POMONA, Calif. - Martial Thirsk, a member of Cal Poly Pomona's Class of 1965, received the university's Distinguished Alumni Award Friday in a ceremony held at Kellogg West.
In delivering his acceptance speech, Thirsk focused on the importance of family in his life and also how the Cal Poly Pomona student-athlete experience prepared him for his career. He now leads a family-owned accounting firm in Manhattan Beach.
In an interview Tuesday with BroncoAthletics.com, Thirsk said: "As a student at Cal Poly Pomona, I always felt the faculty and staff provided plenty of help but I also felt that the 'learn by doing' philosophy taught me to be independent. It was a great combination."
Thirsk served as a key member of the 1962-63 and 1963-64 Broncos' men's basketball teams and he still keeps in constant contact with his former teammates while also following and supporting the current CPP athletic teams.
Under the leadership of then head coach Bob Stull, the Broncos went 23-6 during the 1963-64 campaign to reach the NCAA National Finals in Evansville.
"We were an undersized team but we hustled and played good defense," Thirsk said. "It showed me that if you work hard enough, you can accomplish a lot."
In an archived team yearbook, Coach Stull was quoted as owing much of his success in that year to a deep bench that enabled him to substitute freely without hurting the effectiveness of the squad. Through Thirsk's two years in the program, the Broncos went a combined 40-15.
"We're very proud of what Martial has achieved and his commitment to our men's basketball program through the years," head coach
Greg Kamansky said. "It was an honor for our coaching staff to be in attendance Friday at Martial's ceremony.'
Along with Thirsk, eight others were honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award Friday:
Dan Stark (College of Agriculture, Class of 1981)
A. Barry Hirschfeld (College of Business Administration, Class of 1964)
Rebecca Summers (C. of Education & Integrative Studies, Class of 2008)
Terri Deer (College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences, Class of 1984)
Martin J. Colombatto (College of Engineering, Class of 1982)
Frank O. Bostrom (College of Environmental Design, Class of 1973)
Scott D. Kerby (College of Science, Class of 1979)
Paul Kramer (The Collins College of Hospitality Management, Class of 1993)
