On the heels of capturing the 2004 Missouri Valley Conference Womens Golf Championship and having the Redbirds first NCAA participant since 1983, head coach
Ray Kralis will now be the leader of both Illinois State golf program. Director of athletics Perk Weisenburger named Kralis the replacement of current mens golf coach Harland Kilborn, who is retiring in December 2004. Kilborn was Kralis coach from 1986 to 1990 at ISU.
Im excited about the opportunity after coming here as a student athlete in 1986 and having had a chance to be around Illinois State for so many years. I have a real appreciation for all that Harland did with the mens program and all that D.A. (Weibring) has continued to do for the program, Kralis said. Even looking at it from the perspective of where things were when I was a student athlete to now, the program continues to get better and better. So Im excited about building on what Harland has done and taking the same passion that I have coaching the womens team to the mens side as well.
For the last four seasons, Kralis has served as the head coach for the Redbird womens golf program and has turned it into one of the top programs in the conference. Kralis and the Birds built on a second-place finish in 2003 to win the league championship in 2004 and missed advancing to the NCAA Championships by only three strokes. With that type of production on the womens side, Kralis is obviously pleased with the way the womens program is taking shape and is looking forward to overseeing both programs.
Im also very excited about the growth and development of the womens program too, but I think my involvement previously with the mens program as an assistant has given me great insight on how a head coach and an assistant coach need to work to make it productive for the team, Kralis said. Harland was so good to me as a mentor in that role and has been there while Ive been coaching the womens team. Even though Im taking on some new challenges, Im familiar enough with it that I feel that the transition should be smooth and beneficial to the student athletes for both teams.
Kralis success with the womens program hasnt gone unnoticed by Weisenburger.
Ray has done an excellent job with our womens program, Weisenburger said. He has all the qualities needed to continue the process that both he and Harland have established in building championship golf programs at ISU. Ray is an excellent teacher of the game, has all the intangibles needed to coach young golfers to play at a championship level, and, what really impresses me is, Ray is the type of coach who constantly talks and stresses expectations to his student-athletes. He expects to win and he expects his golfers to be solid students and good citizens.
He is committed to finding a way to win and there is never any reference to why they couldnt get it done. Hes a true leader as well as a very good coach and were glad that he will be leading and coaching our golf programs at Illinois State.
For Kralis, Kilborn has been his head coach, mentor and friend. Kilborn is comfortable passing the torch to his former pupil.
I think its an ideal scenario, said Kilborn. Ray played for me, he worked for me and what he has done with the womens program is just short of fantastic. He has turned things around in a short period of time and I would anticipate him coming in and having nothing but high level mens and womens programs at Illinois State.
Kralis returns the affection.
Its special, Kralis said. Hes one of the main reasons why I want to lead this program, because I have such an appreciation for what he has done with the team and what he has done behind the scenes for the program. With my involvement in the program, both as a student athlete and a coach, I want to make sure that it is in good hands.
Kralis was a four-year letterwinner at Illinois State on the mens golf team. An all-conference selection in 1988, Kralis was also part of the 1988-89 Missouri Valley Conference championship team. He graduated cum laude in 1990 with a degree in personal finance and returned to campus in 1993 as an assistant for the mens golf team before taking the reigns of the womens program in 2000.
Associate athletics director
Larry Lyons, who serves as the administrator for both golf programs, is confident in Kralis leadership skills.
We found ourselves in a unique position with the timing of Harlands retirement and it became obvious that Ray is the right coach and it is the right time to combine the programs under his leadership., Lyons said. Rays challenge will be to build on Harlands legacy on the mens side and to continue to grow the womens side. I am very excited about the future of both programs and I look forward to continue working with Ray.
A Class A member of the Professional Golfers Association tour since December 1993, Kralis was also tabbed the 2003 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. He and his wife, Raquel, reside in Bloomington with their children Tyson (4) and Braden (1).
