When Tim Mickelson was offered the head-coaching job for the ASU men’s golf team, he asked his brother Phil for advice.
“I talked to my brother a lot about it,” Mickelson said. “He said, ‘Look, I want you in San Diego because you’re my brother and because we’d spend more time together, but I want you at Arizona State in order to bring that program back to what it should be.’”
In the end, Tim knew where he wanted to be.
“Ultimately, I wanted the challenge to win national championships, and I know I’ve got a better chance here than where I was.”
Not that USD was a bad place to be for Mickelson. In his last three years at the helm, the Toreros finished in the top-25 each season.
“When I took over at the University of San Diego, I was told by everybody that I would not be successful, that it couldn’t happen because of the resources.”
What Mickelson did do was take USD to their first three NCAA appearances in the program’s history. In eight years with USD he took the program from the cellar of the WCC to a conference powerhouse.
“When this opportunity came up, I looked at it as another challenge, to take what I call the second-most storied program in the country back to prominence,” Mickelson said.
The process is going to several years, but things may be shaping up in Mickelson’s favor earlier than expected. All of ASU’s starters from last year’s team have graduated, leaving the squad a shell of what it was last season.
In most other situations that would be a huge problem, but it suits Mickelson just fine.
“I’m going to be able to bring in my own philosophy of coaching and how I approach practices, and with only three returners, the new guys aren’t going to know anything different,” he said.
The first order of business for Mickelson is to establish a strong recruiting culture.
“We’re going to have a three-pronged approach to recruitment,” he said. “I’m going to try to recruit the best Arizona kid I can every year, I’m going to try to recruit the best American I can every year, and I’m going to try to recruit the best international kid I can every year.”
As long as this format works, it shouldn’t be too long before the Sun Devils are making waves at the NCAAs, Mickelson said.
“I would expect that in three or four years, we’re going to be back in that top five or 10 competing for national championships.”
Mickelson has a history at ASU, but it’s been over a decade since Mickelson has worn the maroon and gold.
He played for the Sun Devils for three seasons from 1995 to 1998, and was a part of the famed squad that won the national title in 1996.
A lack of playing time at ASU forced Mickelson to head elsewhere, and he closed out his college career at Oregon State. But he doesn’t forget what drew him to Tempe in the first place.
“When I came out of high school, if you wanted to play college golf at the highest level, you looked at two schools: Oklahoma State and Arizona State,” he said. “It feels great to be back. I loved my three years here. The only reason I really transferred is I needed play more to see if I was good enough to turn professional.”
Mickelson even said he was excited to be able to attend ASU football games. He met Dennis Erickson during his time at Oregon State, and said the football coach called him the day he was hired to congratulate him.
Erickson’s sentiments have largely been echoed around the ASU community, and the excitement around the men’s golf team has been growing.
But Mickelson knows from experience that building up a program takes time, and it may be a while before the team is dominant again.
“One thing I always tell my players, is no one good or bad day defines you.”
