Vance Law Brigham Young University Cougars

When legendary Brigham Young University baseball coach Gary Pullins stepped down for the head hardball position after the 1999 season he left some pretty big shoes to fill. As top Cougar Pullins had compiled a 913-462-6 record (ranking 16th among active division I coaches in wins), lead BYU to seven WAC titles and reached the NCAA tournament nine times. Thus, it was pretty strange on the surface when the coaching torch was passed to a someone who never coached college baseball other than volunteering at a junior college for two years. However that someone was former major league all-star and former dual-sport Cougar athlete, Vance Law. Law is now in his ninth year at the helm of BYU baseball and in eight plus seasons has compiled a record of 280-226-2 (15-23, 2008) and led the Cougars to a first or second place finish in five of eight seasons with third or fourth place results the other three.

Law’s foray into coaching was a serendipitous excursion. After going to one of his son’s high school games at his own former alma mater of Provo High School, Law noticed that the players lacked respect for the game. The team wore their hat backwards and one player even wore mismatched socks for attention. Law contacted the school and took over the position where he led the Bulldogs to 64-55 record in five seasons which included winning the Utah state title in 1997. When BYU needed someone to take over their program, Law applied and earned the position.

In 2000, his first year as head coach, the Law led Cougars finished 29-29 to place third in the Mountain West Conference. Their season was highlighted by a sweep of nationally ranked Arizona in a two-game series as well as an upset of the number two team in land, Alabama. The away win in Tuscaloosa put the kibosh on a 15-game Crimson Tide home winning streak. In 2001 Law was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Cougars to the MWC title with a 38-22 record. The sophomore coach’s success that season included upsets against perennial college baseball powers Cal State Fullerton as well as Oral Roberts. The last three years BYU was finished second in MWC and concluded with overall records of 39-19, 33-28 and 37-20.

As a player, Law played 10 years in the major leagues as both an infielder and outfielder. His best season was in 1988 when he was selected to the All Star Game and compiled a .293 batting average, 163 hits and 78 RBI for the Chicago Cubs. During his MLB career Law spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1978-81), Chicago White Sox (1982-84), Montreal Expos (1985-87), Chicago Cubs (1988-89), and Oakland Athletics (1991). He also played for the Chunichi Dragons in Nagoya, Japan played in 1990. In 1984 Law established a unique American League record as he played 25 innings at third base in a single game without committing an error. A gifted athlete, who is also the son of Cy Young Award winner Vern Law, he also took to the mound at the end of seven lopsided games during his career. In eight innings, Law only gave up three earned runs for a 3.38 ERA and only allowed nine hits, three walks and struck out two.

Before playing in the major leagues Law was a three-time All-Western Athletic Conference shortstop at BYU from 1974-78. Additionally he was the Cougar’s starting guard on the BYU basketball team for three seasons (1975-77). In 1999, when Sports Illustrated compiled each state’s 50 greatest athletes from the 20th Century, Law was placed 19th on Utah’s list of athletes.

PREVIOUS COACH SPOTLIGHTS

	George Horton	Oregon Ducks
	Nick Restaino	Fordham Rams
	Dan Callahan	Southern Illinois Salukis
	Mervyl Melendez	Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
	Rob Walton	Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
	Mike McRae	Canisius Golden Griffins
	Frank Leoni	William & Mary Tribe
	Brad Hill	Kansas State Wildcats
	Jim Toman	Liberty Flames