winning the Lone Star Conference individual title in 1991. He was on the Wildcat team that shot a combined score of 262, the lowest team score in NCAA history. Campbell comes to Abilene from Andrews High School, where he coached the 4A Lady Mustangs to second-place state finishes in 2001 and 2003 and third-place finishes in 2000 and 2002.
Chief Athletics Adminis-trator Gary McCaleb said he received several applications for the job, but in the end the choice was clear.
“We went through the r‚sum‚s and narrowed it down to the four top individuals,” McCaleb said. “All four of the people we interviewed could have done the job, but the combination of Mike’s background, talent and ability made him the one we went after.”
McCaleb added that he expects that Campbell’s connections in the Texas high school golf community will be an aid to future in-state recruiting.
Campbell, who moved into his new house in Abilene last week along with his family, said he sees a touch of Jarrett’s coaching style in his own.
“One thing that I could tell was that Coach Jarrett was always very calm and always under control in every situation, and that’s one thing I’ve tried to do in my time coaching golf,” said Campbell, who still competes locally during summers. “That’s such a big thing is in golf because you can’t get too high or too low whatever the situation is-you have to keep it at even keel.”
In his 18 years at the helm of the Wildcat golf program, Jarrett brought the sport to new levels. He took ACU to either regional or national tournaments in 16 of his 18 seasons, including a national title in 1993. Campbell was one of 27 different athletes to earn all-America honors under Jarrett, and many others went on to play professional and semi-professional golf after graduation.
Campbell is the first to admit he has some big shoes to fill.
“Coach Jarrett just did a wonderful job here, and I know he’s thought of highly in this community,” he said. “He has a tremendous track record. I just want to do my best to continue the tradition that Coach Jarrett started.
“One of our goals is going to be to improve every day we go out to the course,” said Jarrett, whose younger brother Chad finished second at the PGA Championships last weekend. “So if we can meet that goal, I feel like we are going to have a successful year.”
