Troy University Athletics
Stewart, Davis Set For Wiregrass HOF Induction
7/16/2010 3:07:03 PM | General
Robert Earl Stewart spent more than 15 years serving as Troy University's Director of Athletics. Melanie Davis has served in a variety of roles in her time at Troy, but most prominently as head softball coach for the last 17 years.
Both will be among the inductees into the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday evening. The event will take place at the Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center and will start at 7 p.m. Tickets to the event are still available for $50 each. Contact Janna Everett at 334-699-2172 for information.
A third member of the class of 2010 also has Troy tied. Terry Collins attended Troy following a career in professional baseball and has been a long-time supporter of the Trojans in his role as President of ScreenTech. Both Stewart (2005) and Collins (2009) are members of the Troy University Baseball Hall of Fame.
A hard working Troy finance professor, Stewart was once told by his wife to "stop and smell the roses". There is a time when a person should slow down and enjoy the things they have accomplished. Stewart was Troy's athletic director from 1974 until 1991, but the road he took to earn the position was much different than the norm.
"I originally came to Troy to start the finance department and to teach in 1974," Stewart said. "I had many talks with (then chancellor) Dr. Ralph Adams, and one day he came to me and asked me to take the position of athletic director."
Stewart was unsure about the endeavor in the beginning. The work load placed upon teachers is large and demanding, but to add the role of athletic director to the plate seemed like a mountain before him.
Indeed it was a mountain for Stewart, a mountain of success.
During the time when Stewart led the athletic department at Troy, the Trojans won two football national titles, two baseball national titles and almost made an appearance in the final four for men's basketball. Three of those occurred within two years.
"It was great for the university, and it brought a lot of recognition to Troy," Stewart said. "No school has ever pulled off championships in those three sports in that time span at any level, and we were very close. It was just a great time for this university."
Great success comes from nothing less than hard work though, and Stewart did things different than others.
"I'm a financial guy," Stewart said. "I had never coached before. I wasn't going to coach either. I told our coaches that they handled stuff on the field, and I handled stuff in the office. They didn't want me on the field calling plays, and I didn't want them telling me how to run the finances of the department. It worked for us, and it worked well."
Stewart commanded respect, but not through words. His respect was earned by Troy faculty and coaches through his actions. His vision and innovation helped the Trojans strive financially like never before.
"There were many things we did to stretch the dollars," Stewart said. "We worked to combine student-athletes grant-in-aide with Pell grants and other grants or scholarships they may have had so that we could maximize the potential of our grant-in-aide system. During that time we had worked it out to where 85-90 players consistently on the football team were on full grant-in-aide.
"(Athletic trainer) Doc Anderson and I also managed to use our insurance combined with coverage that student-athletes had coming in to help reduce costs as well. We were the first in the South to do that, and other schools around here took notice. Doc Anderson also helped start that at LSU when he went there to work."
Those were just a few of the innovations that Stewart helped start at Troy, but they are some that make him proud of the work he accomplished. He also said that without the great help from Dr. Adams and Faculty Representative Fred Davis that none of that would have been possible.
"We tried to have all of the financial side in order, and in the end it helps you win," Stewart said. "When the finances are in order then everything seems to flow well. That also gave our coaches more money to go out and recruit, and that paid large dividends in the end."
Davis, of course, is fresh from a strong tournament run in the Sun Belt Tournament Championships this past season. Her Trojans marched through the 2010 version of the tournament like an army before a championship game loss.
Prior to this season her career has been largely successful on the diamond at Troy. Davis currently leads all Troy coaches in wins as she edges closer and closer to 700 in her career. She has also posted eight 40-win seasons in her tenure at Troy and a plethora of conference championships. She also has a great class of athletes coming next season to help push the Trojans to new levels as well.
To that end, she spent the week prior to her induction into the Hall of Fame on the recruiting trail, in Australia.
Saturday is a celebration for both. The patience of family and strong work ethic is what got them to this point, and the words of Joyce Stewart describe days like Saturday best.
"It's time to stop and smell the roses."
Both will be among the inductees into the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday evening. The event will take place at the Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center and will start at 7 p.m. Tickets to the event are still available for $50 each. Contact Janna Everett at 334-699-2172 for information.
A third member of the class of 2010 also has Troy tied. Terry Collins attended Troy following a career in professional baseball and has been a long-time supporter of the Trojans in his role as President of ScreenTech. Both Stewart (2005) and Collins (2009) are members of the Troy University Baseball Hall of Fame.
A hard working Troy finance professor, Stewart was once told by his wife to "stop and smell the roses". There is a time when a person should slow down and enjoy the things they have accomplished. Stewart was Troy's athletic director from 1974 until 1991, but the road he took to earn the position was much different than the norm.
"I originally came to Troy to start the finance department and to teach in 1974," Stewart said. "I had many talks with (then chancellor) Dr. Ralph Adams, and one day he came to me and asked me to take the position of athletic director."
Stewart was unsure about the endeavor in the beginning. The work load placed upon teachers is large and demanding, but to add the role of athletic director to the plate seemed like a mountain before him.
Indeed it was a mountain for Stewart, a mountain of success.
During the time when Stewart led the athletic department at Troy, the Trojans won two football national titles, two baseball national titles and almost made an appearance in the final four for men's basketball. Three of those occurred within two years.
"It was great for the university, and it brought a lot of recognition to Troy," Stewart said. "No school has ever pulled off championships in those three sports in that time span at any level, and we were very close. It was just a great time for this university."
Great success comes from nothing less than hard work though, and Stewart did things different than others.
"I'm a financial guy," Stewart said. "I had never coached before. I wasn't going to coach either. I told our coaches that they handled stuff on the field, and I handled stuff in the office. They didn't want me on the field calling plays, and I didn't want them telling me how to run the finances of the department. It worked for us, and it worked well."
Stewart commanded respect, but not through words. His respect was earned by Troy faculty and coaches through his actions. His vision and innovation helped the Trojans strive financially like never before.
"There were many things we did to stretch the dollars," Stewart said. "We worked to combine student-athletes grant-in-aide with Pell grants and other grants or scholarships they may have had so that we could maximize the potential of our grant-in-aide system. During that time we had worked it out to where 85-90 players consistently on the football team were on full grant-in-aide.
"(Athletic trainer) Doc Anderson and I also managed to use our insurance combined with coverage that student-athletes had coming in to help reduce costs as well. We were the first in the South to do that, and other schools around here took notice. Doc Anderson also helped start that at LSU when he went there to work."
Those were just a few of the innovations that Stewart helped start at Troy, but they are some that make him proud of the work he accomplished. He also said that without the great help from Dr. Adams and Faculty Representative Fred Davis that none of that would have been possible.
"We tried to have all of the financial side in order, and in the end it helps you win," Stewart said. "When the finances are in order then everything seems to flow well. That also gave our coaches more money to go out and recruit, and that paid large dividends in the end."
Davis, of course, is fresh from a strong tournament run in the Sun Belt Tournament Championships this past season. Her Trojans marched through the 2010 version of the tournament like an army before a championship game loss.
Prior to this season her career has been largely successful on the diamond at Troy. Davis currently leads all Troy coaches in wins as she edges closer and closer to 700 in her career. She has also posted eight 40-win seasons in her tenure at Troy and a plethora of conference championships. She also has a great class of athletes coming next season to help push the Trojans to new levels as well.
To that end, she spent the week prior to her induction into the Hall of Fame on the recruiting trail, in Australia.
Saturday is a celebration for both. The patience of family and strong work ethic is what got them to this point, and the words of Joyce Stewart describe days like Saturday best.
"It's time to stop and smell the roses."
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