Does being a Division I athlete as an undergraduate sound hard? Try getting a Master of Science and Applied Finance and playing on the basketball team at the same time. That’s exactly what Waves basketball player Brendan Lane is doing.
Lane signed on with the Pepperdine basketball team after receiving his bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA last spring. With the Bruins, Lane started in five games during the 2011-2012 season. He averaged three points and three rebounds each game and played a total of 125 minutes. He finished the 2011-2012 season in fourth place on the team in overall blocks with 25. At the end of his senior year in 2012, Lane was awarded with the UCLA Faculty Athletic Representative Award/Academic Achievement and Team Contribution at UCLA’s sports banquet.
The newest member of the Waves began his master’s degree program this Fall semester. Though the program is typically completed in only one year, Lane has decided to stretch out his course schedule in order to play on the Pepperdine basketball team. When I asked him why he chose to attend Pepperdine for graduate school, Lane said he believed that Pepperdine was the perfect combination of basketball and school. He attributed much of his decision to his admiration for second-year basketball coach Marty Wilson.
“I like the way Coach Wilson is steering this program and bringing in a lot of discipline,” Lane commented. He believes that he, along with his other teammates and coaching staff, can make a big impact on the Pepperdine basketball program and get it back to where it needs to be.
There are some obvious differences between UCLA and Pepperdine University. For example, UCLA has approximately 21,000 undergraduate students, while Seaver College only has 3,100 undergraduate students. Aside from the noticeable difference in size, Lane said that “the attitude among the players was the biggest difference between the two basketball programs.”
He believes that Pepperdine basketball players act more like a team and the coaches seem much more involved with the lives of their players. “They are always checking up on you,” Lane added.
In addition to the differences between athletic programs, Lane has also noticed a distinct difference between being an undergraduate student and graduate student trying to balance both school and sports. He says the biggest difference is the length of classes and the reading load. With his graduate classes, which are almost double the length of his undergraduate classes, Lane has noticed a significant increase in the amount of homework he receives. He admits that it requires a greater time commitment in graduate school to stay on top of his work. Though the transition has required some adjustments, Lane believes that his years of experience in undergraduate school at UCLA have helped ease the change.
Though it is difficult and time consuming to attend school and be a part of an athletic team, Lane still finds time to enjoy his hobbies. When Lane is not in the classroom or on the basketball court, he likes to watch TV, play video games, hang out with friends and go to the beach. He says that it is important for him to have time to relax.
