萨克拉门托州’s new athletics director considered what he’d say to the Hornets football team in the preseason.

He hoped to inspire the players, rally them, get them fired up and impress on them the magnitude of the college football experience – because he knows firsthand it will be with them forever. 所以，Mark Orr专注于很久以前的一款游戏中的一个时刻。

他的加州熊队在对阵亚利桑那州立大学的路上。 他是一名大三学生，打防守后卫。

“It’s 100 degrees,” Orr said, pacing in front of the 囊状态 players as if some championship was on the line. “We’re sucking wind. We’ve got to get off the field. We can’t depend on our coaches. 我们在场边几乎听不到他们的声音。 We’re down. We’re looking each other. 我们知道必须有人来演戏。

"They’re looking at me. I’m fortunate to break up a pass, and we end up winning the game."

No longer pacing, he said: “It’s funny the things you remember. When I see old teammates, we don’t talk about bowl game celebrations. 我们谈到亚利桑那州立大学的那次开车。

"There’s something about being there for your teammate, your brother, being in the huddle, in the foxhole. You will always have that bond.”

Animated and energetic, Orr, 41, took over as 囊状态’s athletics director in 2017年4月, ending a 16-year career at St. Mary's College of California where, in 2006 at age 29, he was the youngest Division I athletics director in the country.

马克·奥尔（左），博彩平台体育主任，在夏季训练期间与黄蜂队后卫哈里尔先生交谈。 （博彩平台/Jessica Vernone）

His decision to leave St. Mary’s brought him home to 萨克拉门托, where he was raised, and back to football, his first love and something he had missed since St. Mary's disbanded its football program in 2004, while Orr was the school's associate AD.

“I wanted to be back near family and to raise my sons in 萨克拉门托, but one of the main reasons I’m here is you guys,” Orr told the 囊状态 players during that preseason talk. “The opportunity to be back with a football program, back competing at this level, I can’t tell you how excited I am.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could play again. 这永远不会离开我。 它永远不会离开你。 We have 21 sports at 囊状态, but there is nothing like football.”

奥尔在20世纪90年代初是基督教兄弟高中的一名出色的橄榄球运动员，既担任跑卫，也担任防守后卫。 A 萨克拉门托 Bee sportswriter once characterized him as “a terror” on the field. 他是猎鹰队10年来第一个单赛季跑进至少1000码的球员，冲进了1582码，触地得分15次。 在防守端，他有39次抢断和4次拦截。 奥尔在篮球、棒球和田径方面也很出色，在课堂上也是如此。

在来到萨克州立大学工作之前，他对大黄蜂球场很熟悉。 小时候，奥尔帮助他的伙伴们偷偷溜进橄榄球场。 奥尔经常在铜锣精英赛（Causeway Classic）的看台上观看，这是一年一度的萨克州立大学与加州大学戴维斯分校（uc Davis）的对决。在基督教兄弟大学（Christian Brothers）期间，他在圣碗（Holy Bowl）中与对手耶稣会（Jesuit）比赛，当时有1.8万名球迷在场。

1994年高中毕业后，奥尔接受了加州大学伯克利分校的足球奖学金。 四个赛季的三次膝盖重建手术最终让他失去了球员的身份，但也让他走上了现在在博彩平台的道路。

“There’s that moment when your playing career is done, and you wonder, what do I do with my life?” 奥尔说。 “I wanted to stay involved with sports, but I didn’t have the passion for coaching.”

His academic advisor recommended that he intern in Cal’s athletics department during his senior year. Orr later became the university’s fulltime NCAA compliance specialist.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in social welfare in 1999 and master’s in education in 2000. He soon was hired by St. Mary’s College as assistant athletics director for student services and compliance and, in 2006, he made history by becoming the country’s youngest college athletics director.

Orr managed St. Mary’s 17-team intercollegiate program. 在他的领导下，盖尔人队17次进入NCAA季后赛，7支球队赢得了分区冠军。 该学院还破土动工了一个价值3000万美元的体育和娱乐设施。

As happy as Orr was at St. Mary’s, the opportunity to lead 囊状态’s 21-team Division I athletics program proved irresistible.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mark Orr and his family back to 萨克拉门托 where they belong,” 囊状态 President Robert S. Nelsen said during a 2017年3月 news conference at 油井. “His experiences on the football field at Christian Brothers and Cal, plus his experience as a successful, established director of athletics at Saint Mary’s, make him the perfect candidate to lead the Hornets to preeminence in the Big Sky Conference and the nation.”

奥尔和他的妻子阿普丽尔是一名教师，他们有两个儿子：10岁的泰森·马克和8岁的雅各布·威廉。 这些男孩已经在萨克拉门托的青少年体育舞台上留下了自己的印记，他们踢足球、棒球、篮球和足球。

体育总监马克·奥尔（右）与萨克州立大学角卫教练c·j·考克斯谈论足球。 （博彩平台/Jessica Vernone）

Orr’s parents, 辛西娅 and Greg Orr, reared their three children in south 萨克拉门托. 马克和妹妹蒂亚毕业于基督教兄弟学校，他们的哥哥克里斯是该校的校长。 蒂亚是一名高中垒球明星，后来在加州大学戴维斯分校打球。 She and Mark wore the No. 11, a tradition started by their grandfather Clarence “Tiger” Orr, who played football for C.K. McClatchy High in the 1940s.

辛西娅·奥尔（辛西娅 Orr）在抚养孩子的同时，在州保险部门工作了35年。 Greg Orr played football (quarterback) and baseball (outfield) for 萨克拉门托’s John F. Kennedy High in the late 1960s. He later was a part of 萨克拉门托 City College’s powerful baseball program. 老奥尔担任美国职业棒球大联盟球探已有40多年，主要为纽约洋基队效力，现在是明尼苏达双城队。 他于2015年入选萨克拉门托棒球名人堂。

It’s no surprise that athleticism and a competitive fire are a part of Mark Orr’s DNA. He said he hopes his leadership will inspire many wins for 囊状态’s student athletes.

“I love competition,” he said in an interview after his pep talk to the football team. “There’s no reason to settle for mediocrity. 我们所有的项目都有才华横溢的学生运动员。 Winning is a priority, and there are a lot of ways you can build a winning program.”

It starts, he says, with “recruiting the right student athletes, hiring the right coaches, and having the right people in place to do that. 我们需要资源来支持这些人。 一个活动中心是它的重要组成部分。 我们必须完成这个项目，不仅是为了我们体育项目的未来，也是为了我们所有学生的未来。 我们还需要继续改善现有的体育设施。

“And, we have tell our story,” he says. “萨克拉门托州 has always been so humble. That’s a good quality, but it’s OK to have a little swagger, to boast about the achievements happening on this campus.”

正如他告诉足球运动员的那样：

“You have an opportunity to do something very, very, very, very, very special, and trust me, you will remember this for the rest of your lives. 拥抱它，享受它，去战斗，努力和身体对抗。 That’s the fun part. 带着自信和自信去做。

“I’m going to do everything I can to give you everything you need to be successful. I’m committed to it. 我想赢。 I’m a competitor. I’ve never lost that.” – 迪克西•里德