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News & Events Recaps

December 2005

  • The Pepperdine women's volleyball team received a bid to the NCAA tournament after posting a 17-11 overall record during the 2005 season.

  • Former Pepperdine All-American Jason Gore, who was a relative unknown in the golf world prior to last June's U.S. Open, capped a remarkable 2005 season when he was named the Nationwide Tour's Player of the Year. Gore, who competed at Pepperdine from 1995-97 and helped the Waves claim the 1997 national championship, burst onto the national scene during the U.S. Open. Gore went on to claim three consecutive tournament victories on the Nationwide Tour earning him an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour. Gore will be a full-time member on the PGA Tour when the 2006 season begins in January.

  • The Pepperdine men's volleyball team's five-game victory over UCLA in the finals of the NCAA Championships at Pauley Pavilion was named one of Southern California's top sports moments at the Greatest Moments in Sports Awards, presented by the Los Angeles Sports Council. Pepperdine's fifth national championship was recognized at a star-studded awards presentation televised live by KCAL-9. The award was determined by online fan balloting conducted by the L.A. Sports Council on its Web site.

  • The Graduate School of Education and Psychology was awarded three grants to continue support for its various counseling programs. The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner's Department gave a $400,000 grant for the Pepperdine Resource Youth Diversion and Education Program (P.R.Y.D.E.). The City of San Juan Capistrano gave GSEP a $50,000 grant for Gang Prevention Services. The Covina County School District gave GSEP a $25,000 grant for Affiliated Counseling Education (ACE), which is now in its eighth year.

  • Fox Sports News (FSN) West 2’s debut episode of “Under the Lights,” featuring Pepperdine’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Paul Westphal aired, Dec. 21. The original, hour-long documentary begins with his days at Redondo Beach's Aviation High where he was named CIF Player of the Year. “Under the Lights” further follows Westphal through his 823-game NBA career coaching the Phoenix Suns and Seattle Supersonics to his role as head coach for the Waves, a position he's held for the past four years.  

  • The Graziadio School of Business and Management hosted the commencement ceremony for the class of 2005 on Saturday, December 10, 2005. Receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award was Victor Tsao, cofounder, senior vice president, and general manager of Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc. Mr. Tsao has been with the company for 14 years and previously served as president and CEO before Linksys was acquired by Cisco in June 2003.

  • Pepperdine School of Law alumnus David Baker, commissioner of the Arena Football League (AFL), recently received the prestigious Dealmaker of the Year Award from the Media & Entertainment Counsel.  The award recognized the expansion efforts of the AFL under Mr. Baker’s leadership are the most noteworthy corporate transactions in 2005.