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SAN ANTONIO — UTSA Athletics Director Lynn Hickey announced Friday that head baseball coach Sherman Corbett has resigned his post effective immediately and he will be retained within the department in a new administrative capacity.
"I want to thank Sherman for his 12 years of hard work, dedication and service to the UTSA baseball program," Hickey said. "He won three championships and took us to the NCAA Tournament during his time here, but he told me he thought it was time to consider making the move to an administrative position and allow the program to have new leadership and direction.
“The growth of our department, along with our new conference affiliations, calls for additional administrative staffing at this time. The opportunity to move a person of Sherman's caliber into a new leadership role within our department will be very beneficial during our transition period to the Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA. He has been and always will be a class act and I know he will continue to do an outstanding job in his new position.”
“Following my professional baseball career, I pursued my MBA at Texas A&M to eventually obtain a position in athletics administration,” Corbett said. “Twelve years ago, Lynn Hickey put me upon that path by hiring me to be the head coach at UTSA. Now, she is allowing me the opportunity to realize my professional goal by filling a position on her administrative staff. With my son preparing to enter high school, it was time to seriously consider making this move. Lynn and I had previously discussed this move over the last few years and I believe the time is now. It will afford me a better opportunity to be involved in my son’s life.
“I want to thank the coaches who have been a part of my staff the past 12 years, especially Jason Marshall, who has been with me for all of these years. He is a dedicated man of integrity and a great coach that held me accountable to my beliefs and made me a better coach. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to my wife, Julie, and my son, Mason, for all of their support, sacrifice and encouragement throughout these years. Most of all, I want to thank the student-athletes that were part of the Roadrunners baseball program. I consider it a privilege and honor to have had the opportunity to coach them.
“I will continue to be involved in the baseball program, but it will be in a different capacity as I serve the UTSA Athletics Department. I look forward to the challenges ahead.”
In his 12 seasons as the third head coach in program history, Corbett posted a 353-329 record (.518 winning percentage), including a 192-162 mark (.542) in Southland Conference play. Under his direction, the Roadrunners won a total of three Southland Championships (two regular season/one tournament) and UTSA also made an appearance in the 2005 NCAA Tournament at the Waco Regional.
Corbett was hired as head coach in 2001 and, four years later, he guided the Roadrunners to their second NCAA Tournament in program history. The Schertz native, who was named the 2007 and '08 Southland Clay Gould Coach of the Year, ends his tenure as the winningest coach in UTSA Athletics history.
From 2006-09, the Roadrunners won 144 games, which stands as the most successful four-year period in program history. In 2007, the Birds won a Southland-record 24 league contests, which has not been broken since the conference expanded to a 33-game schedule four years ago. The following spring, the squad tied a school record with 39 victories (record 38 regular-season wins) en route to winning the Southland's regular season title for the second consecutive year.
Corbett coached two All-Americans, five Freshman All-Americans, a pair of Southland Players of the Year, one Southland Hitter of the Year, a Southland Pitcher of the Year, three Southland Freshmen of the Year and one Southland Newcomer of the Year. His student-athletes also have earned 55 all-conference selections, including 11 first teamers, during his tenure. Twenty-four of his players have gone on to professional careers and 14 of those have heard their name called during the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
In addition to success on the field, the Roadrunners also have performed well in the classroom. Mike Srp earned 2003 second-team Academic All-America honors and he also was named the Southland's Student-Athlete of the Year, while 14 other players have been Southland All-Academic selections.
Associate head coach Jason Marshall will serve as interim head coach and a national search for Corbett’s replacement will begin immediately.