Carolinian

Issue date: 10/3/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: JOHN READ/THE CAROLINIAN GOAL: Mark Schumacher celebrates a goal scored in UNCG's recent win over Coastal Carolina. Schumacher has been watching athletics at UNCG since the early 80s.

You've seen him at games. You've seen him at the library. You've seen him throwing Frisbee on the EUC lawn. Chances are, you've seen him these places and everywhere else in between. The man is Mark Schumacher, reference librarian and Spartan super fan for 28 years.

Schumacher, 58, has led an interesting life. Although he has stayed in Greensboro for nearly three decades, the man is well traveled.

Born in California, Schumacher lived in Hawaii and France as a child before returning to California to attend Stanford University. After earning a degree in French Literature at Stanford, he headed across the country to Buffalo to pursue his Masters in Library Science.

Schumacher vividly remembers stumbling upon UNCG in the spring of '78.

"I came down and interviewed and the azaleas were in bloom-it was gorgeous," recalls Schumacher. "I flew back into the Buffalo airport and it was snowing so I told myself that was probably a sign to take the job [in Greensboro]."

Watching games hasn't been Schumacher's only passion since arriving on campus, but he has been attending athletic events since the early 80s.

"I don't really remember if I watched a lot of (UNCG) games when I first got here, because I was playing a lot of Ultimate Frisbee. I still play, and when I'm with the kids on the team now and they give me a hard time for not warming up, I tell 'em that I warmed up in the 70s."

Students have likely seen Schumacher doing activities outside of yelling at games or working in the library. He has immersed himself fully into the university by joining numerous boards and committees. Schumacher is on the Student Conduct Panel, the Student-athlete committee, is a Faculty Advisor for men's and women's Ultimate Frisbee, and works with the International Program Center that interviews students who wish to study abroad.

The reason for his high level of involvement is simply to find ways to interact with and help students. "Getting to know the students keeps me young. I love being at this university, because getting to know the kids is what I enjoy," Schumacher says proudly.

Students relate well to Schumacher, which doesn't come as a big surprise to him.

"I'm very informal, and a lot of faculty may worry about status and turf and stuff like that. But as a reference librarian, there's not a lot of turf to defend. We're not trying to get ahead of each other in the library.

"Just being willing to smile at kids and say 'hi' to them makes a difference, I would like to think."

The majority of students probably recognize Schumacher from his antics in the stands. Schumacher claims to keep it clean and that the refs are usually his main targets. UNCG Athletics Director Nelson Bobb agrees - for the most part.

"He's pretty loud at the games and sometimes he comes close to crossing the line, and in fact, has crossed the line at times over the years as far as what he says at games.

"But he's been pretty good lately and I appreciate the fact that Mark does his homework. He's very bright and is a real student of the game. At the end of the day, he's just a character, and that's what I like the most about him."

Schumacher has several unforgettable moments as a fan (see box), and talks candidly of his experiences. He stops short of labeling himself as UNCG's biggest fan, despite the track record.

"There are a number of people who I see at games all the time. There are a lot of very dedicated fans - students and some faculty. Not a lot of faculty, but some dedicated ones. I'll say I'm one of the most ardent fans here."

With almost three decades at the school, Schumacher isn't far from leaving if he so chooses. But the reference librarian is also tied to UNC Greensboro through his wife, Pam McRrae, who is the Assistant Director of the Honors College. With so much invested in the university, Schumacher isn't sure when he will actually leave. Retirement is possible soon enough, but he says he's not sure he'll quit if he's still enjoying his job.

Working or not, it's a safe bet to see him in the stands for a few more decades.



MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Men's basketball Southern Conference championship (2001)
at Greenville. versus Chattanooga:

"We're down a point with 2.5 seconds to go and jay Joseph throws a three-quarter court pass to David Schuck at the top of the key. Schuck was supposed to pass it to one of our guards. Nobody was open though, so Schuck took a dribble and layed it in left-handed with
four tenths of a second left to win the game."

Women's Basketball (1996) at Radford:

"This game was much less important because it wasn't a championship game, but I'm literally the only UNCG fan there and we end up winning against an undefeated (at home) Radford team on the road. We beat them 71-64 with two of our best players out and a Radford parent gets right in my face and threatens me to quit cheering."

Women's soccer (1999) at Old Dominion

"I remember one particular women's soccer game for a bad reason. At Old Dominion in '99 I went up to see the season opener, and late in the first half there was a collision at midfield. Our star and incredible midfielder Lynsey McLean was involved and broke her leg in three places. Pa'tra Glavin later collided with the goalie and broke five ribs. They lost Pa'tra for several games and Lynsey for the season. That was a low moment as a fan."

Womens soccer (1998) NCAA Tournament game versus Vanderbilt:

"The head coach Jack Poland took me as an academic advisor that year to the NCAA game versus Vanderbilt. We were beaten badly (5-1) but late in the game Ali Lord scored the last goal of her career, which gave her 78 goals for her career, breaking the tie with Jason Haupt
for the all-time goals lead in UNCG soccer."


MOST MEMORABLE SPARTANS

Baseball - Ryan Gordon: "Gordo was great. That one year he had was incredible and he was our first, First Team All-American.

Cross Country/Track -- Jeff Williams: "I like Jeff a great deal. He's just a really nice guy and a great runner."

Women's Basketball - Chorhonda Gwaltney: "She was a great left-handed guard. She was always so upbeat, energetic, and smiling."

Men's Basketball - Kyle Hines: "Kyle is going to break all of our basketball records. He could be the first player of ours to score 2,000 points."

Men's soccer - Siggi Eyjolfsson: "Randi (Patterson) is very exciting now, but I have to go back to Siggi (Eyjolfsson). He was a great student, making All-American on and off the field."

Women's soccer - Ali Lord: "She's an easy choice because of how dominant she was."

Volleyball - Rayna Taylor: "She was a great player that died in the off-season at only about 20 years of age. She won Freshman of the Year and was a very talented player, and now I believe the award is named after her."

Softball - Leigh Irwin: "I never saw her hit a ball more than 40 feet. She slapped it around and led the conference in steals. Just a tiny player that was exciting to watch."

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