by Josh Goff
Sports Editor

When it came time to look for a successor to the retiring Ron Marvel, UCA didn’t have to search very far. All that was needed was a look one seat down the bench or a quick glance halfway up the Farris Center seats. The next Sugar Bears head basketball coach has already been looking over the program for years.

High above the court, behind the home bench, the likeness of decorated Sugar Bear Checola Seals graces the arena, a constant reminder of her ultra-successful playing days. Seals, the all-time leading scorer in Sugar Bears history, was named to replace Marvel on Friday, March 19 after spending five years as assistant coach.

“I can’t express in words how happy I am,” Seals said. “This is definitely a blessing.”

The announcement of Seals as new coach came only four days after Marvel announced his retirement, a sure sign the administration knew who it wanted from the outset.

“The events happened in such rapid succession,” Athletic Director Vance Strange said. “Monday I was home sick, and I got a call from Coach Marvel and he told me ‘I want to visit with you,’ and I told him to come on over. He sat at the table and presented me with his letter of resignation. The most remarkable thing was at the bottom of that letter. There was one sentence saying ‘I recommend Checola Seals to be my replacement.’”

Coming from the man who is firmly entrenched as the godfather of Sugar Bears basketball, that recommendation carried a lot of weight.

“Coach Marvel looked at me and told me ‘Vance, she’s ready to do the job.’” Strange said. “The next day I invited Checola to come to my house to discuss her interest to be Sugar Bears head coach. I could see in her eyes, in the smile on her face, that this was of extreme importance to get this job, to cherish this job, to carry on the tradition. It’s a difficult challenge. She’s up to it, and she’s ready to go to work.”

Carrying on the tradition is something Seals said was important to her, maintaining the value of loyalty held by Marvel.

“It is exciting because everyone’s not allowed to have this honor,” Seals said. “To play here then to come back and possibly finish your coaching career here is awesome. Coach Marvel’s groomed me for this job since the first day I walked on campus. I knew it was coming when I came back to Arkansas to be his assistant and he started really grooming me for the job. That was the plan — for me to come back and carry on the legacy.”

UCA President Lu Hardin had high praise for Seals, calling her the only person capable of filling Marvel’s shoes.

“We have an extraordinary person, one of the great women’s basketball players this state’s ever produced,” Hardin said. “More importantly than that, we have a person just like Ron Marvel who lives, eats and breathes an important part of life next to her family and faith —Sugar Bear basketball. The great tradition we have here is being passed from one committed Sugar Bear to another. There is no one else but this individual who can do this.”

Following in the footsteps of a man whose accolades cast such a large shadow might seem unnerving to some, but not Seals.

“Am I worried about it? No,” she said. “I just want to work hard. We’re going to take those expectations in stride. We’re excited.”

Before officially announcing Seals as the new coach, Strange gave way to Marvel at the podium so the outgoing coach could say a few words about the incoming one.

“I’ve loved every minute (of my time here),” a teary-eyed Marvel said. “My proudest accomplishment is that Cendey Roberts is tennis coach at UCA, Steve East is the SID, Darrell Walsh, my very best friend, is assistant AD, Natalie Shock is the softball coach, and now Checola Seals, who I love dearly, is the women’s basketball coach.”

With Seals having been on staff since 1999 and in charge of recruiting the past few seasons, the transition should be a smooth one.

“That is a plus,” Seals said. “Our kids are the kids I’ve recruited. They know me, and I know them. You won’t notice a difference; the gameplan that has been run isn’t going to change. My expectations will be the same as Coach Marvel had.”

If Seals has learned anything from Marvel, it is love for Sugar Bears basketball.

“I will always bleed purple and gray,” she said. “This is my home, my family. I want to be a part of this university the rest of my life.

“I am a Sugar Bear, nothing else. I am a Sugar Bear.”