June 2, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz.- Arizona State head baseball coach Pat Murphy has been named coach of the Dutch Olympic Baseball Team for the Sydney 2000 Games, Dutch Baseball Federation President Berry Eijgendaal announced.
"This is a great opportunity and I'm excited to be a part of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney," Murphy said. "I'm honored to be in this position and look forward to the challenges ahead."
The 2000 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Murphy recently completed his sixth season at the helm of the ASU program, guiding the Sun Devils to a 44-15 record and their third postseason appearance in four years. With a 605-294-3 record in 16 seasons, he is the winningest active coach under the age of 43.
No stranger to international baseball, Murphy's ties to the Dutch team stretch back more than a decade. In the summer of 1987, he led Holland to the European Championship, a victory that qualified the squad for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Murphy was asked to coach the team at the Seoul Olympics, but declined so he could return to the University of Notre Dame, where he had recently been named the new head coach.
The Dutch Olympic Team will compete under Murphy's guidance in a pre-Olympic tournament in Haarlem (the Netherlands) August 4-14. The tournament field includes the U.S. National Team, comprised of college players. The Dutch contingent will leave Holland for Sydney on September 2. Murphy's wife, Argee, is expecting the couple's first child sometime in late August or early September.