Long Beach State University Athletics
Livingstone To Retire At Season's End
2/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
October 29, 2007
LONG BEACH -- Long Beach State Head Men's Golf Coach Bob Livingstone announced that he will retire at the end of the 2008 spring season. Livingstone is currently in his 14th year as head coach of the 49er men's program.
"After much thought and for several reasons, I have decided that when this school year ends I will not seek a contract renewal," said Livingstone. "I am making this announcement now so that the high school golfers we are recruiting will have all of the information they need to make their decisions. Rest assured I am still committed to the team and the players for the remainder of this year. This is an extremely young team, but one with phenomenal talent, and our goal is to put together all of the things we are working on by the end of the spring, when the Big West Championship and NCAA playoff selections take place. While we haven't been as consistent as we would like this semester, we have shown much potential in our five fall events, and I believe we will continue to improve and peek at the right time."
Livingstone took over the 49er men's program in the fall of 1994 from legendary Long Beach golf figure Del Walker. In 2004 he led the 49ers to their first Big West Conference Championship since 1973. The 49ers went to NCAA Regionals twice under Livingstone (2000, 2004) and he was named the Big West Coach of the Year in 2000 and was the co-Coach of the Year in 2006. In three of the past four seasons a 49er men's golfer has won the Big West Championship (Todd Saukkola in 2004, Ryan Panichpakdee in 2006 and Brett Lederer in 2007). Livingstone also coached current PGA professional golfer John Mallinger (1998-2001).
In wanting to thank all the program's supporters, Livingstone said, "With the help of so many of you, the program has grown into something that causes pride in all of us, as well as in the community and at the University." He added, "I am extremely proud of the 35 young men who have earned their college degrees while representing Long Beach State in the past 14 years. I am also proud of my teams that advanced to the NCAA playoffs and brought the first Big West Golf Championship in 32 years to The Beach in 2004. I am also proud of the creation of the Del Walker Intercollegiate at Virginia Country Club, the building and enhancing of the 49er Golf Practice Facility at El Dorado Park GC, the addition of new courses to our team's playing rotation and new tournament appearances on our schedule. I am also grateful to our women's coaches Marty Walker and Sue Ewart (and of course her husband Bob), some key people in the City of Long Beach and of course countless people at Virginia CC for their cooperation in many of these successes."
Along with his coaching duties, Livingstone is the coordinator of the "Golf: For Business and Life" program which is run in cooperation with the Recreation and Intramurals Department. This program, designed to introduce the game of golf through PGA of America Golf Professionals, is the result of a $100,000 grant from 1979 Long Beach State grad and former Ryder Cup team member Mark O'Meara. In conjunction with the introduction of this program, Livingstone negotiated an agreement with the City of Long Beach and American Golf Corporation to build the 49er Golf Practice Facility at El Dorado Park GC. In 1996, Livingstone was appointed to fill an interim vacancy on the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee, which sets the policies that govern collegiate golf, and conducts the NCAA Regional and National Championships. In 1998 his term was extended four years, and he served as Chairman of the Committee in 2001. During his time on the Committee, Livingstone spearheaded the campaign to grant automatic play-off bids to conference champions, helped formulate an NCAA Rating Index to compare and rank teams nationally, and secured approval of a set crew of knowledgeable officials to administer the Regional and National Championships.
