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A week after announcing it would close its doors, the Dowling website reports that the school's Board of Trustees is in "sustained strategic negotiations" with Global University Systems to possibly keep the school alive. Dowling College Alumni Association Head Corso: "The parties Global University Systems and another entity that we brought forth who could be a potential financial partner want to bring some new educational programs to the college and enhance the college and expand where it has been over the last few years. ... I believe that we will have a positive outcome." - link
Stillman has announced that MBB HC Jackson will take over as the school's athletic director. Jackson's team won the 2015-16 SIAC title for the first time in 10 years this past season and he was named SIAC coach of the year. Jackson has also served as Asst AD since he arrived at the school two years ago. Prez Millet on Jackson: "He is the right man, in the right place, at the right time. We are confident he will excel in this new role and we look forward to great things with Mr. Jackson and the Stillman athletic program." - link
Rollins AD Parker was recently profiled in Athletics Administration magazine. Parker became an at-large representative on the NCAA Management Council and was selected to serve on the NACDA Executive Committee last year, wihle also taking over as president of the D2 ADA earlier this year. She explains enjoyment of committee work for ability to learn from colleagues and analyze "from a national perspective rather analyzing through the institutional lens." On her personal transition from DI to DII, she said DII S-A love of, and commitment to, their sport has "fueled my passion for athletics," while viewing having fewer resources not "as a challenge, but rather as an opportunity to roll up my sleeves and work alongside my coaches and staff as needed." - link
Lees-McRae VP of Athletics and Club Sports McPhail served as a panelist at the 2016 NCAA Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis last weekend. Among other items in this Q&A, McPhail addressed his hope of implementing more internship programs in athletics: "I have already scheduled meetings with our sport administration faculty to discuss more involved internships, which several members of our athletic department will lead. I want to take what I learned at the Forum and give our young people at Lees-McRae the opportunity to be guided by professionals in various athletic departments. The internships will be based in a variety of fields, including athletic communications, compliance, game operations, and marketing. By doing this, I believe it will better prepare our students for life after the game." - link
Newberry will host the 2017 NCAA DII Women’s Golf South Super Regional tournament, the first predetermined NCAA championship event in South Carolina since the confederate flag was removed from the statehouse in 2015. AD Finley: "I could not be more excited for the state of South Carolina – this is a great opportunity to begin hosting great events statewide and I am pleased that Newberry College is able to step up and host such a prestigious event. I am so appreciative of the staff and community who have stepped up to help make this bid become a reality. We are all excited about providing a great student-athlete experience at this event and know that Newberry and South Carolina will welcome all with a nice dose of southern hospitality." - link
Highlights from the GSC annual Summer Administration Meetings includes resignation procedures for active members changed to include a tiered withdrawal fee process broken down into a two-year notice, a one-year notice and a less than one-year notice. Additionally, the GSC Athletic Training group brought forth an approved process in which all member institutions shall establish an administrative structure that provides independent medical care and affirms the unchallengeable autonomous authority of primary athletics health care providers, while the conference will begin using an eight-team tournament format in baseball next year. - link
Stonehill promoted AC Gardner to take over as FB HC. Per AD O'Keefe: "This position attracted a large number of quality applicants from across the country, and the search process confirmed Eli is one of the brightest young minds in collegiate football who is ready to serve our institution as head coach. I am confident his work as a teacher and mentor for our student-athletes will provide them not only the skills to compete on the field, but the knowledge and experience to contribute to our community and succeed in their chosen path after graduation." - link
Cal State East Bay has named Cal State Dominguez Hills WBB HC Goodenbour to the same position. The one-time UC Irvine (DI) HC led CSUDH to 3 straight conference titles and 3 straight NCAA tourney appearances during her time there. CSUEB AD McDermott: "She has a great deal of experience in our conference and her record of success speaks for itself. I believe Molly will be an outstanding fit at East Bay and will put our program in a position to continue to compete at a championship level for years to come." - link
Livingstone will hold a press conference this moring at 11:00am local time to announce its new WBB HC. - link
East Stroudsburg is joining forces with a number of community partners to raise $1.8M for upgrades, including artifiicial turf, for the home fields of ESU baseball and softball. ESU Prez Welsh: "ESU is very excited to be working with Stroud Township and the Stroudsburg Little League on this project that benefits both Little League players and the outstanding student-athletes within our Warrior baseball and softball programs. Athletes of all ages deserve a first-class facility in which to play and through this initiative, we can make that happen." - link
More on Missouri Western State's new $2.6M video scoreboard at Spratt Memorial Stadium, which will be the biggest in DII athletics. Prez Vartabedian notes, "There just aren’t many opportunities where you can boast that you have the biggest and the best phenomenon on your campus. This is one of them." Steven L. Craig, who contributed $1.1M toward the project, said (tongue at least partially in cheek): "Frankly, I wasn’t willing to compromise and do it like a miniature scoreboard like they did at Northwest Missouri State. We actually bid on that project and politely withdrew." Missouri Western Foundation Executive Director Pickman on Craig's continued contributions to the school: "We knew he was someone that we could work with to make some big things happen. We always look for that person that is willing to step out and that has a philanthropic spirit and is visionary." - link
More from Pickman and MWSU's new video scoreboard. On the positive impact the new board will have on the community: "More people in the stands, more people coming and watching our games, means more people shopping in our community, more people buying gas in the community, spending time in hotels in the community; I have to think that the economic impact is going to be quite significant." And he says "we're just getting started" when talking about how the scoreboard fits into the university's overall capital campaign, which set an initial goal of raising $20M. - link
Even more on MWSU's new scoreboard, this time from the perspective of former NFL player Alexander, who is good friends with donor Steve Craig. Per Alexander: "What it means for them (the fans) is they’re in the big leagues and they get to understand that those kids aren’t just doing it for their small neighborhood. They’re doing it for the community, they’re representing their families and their community and their state. And so it puts a lot of pressure on the kids to perform better every day." - link
Barry has selected Daktronics to make video and scoreboard upgrades at the Health & Sports Center. Per one Daktronics rep: "The new system will transform the way they are able to entertain Buccaneers fans and provide a new dynamic medium for generating advertising revenue. In addition, the university will have a showcase system among their peers in the Sunshine State Conference." - link
With it’s ASR on the rise, Northeastern State AD Duckworth talks about the importance of the issue and the need to set higher standards: "Knowing that we were operating below the national average, we didn’t feel like that was acceptable. We’ve held higher standards for our coaches as far as their monitoring and expectations of the athlete’s academics. Plus, we’ve held a higher standard in the recruiting process and the types of athletes we bring in to our programs." - link
Attendance at NCAA MBB games this year was slightly down from last year, as 32,382,283 fans came to watch student-athletes in Divisions I, II and III, which is still the 10th-highest total in NCAA history. Attendance at DII games increased again this past season to a total of 2,797,421. For the ninth consecutive year, Northern State led the nation in attendance with 3,346 fans per game. And the MIAA had the highest home attendance average for the seventh consecutive year with an average of 1,419. - link
Attendance at NCAA WBB games set an all-time record this year with 11,366,943 patrons attending games across all three divisions. Attendance at the DII Championship averaged 1,050 fans over 32 sessions. And just like the men, Northern State WBB took top honors in attendance for the ninth straight season with 2,880 fans attending their 12 home games, while the MIAA claimed its eighth consecutive attendance title with an average of 1,117 fans per game. - link
Grand Valley State won its 11th DII Learfield Directors’ Cup, successfully defending its 2014-15 title. GVSU had the highest point total this year in fall and winter & fourth highest in spring. Nine different conferences have a member in the top 10 with the GLVC being the only league with two. - link
Ferris State has announced that they have moved up the date of their first game of the upcoming FB season two days to set-up what the school website is calling "a special Thursday night season-opening showdown" to correspond with FSU's annual Founders Day celebration. Associate AD Coles: "Our fan support and crowds have grown the past few seasons with the success of our team and we're expecting this game to be a big draw as it will be one of the marquee matchups in the GLIAC. Moving this game to a Thursday night will help attract a great student crowd to support our team." - link
The documentary "Brotherhood of Basketball" created by Mud Mile Communications, which commemorates the 2016 Augustana MBB National Championship, will air on Midco Sports Network next week. - link
In admin movement:
+ Kentucky Wesleyan named Dir of Major Gifts Moore as assoc AD for external ops. - link
+ Western New Mexico promoted Head Athletic Trainer/SWA Dunlap to Asst AD - link
In Olympic sport coaching movement:
+ Texas A&M-Commerce has hired former Missouri (DI) Football S&C Director Stoner to be their new director of sports performance. - link
+ Stanislaus State has hired Northern Colorado Director of Sports Performance for Olympic Sports Margolis to be the school's new S&C coach. - link
+ Hawaii-Hilo Director of Soccer Thompson is resigning from his position at the school for personal reasons. - link
+ Central Oklahoma has hired Club Pro Maestas to be their new WTEN HC. - link
+ Texas A&M-Kingsville has named Stephen F. Austin (DI) AC Gray to be the new HC of their women's golf team. - link
+ After six years on the job, Regis softball HC Trimboli is resigning. - link
Players and coaches comment on the controversial HB2 bill in North Carolina possibly having an impact on Cary, NC hosting the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship going forward. Former Millersville baseball S-A Stone: "Not every kid gets a chance to play Division I or Division II college baseball, but if you play Division II, this is the ultimate to come here. This is the greatest place to play the Division II tournament. You feel like you’re playing at Camden Yards (Baltimore) or Citizen’s Park (Philadelphia)." - link
Recently released facility and uniform pics include:
+ The new court inside the University of the Sciences' Bobby Morgan Arena is almost done. - link
+ The Indianapolis football team has unveiled the new uniforms they will wear this upcoming season. - link
+ Video of Missouri Western State unloading the first of eight sections of their new video scoreboard. - link
+ Photos of the new athletic training room at Southern Arkansas. - link
Off campus, on the radar:
+ Former Missouri St. Louis WSOC HC Goetz is leaving her deputy AD position at Minnesota (DI) to take over as the chief operating officer at Connecticut (DI). - link
+ Former St. Cloud State softball S-A Trachsel has been named the new softball HC at Iowa State. - link
In general academia news:
+ Tiffin Interim Prez Schumacher has been named the new president of the university, making her the first woman president in the school's 128-year history. - link
+ The budget bill proposed by the Senate in North Carolina has been rejected by the House, putting the proposed tuition decrease for UNCP in limbo. - link
+ Wayne State U is planning to offer free parking to newly admitted freshmen for the upcoming fall semester. - link
+ The 2016-17 Colleges of Distinction list is littered with D2s. - link
