PROVO -- BYU officials were forward-thinking when they unveiled a new look for the athletic department Monday morning. But when it came to selecting a new baseball coach, which was also announced Monday, they looked to their past not to mention a prominent name.
Vance Law, who played for the Cougar baseball program in the 1970s and later enjoyed an 11-year major league career, will replace his old coach, Gary Pullins."It is a privilege to carry on the tradition coach Pullins and Glen Tuckett have established when I played for them," Law said. "This is a wonderful opportunity. With the administration's commitment to upgrade the facilities, I hope to make this sport self-sufficient so that the people in the community will want to support it just like football and basketball."
In June, Pullins was reassigned as a BYU assistant athletic director and was part of the search committee that chose Law.
Law has had chances in the last few years to coach elsewhere, but he declined, hoping that the BYU position would one day be his.
"My roots are here," he said. "My blood is blue."
The hiring marks Val Hale's first as BYU's athletic director.
"We had some very impressive candidates," Hale said. "Vance emerged as the frontrunner once we looked closely at his remarkable credentials.
"He brings a level of excitement as we continue to upgrade our baseball program. His experience as a two-sport student-athlete, as a professional baseball player, and his initiatives as a coach will take us in an exciting direction for the new century."
Law, an infielder and outfielder, played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1978-81), Chicago White Sox (1982-84), Montreal Expos (1985-87), Chicago Cubs (1988-89) and Oakland Athletics (1991). In 1988, he was named to the All-Star team as a third baseman.
Since 1995, Law has coached at Provo High School, where he compiled a 64-55 record and led the Bulldogs to the 1997 state championship. Prior to that, he served two seasons as an assistant coach at Utah Valley State College in 1993-94.
A Provo High graduate, Law was a three-time All-Western Athletic Conference shortstop at BYU, where he played from 1974-78. He was also a starting guard on the Cougar basketball team, lettering in that sport from 1975-77.
His father, Vernon, is a former Cy Young Award pitcher in 1960 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was a member of the All-Star team. Vernon Law spent 11 seasons as a BYU assistant coach from 1969-79.
Vance Law is the 10th coach in BYU baseball history, dating back to 1909.
"My goal is to help the program retain the status it's always had," he said.
Among the other candidates interviewed for the job were BYU assistants Bob Noel and Dave Eldredge; Dixie College coach Mike Littlewood; and Utah Valley State College coach Steve Gardner. Law said he will choose his assistants from the pool of those who interviewed for the head coach position.