Georgia Tech Athletics Donor Profile: Randy Carroll

You can hear it in Randy Carroll's voice. Whether it's a radio broadcast or a private conversation, you can tell the former baseball All-American loves Georgia Tech.

His deep devotion to the school dates back to his days as a youngster growing up in east Atlanta. He was a standout athlete at Murphy High School, and though he had great admiration for Tech, he felt his chances of attending were slim.

"It would have been a financial struggle for me to go to college," he said. "My family was not poor, but it would have taken a lot for them to pay for my education. That's really where my love for Tech started, because they allowed me to go to school and get an education."

The opportunity came in the form of a city scholarship offered by legendary baseball coach Jim Luck, who had just finished the first season of his 20-year career on The Flats.

Per NCAA rules, Carroll was relegated to the freshman team in 1964. The experience was mostly uneventful, since the squad played only a handful of games. However, it gave the industrial management major a chance to adjust to the academic rigors of the school.

The second baseman's sophomore year was a special season. He led the team in hitting with a .376 average, as well as runs scored, doubles and triples. The team went 20-8-2, recording the third-highest win total at that point in school history.

His stellar effort earned him All-America honors, and the Chicago White Sox selected Carroll in baseball's first amateur draft. However, he opted to return for his junior year and again led the team in several offensive categories.

This time the Cleveland Indians picked him in the sixth round. Carroll decided to sign this time, but he played only during the summers while continuing to work toward his degree.

Life in the minors was tough, and the pay wasn't enough to support himself and his wife Vickie, who he had married in the fall of 1966. He decided to hang up his spikes after earning his degree in 1968. He was unsure of a career path, but his wife insisted that they stay in Atlanta.

"I had plenty of job offers," he recalled. "When you went to Tech, people were knocking on your door, but my wife didn't want to leave Atlanta. At that time, there weren't a wide variety of jobs in this city."

So Carroll narrowed his offers and settled on a banking job with Trust Company of Georgia. He feels he made a "lucky" choice given that he didn't know much about the industry, but it gave him a chance to continue his relationship with Tech.

"Because Coach Luck endowed me with the opportunity to go to Tech, I've always felt like I needed to do whatever I could to put something back in the program," Carroll stated. "Consequently, I helped Coach Luck in whatever way he asked me."

Luck surprised Carroll by announcing his retirement following the 1981 season. Before Carroll had a chance to try to talk him out of it, Luck introduced his replacement, Jim Morris. Once again, Carroll pledged to do whatever he could to help the program.

"When Jim Morris came to Tech, there was a press box and wooden bleachers like you'd see at a little league park," Carroll remembered. "There was a Coke machine-- that was the concession stand.

"Jim and I did anything and everything to raise the level of the baseball program. That included selling advertising, pitching radio spots and raising money to put lights on the field. I was involved on the front end of a lot of projects.

"He got me so involved in the baseball program that half the time it seemed like I was working for Tech instead of the bank, but I enjoyed every moment of it."

Carroll points to the 1985 season as the program's turning point. Morris had led the team to winning records in his first three seasons, and the program inked its first radio contract with WCNN. Naturally, it was Carroll who was asked to provide the analysis for the broadcasts.

That year, the team won the first of four consecutive ACC titles and began a string of 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Since that time, the Tech record books have been rewritten thanks to spectacular players and marvelous teams.

In 1994, while serving as a member of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association Board of Trustees, Carroll was asked by Athletic Director Dr. Homer C. Rice to chair the committee to find Jim Morris' successor. He is quite proud of the selection of Danny Hall who has continued the tradition of excellence in the program and has "become my friend like Jim Luck and Jim Morris."

"It's amazing when you think about it," Carroll said. "The program, from modest beginnings, has become what I believe to be one of the top ten programs in the country. I don't think there's much better combination of academics and athletics anywhere."

And Carroll has been one of the driving reasons behind the success. In the broadcast booth, he's entering his 19th season. "He's such a tremendous baseball resource, whether it's college, Tech or the ACC," according to Wes Durham, his broadcast partner over the past eight years. "What makes him special is his ability to recall all that knowledge. He can compare and contrast players from different eras, and not many people can match that."

Few have matched Carroll's support for the program over the years. He's a Life Member of the Alexander-Tharpe Fund, and his friends have endowed a baseball scholarship in Carroll's name that is awarded each year to a member of the team who exemplifies the ideals of the true student-athlete.

His office at Mountain National Bank, where he's the President and CEO, is decorated with Tech memorabilia. He shares plenty of memories of the players and coaches that have come through the program. The two trips to the College World Series have been among the highlights, and catcher Jason Varitek was his choice as the best player he's ever seen at Georgia Tech. He truly values the relationships developed with all the former Tech players.

"I'm at the point that I love the program so much that whatever is the best interest of the program is fine with me. It's been a real privilege to be a part of something that's produced so many special people. I can't imagine my life without it."