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Queens Charlotte has promoted Assoc. AD/SWA Swarthout to AD. Swarthout has held a number of titles at QUC since arriving on campus in 2006. VP For University Advancement Bullock: "Cherie has been a key part of the success of Queens athletics for the past 10 years. Her leadership as interim director of athletics over the past six months made her an obvious choice to lead the program on a permanent basis." Swarthout's accomplishments include increasing partnerships for the department by 33 times the original dollar amount, plus creation of three initiatives: the Queens Athletics Hall of Fame, the Elite Performance Team to provide professional development for staff and students, and the Emerging Leaders Program for high-level student-athlete leaders. - link
After a weeklong special election, UC San Diego students have voted in favor of raising student fees to move the athletics program to DI. A total of 8,828 ballots were cast, with 6,137 in favor, 2,567 against and 124 abstentions. AD Edwards on the student vote: "This has been a student-centered initiative from the very beginning and to see that the majority of our students favor a move to NCAA Division I demonstrates that they recognize the change as a progressive step for both our athletic program and UC San Diego as a whole. Division I will help extend the entire university's culture of excellence, align us with peer academic institutions, improve the student experience, strengthen our brand, increase alumni engagement and further our community connection. This move will impact the entire campus in a multitude of ways." Edwards will appear on The Mighty 1090 radio in San Diego today at 8:00am Pacific time to discuss the latest developments. - link (release), link (radio)
More from UCSD, as AD Edwards calls the student vote just "the first step of a process" that still requires conference membership, plus approval from the Faculty Senate and chancellor, and would also include two years increasing athletic scholarships, applying to DI, and the four-year transition process. The target date for full membership would be 2023-24, although Big West Commish Farrell remains non-committal on UCSD’s membership status & was waiting for the student vote to form an expansion committee. The student fee increases will be phased in over three years, will total $3,473/student over four years and are expected to generate an additional $10M annually for the athletic department (29% of the fee hike would go to university-wide financial aid), setting up a unique financial model for DI with practically all the budget coming from student fees. Edwards insists the school won’t relax admission standards in any sport and would "like to think that the Faculty Senate would take into consideration that (the vote) was overwhelming" when considering its stance on the situation. - link
Apologies for being late to the party on this one, but the University of California Regents recently voted on a number of reforms for DI and DII S-As in the UC system, including guaranteeing four-year athletic scholarships for S-As injured in practice or competition. UC Berkeley (DI) Assoc. AD Mattette on the significance of guaranteeing scholarships: "We're making the commitment to them just like they are making the commitment to us. To make sure that whatever happens we are committed all the way through." - link
Adelphi has named Wheelock (DIII) WBB HC Traversi to the same position. In her two years at Wheelock, she led a program turnaround, posting the most wins in school history in 2014-15 before beating that mark with an 18-7 record last season. AU Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation McCabe on the hire: "We received a great amount of interest for this position and Missy rose to the top of a very talented pool of candidates. Her vision for the program and ability to teach the game combined with her playing experience and passion are the attributes that make her the ideal person to lead our women's basketball program. Missy has been involved at various levels of coaching basketball and has been successful at every one of them." - link
Anderson has hired Coastal Georgia (NAIA) WBB HC Barbaree to the same position. Barbaree takes over a Trojans program that went 23-7 last season and won the regular-season SAC title. AD D'Andrea: "We are extremely excited to have Jonathon Barbaree as our next head coach. His enthusiasm and commitment to coaching was evident during the hiring process. I'm looking forward to Coach Barbaree leading our team and building on the foundation of success already here at Anderson." - link
Wilmington has hired former WU WBB HC Miller, currently WU Senior Director of Recruiting, to be its next WBB HC. Miller previously served a variety of roles at Goldey Beacom, including Asst AD, MBB Assoc HC, and WBB interim HC. WU AD Andrzjewski on the move: "We are very excited to welcome Rob back as our women's basketball coach. With Rob's knowledge of Wilmington University, the talented core of players returning, and the new recruits coming in, I have no doubt that Rob will find success." - link
Missouri Southern has agreed to a two-year deal with ESPN Joplin to carry radio broadcasts for all FB, MBB and WBB contests and select baseball and softball broadcasts. AD Bruggeman on the deal: "We are very excited to be working with ESPN Joplin to carry our sports into people's homes. Being on the local sports station is important to us." MSSU also inked a deal with Vivature to the tune of $500K over the next five years on athletics training billing solution. Bruggeman calls the deal "very lucrative and quite frankly, long overdue" - link (ESPN), link (Viviature)
The Brevard Board of Trustees has approved a new turf field that will be the home for MSOC, WSOC, MLAX, WLAX, and softball. AD Mascaro: "A true home-field advantage has been hard for some of our sports teams to come by because of the weather. This will be one of the best artificial surfaces in the region and will greatly enhance the student-athlete experience, giving them more tools than ever before to be successful." - link
Mississippi College will make major renovations at A.E. Wood Coliseum this summer, including repairs from damage sustained during a hail storm in 2013 and LED lighting upgrades. The project is expected to cost an estimated $2.7M. An all-freshman men's residence hall on campus is also receiving $350K in renovations. - link
Armstrong State is in the process of raising funds for field lighting. The Armstrong Alumni Association Board of Directors has pledged $10K toward lighting the baseball, softball, and soccer fields and are matching alumni donations for the cause through June 3. Alums can name a field for $150K, get their name on a light pole for $40K, on a pennant for $5K or on permanent display for $1K. - link
The Friends of Football at Colorado State Pueblo has donated the vast majority of the $3.3M needed for a renovation project at the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl, including a 10,000-square-foot weight room, expansion of the athletic training room in the ThunderBowl Fieldhouse, locker additions in the Pack football locker room, upgrades to the women's T&F locker room and new turf for the ThunderBowl field. Friends of Football member DeRose: "Our student-athletes and coaches deserve the best facilities in the country and FOF is committed to make that happen." - link
Two 1-seeds, two 2-seeds, three 3-seeds, one 4-seed have advanced to the DII Baseball National Championships. Opening round games are scheduled for May 28-29 and all session passes are $32 with per session tickets at $12. - link, link (complete regional results)
Olympic sport coaching movement:
+ Coker has named Alderson-Broaddus Baseball HC Harrigan to the same position. - link
+ McKendree has hired Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (DI) Interim HC Jackson to be their new baseball head coach. - link
+ Academy of Art Men's Soccer AC Frank is stepping down to be the new men's soccer HC at Holy Names. - link
+ Nova Southeastern Men's and Women's Swimming HC Bonewit-Cron has resigned to take over the swimming and diving programs at Miami OH (DI). - link
+ The three finalists for the softball head coaching position at Montana State-Billings are Great Falls (NAIA) HC Egan, Barton (NJCAA) HC Benjamin and Nevada (DI) AC Taylor. - link
Florida Southern WLAX HC Reber, whose squad stunned two-time defending champ Adelphi in the nat'l title game, has used the warm weather in Florida as a recruiting tool for S-As hailing from the Northeast: "Kids from upstate New York see Florida as a vacation destination. It’s one of those things where (recruits say): ‘Wait, I can go to school there, too?’ I think it definitely is a huge selling point." It hasn't been easy for Reber after starting the program five years ago by hosting a (presumably) tongue-in-cheek "Bring-A-Friend-To-Practice Day" on the first day of practice. To put FSC's triumph in perspective, AU had won 64 of its last 65 games, including 28 in a row, and owns seven NCAA titles, which is two more seasons than the FSC program has existed. - link
Sport and department fundraising events:
+ Sioux Falls will host the fourth annual SID Shootout golf tournament on June 24. Entry fees are $150 per person or $500 for a four-some. - link
+ Caldwell will host its 28th Annual Golf Outing on June 6. Entry fees are $300 per player and sponsorships range from $300 to $7,500. - link
+ Fort Hays State will hold their Seventh-Annual Tiger Auction and Dinner on August 27. Tickets are $65. The event raised over $206K last year. - link
+ Northwest Missouri State Football will host the 22nd annual Shawna Zech/Scott Bostwick Memorial Classic golf tournament on June 17. Entry fee is $150 per player and sponsorships range from $200 to $2,500. - link
+ Southwest Minnesota State will hold the 31st annual "David & Carol Drown SMSU Golf Classic" on June 10. Entry fees are $175 per player and sponsorships go from $150 to $2,400.- link
+ Wheeling Jesuit will host the 27th Annual Cardinal Athletic Club Golf Scramble on June 2. Entry fees are $100 per person and hole sponsorships are going for $100. - link
ESPN Radio’s Freddie Coleman will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the Peach Belt Conference's Hall of Fame Induction ceremony next Tuesday, May 31. Coleman is a personal friend of former USC Aiken MBB HC Alexander and attended the PBC Tournament for the first time in 2008. PBC Commish Brunk: "We are very happy that Freddie agreed to come and be a part of this night. He’s been a great friend to the league for many years and his presence enhances the special nature of this event." - link
Lubbock Christian WBB HC Gomez has been selected to be part of the coaching staff at the 2016 USA Basketball Women's U17 World Championship Team Trials. Gomez on the opportunity: "It is a tremendous honor to have this opportunity to work with the USA Basketball organization more because of the 'USA' than for the 'basketball. I look forward to learning from the other coaches and having the chance to see the top players in the country come together to form the team that will represent our country." - link
Indianapolis claimed a record seventh GLVC SAAC Challenge Trophy. The winner is determined by a scoring model in which points are awarded in each area of the six attributes of Division II: service, learning, passion, sportsmanship, balance, and resourcefulness. In order to be eligible for the GLVC SAAC Challenge Trophy schools must participate in a community engagement or service project and raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation throughout the year. To date, GLVC SAAC has raised a combined $22,137. - link
Over a dozen DII S-A were selected for the 75th annual USILA/Nike North-South Senior All-Star Games. The DI/DII game will take place at 5:30pm EST on May 27 at Edith Robb Dixon Field on the campus of Cabrini (DIII). - link
Off campus, on the radar:
+ Former Findlay golf S-A Petty has qualified for the 2016 U.S. Women's Open. - link
+ Former Southern Connecticut State FB S-A and current NFL Player Cunningham talks about finishing his degree while pursuing his professional career. - link
Presidents and chancellors in the news:
+ Edinboro has named Rochester Institute of Technology (DIII) College of Applied Science and Technology Dean Walker to be the university's new president. - link
+ Kentucky State Prez Burse has announced his resignation. - link
+ Georgia College Provost and VP For Academic Affairs Brown has been named the interim president at Valdosta State. - link
+ Franklin Pierce Prez Card wrote a letter to Raven Nation on Monday to support their team in the East Regional Baseball Championship at Pappas Field. - link
In other general academia news:
+ A state Senate bill in North Carolina that would force five public colleges to cut tuition is drawing criticism, as some are seeing the cuts as a threat to the state's historically black colleges. - link
+ The U.S. Department of Education announced that Glenville State is one of 44 postsecondary institutions nationwide that’s been invited to participate in a new "experiment" that will allow high school students to use federal Pell Grants for dual enrollment courses. - link
Update to a DIII story we’ve been following. Students at UC Santa Cruz recently voted in an opinion poll and 63 percent were in favor of establishing a new undergraduate fee that would help support the university's athletic programs. Chancellor Blumenthal on the vote: "The results of this year’s opinion poll underscores that this is an important program for our campus. I look forward to considering sustainable funding models for this program so that it can be on secure financial footing for years to come." - link
