The baseball team will wear "RC" patches on the sleeves of their white uniforms this season to honor former Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone. The Anteaters are forever indebted to Chancellor Cicerone's vision and efforts.
"UCI baseball held a special place in the heart of Chancellor Ralph Cicerone. It may surprise some to know that among Chancellor Cicerone's many interests, achievements, and accomplishments, he had a genuine love for baseball, and specifically UCI baseball. It was because of Chancellor Cicerone's determination to resurrect baseball at UCI in the late 90s that he enlisted the support of others in the athletic department and among the students, and a successful referendum was brought to the students and passed allowing baseball to once again be played at UCI after a 10-year abscence. The number of students and staff impacted for a lifetime by this successful effort is incalculable," head coach Mike Gillespie said.
"Even after Ralph left UCI to assume new duties in Washington D.C., he continued to closely follow Anteater baseball via the internet and personal contact with friends who also cared about the 'Eaters. On his occasional trips back to Orange County, he without fail stopped by Cicerone Field to check in, lend his support, and he rarely missed an Alumni Game in early February. We all lost a great friend in Ralph Cicerone, he is missed,a nd will continue to be missed."
Cicerone became the university's fourth Chancellor in 1998, and with it, he brought his passion for athletics and baseball. The department was without a baseball program after it was cut following the 1992 season. In the spring of 1999, a grass-roots effort between Cicerone, athletic director Dan Guerrero, and five captains from UC Irvine athletic programs issued a referendum for students to vote to acquire the funding to bring baseball back to UC Irvine.
Following its approval, ground was broken on Anteater Ballpark January 25, 2001. Anteater baseball was up and running in 2002, and has returned to its rightful place among the top programs in the nation.
Among being a leading expert on the causes of global climate change and heading the National Academy of Sciences which helped advise the Obama administration, Cicerone never lost his passion for baseball. Even as an established professor in 1980, he got the chance to be an announcer for the San Diego Padres leaving him with a tough decision on which avenue to pursue.
While stationed in Washington D.C., Cicerone would stay connected to the program even stopping by to check in on the facilities. In May of 2009, Cicerone and the ballpark became one-in-the-same as he was honored by having the field named in his honor.
