Shannon Scores Top Coaching Spot

Widely considered one of the best defensive coordinators in the country, Randy Shannon, B.S. ’89, has stepped into the driver’s seat in Hurricanes Football.

“It’s my dream job—always has been,” says Shannon, appointed new head coach in December, just as this issue of Miami magazine was going to press.

Having been on the Hurricanes’ roster for three out of five of the team’s national championship victories—first as a linebacker and then as an assistant coach—Shannon is a mainstay of the football program. A four-year letterman at UM and recipient of the Christopher Plumer Award for most inspirational player as a senior in 1988, he played for the Dallas Cowboys for two seasons before going into coaching. He was a graduate assistant at UM in 1991 when the Hurricanes won their fourth national title, and in 1992 he became a full-time assistant coach. Shannon left the University in 1998 to serve as defensive assistant with the Miami Dolphins. He returned in 2001 as defensive coordinator, becoming the first UM coach to receive the Frank Broyles Award, presented annually to the nation’s top assistant coach.

“This program is not on the downslide,” Shannon says. “We’re going to do a lot of great things here for the community, for the school, and for the football program. We’re going to have accountability, discipline, and a lot of emotion to do the right thing.”

Despite a 6-6 record this season, the Hurricanes’ defense under Shannon’s tutelage ranked fifth in the country in total defense (allowing only 252.1 yards per game), fourth in rushing defense (66 yards a game), and 12th in scoring defense (15.1). A native of Miami, Shannon becomes the 20th head coach and the first black coach in UM history. He replaces Larry Coker.

Look for a more extensive profile of Randy Shannon in the next issue of Miami magazine.

A Stable Environment

Junior-year criminology major Jaya Krutulis was thrilled to discover a well-established equestrian team when she arrived at the University of Miami from Evergreen, Colorado. From age 10 to 14, she spent every day riding Arabian horses, training during the week and competing on the weekends. After a high school hiatus from the sport, she was ready to, well, get back on the horse.

Last semester Krutulis took the reins as president of the UM Equestrian Team, which is the only non-varsity sport at the University of Miami to have an endowment. Five years after its 1997 launch, the UM Equestrian Team received a gift from Citizens Board member Barton S. Goldberg, B.B.A. ’56, J.D. ’57, and his family to help subsidize expenses such as uniforms, equipment, and transportation to Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competitions. In October Krutulis and 15 of her teammates competed at the University of Florida, where they snagged a fourth-place overall finish out of 11 schools.

“In the last three to four years, I have been receiving inquiries from parents whose children are considering UM because we have an equestrian team. This never happened before,” says Maria Linares, team advisor and director of facilities and services for the James L. Knight International Center and the John J. Koubek Memorial Center. A longtime equine enthusiast, Linares once owned seven horses, including two Florida state champions and one Georgia state champion.

Krutulis attributes much of the team’s success to Karen Flynn, a hunter-jumper trainer contracted by the team since last year. Members of the team train with Flynn two to three times a week. Krutulis trains with Anisette, a chestnut warmblood mare that she leases from Flynn.

“When you win with a horse, you know it and they know it,” Krutulis says of the horse-rider relationship. “They perk up and feel good about themselves. You can tell by their demeanor.”

Spectators can cheer on the UM Equestrian Team at home competitions, held at Tropical Park on Bird Road in Miami.