They say that no one is a prophet in his land. When we talk outside the Region of Murcia about José Luis Mendoza, president and founder of the San Antonio de Murcia Catholic University (UCAM), a large percentage of people talk to us about a person in charge of the university for Olympic athletes, about the entity that has tried to import the successful sports model of American universities into Spain, and which became, in Rio 2016, the university in the world with the most medals in an Olympic Games.
This milestone for the Murcian university began around two decades ago, when Juanma Molina, one of the most important athletes in the history of the Region, decided to go to Mendoza and the UCAM to seek help, both at an academic level, to finish his studies. university, as economic.
In the wake of Juanma, especially after the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, hundreds of the best Olympic and Paralympic athletes in our country, such as David Cal and Teresa Perales (the first being the greatest Spanish Olympic medalist in history and the second the Paralympic medalist in history), Saúl Craviotto or Mireia Belmonte, among many others who exceed a hundred in total, have dressed in the colors of the UCAM.
José Luis never left anyone indifferent when he spoke, which meant he had many detractors; some of them out of jealousy, others out of envy and others out of rivalries, but only a few –and no one within the UCAM– saw, judged and disseminated them.
But, being objective, Mendoza leaves an indelible legacy. A sports management model at the university that, according to himself and has been demonstrated with cases such as David Cal himself, not only focuses on supporting the athlete financially or academically while they are active, but also gives them access to the labor market. at the end of their professional career, guaranteeing the future of our best athletes. This model, led practically from its inception by Pablo Rosique and his team from the Sports service, has earned it become a reference partner of the Spanish Olympic Committee and the Spanish Paralympic Committee, as well as being an ally of a significant number of federations and national sports institutions.
José Luis, you always said that God – he and his family are practicing Catholics – had entrusted you with a mission. Now that we say goodbye to you, I would just like my last words to you to be these: thank you for helping me whenever I needed you. If God, as you say, entrusted you with a mission, you can leave more than calm. You have made history. Mission accomplished. Rest in peace.
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