Conference USA is celebrating its 10th anniversary during the 2004-05 season. In conjunction, the league is naming a Team of the Decade for each of the conference’s 19 sports. Men’s Golf is the latest sport to have its All-Decade team released and the squad is led by former UAB star Graeme McDowell, the 2002 National Player of the Year, who was named the Athlete of the Decade. The Men’s Golf Coach of the Decade award was won by former Houston mentor Mike Dirks, who led the Cougars to five C-USA championships and four consecutive Top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championship. Voting on the awards was done by each of the league’s current men’s golf coaches.

Houston and TCU each produced three members of the All-Decade squad, while UAB had two. Southern Miss and Tulane each had one representative on the team.


C-USA MEN’S GOLF ALL-DECADE TEAM

Graeme McDowell – UAB (1999-2002) – ATHLETE OF THE DECADE
Awarded Fred Haskins Award for top golfer in the nation in 2002 … captured the 2002 Golfstat Cup given to the golfer with the lowest scoring average nationally … finished tied for fourth at the 2002 NCAA Championships … two-time PING All-American (2001 and 2002) … two time Conference USA Player of the Year (2001, 2002) … captured a school record nine individual tournament titles in his three year career … finished with a scoring average of 71.5 strokes per 18 holes with a school record low round of 63 at the 2002 Atlanta Intercollegiate … instrumental in leading UAB to three straight NCAA Regionals and back-to-back NCAA National Tournaments (2001, 2002) … two-time Palmer Cup team member … Walker Cup participant

Chris Morris, Houston (1996-00)
Named 2000 All-America Honorable Mention … All-Conference USA First-Team honoree in 1998 and 2000 … was an All-C-USA Second Team member in 1997 … finished as runner-up at the 1998 C-USA Championship … member of 2000 C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll … ranks second in school career history with 150 rounds played.

Andy Sanders, Houston (1998-01)
Named to 1999 and 2000 All-America Second Team … was an All-America Honorable Mention in 2001 … Member of four C-USA Tournament championship teams from 1997-01 … Only player in league history to win consecutive C-USA Tournament individual championships … named to C-USA All-Tournament Team in 2000 and 2001 … Three-time All-Conference USA Team member (1999, 2000, 2001) … named C-USA Golfer of the Month in September 2000 … Named 1998 C-USA Freshman of the Year … competed in four NCAA Championships (1998-01).. Finished seventh at the 2000 NCAA Championships … tied for school low round with 63 at 1999 Red River Classic.

Victor Schwamkrug, Houston (1996-99)
Named 1998 and 1999 All-America Honorable Mention … two-time All-Conference USA First Team honoree (1997-98) and Second-Team member in 1999 … Finished as runner-up at the 1997 C-USA Championship … two-time C-USA Golfer of the Week (March 27, 1997 and March 31, 1998.

Tim Yelverton, Southern Miss (1999-02)
Southern Miss' only two-time All-Conference performer ... A member of the 2001 and 2002 All-Conference USA teams, when only one team was announced each season ... A 2002 All-Tournament selection after finishing fifth at the C-USA Championship at The Club at Hidden Creek in Navarre, Fla. ... Finished in the top 20 in the C-USA Tournament three times (2000, 2001, 2002) ... Helped lead Southern Miss to a pair of Top-3 finishes.

Adam Rubinson, TCU (2001-03)
Two-time All-American who earned honorable mention accolades in 2002 and third-team honors in 2003...Highlight was a runner-up finish at the 2002 NCAA Championships, which matched the best finish ever for a TCU golfer...Was a two-time first-team All-C-USA golfer and was Golfer of the Year in 2003...Carried a 72.93 average for his career and owns the school single-round tournament scoring record (64)...Owned 16 top-10 and 10 more top-20 finishes in his four seasons...Named TCU's Male Co-Athlete of the Year in 2002-03...named to the 2003 United States Palmer Cup Team and won the 2003 All-America Classic..was a semifinalist for the 2003 Ben Hogan Award.

Adam Meyer, TCU (2002-04)
Named the 2004 Conference USA Player of the Year and was the C-USA Medalist, winning the event by nine strokes...Was a two-time first-team All-Conference USA performer (2003, 2004)...Earned Third-Team All-America mention his senior season and led TCU to a 20th-place finish at the NCAAs...Named the 2003-04 TCU Co-Male Athlete of the Year...Finished the year rated 25th in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and had a team-best 71.82 stroke average...won two individual titles as a Frog.

David Schultz, TCU (2002-present)
Current senior who earned first-team All-Conference USA accolades in 2003 and 2004...Tabbed as an Honorable Mention All-American in 2003...Has a pair of tournament individual titles to his credit...Owns a 73.20 stroke average for his career and has placed among the top 20 16 times, including nine top-10 finishes...Has rated among the nation's top 75 golfers in each of the last two year-end rankings...Placed tied for third at the 2004 All-America Classic.

Chris Wheeler, Tulane (2001-present)
A three-time (so far) All C-USA performer in 2002, 2003 and 2004…earned first team honors in 2002 and 2003 to become the only Green Wave player to make back-to-back All-C-USA teams…a second team choice last year…owns a career stroke average of 72.7 in 122 rounds…won the 2003 Beau Chene Collegiate Classic to earn national golfer of the week (Golf World) and C-USA Golfer of the Month recognition in 2003…has 14 career Top 10 and 27 Top 15 finishes with two seconds and a third in addition to the win.

Chris Devlin – UAB (1996-2000)
Only player in league history to win three Conference USA Player of the Year awards (1997, 1999, 2000) … three-time first team All-Conference USA selection … also earned one second team all-league award … also only player in league history to win both league Player and Freshman of the Year awards and did so in same season (1997) … C-USA Tournament Individual Champion in 1997 … 2000 C-USA All-Tournament Team member after league runner-up finish … holds UAB 36-hole record with 132 … winner of four individual medalist honors in four-year career at UAB … instrumental in sending UAB to two NCAA Regionals and in a three-year span.


C-USA MEN’S GOLF COACH OF THE DECADE

Mike Dirks, Houston (1996-2003)
Led the Cougars to five Conference USA Tournament championships (1997-01) … Guided three C-USA Tournament individual champions (1999-01) … Led the Cougars to four consecutive Top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships (1997-00) … Three-time C-USA Coach of the Year (1997-99) … Mentored 15 All-Conference USA First-Team honorees, 12 C-USA All-Tournament Team members, three C-USA Freshmen of the Year and the 2003 NCAA Central Regional individual champion … Coached six C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal recipients and nine members of the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll.