D2.ticker - News from Wednesday, July 27 & Thursday, July 28, 2016

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Kentucky State has hired William Graham to be its next AD. Graham, a KSU alum and hall of famer, also formerly led the Thorobreds MBB program. "This is a program I'm very familiar with, and it's one I'm a product of. I'm looking forward to making a difference in our student-athletes lives', adding to the program, and raising the bar of expectations." - link

David Lynn, assistant athletic director for internal operations and director of golf at Oklahoma Christian, will serve as school's interim AD while a national search is conducted to fill the permanent position. Lynn graduated from OC in 1995. - link

CIAA Commissioner McWilliams talks to HBCU Gameday about the conference's 105-year history, how CIAA schools impact their communities and moving the conference headquarters to Charlotte. "We were in Virginia for years, and when we lost some of the schools that were part of CIAA in that community it kind of changed...but in Charlotte, we're a staple there, we're part of the family." VIDEO. - link

Southern Wesleyan (SC) AD Williams discusses SWU's NCAA DII admittance after an arduous journey. He says the turning point was when the NCAA visited campus for the second time: "The NCAA turned a switch at that point. It [went from] jumping through hoops and it's going to be really hard for you to do this to the point where the NCAA got it and said, 'Man, you guys have done everything that we've asked you to do, and look how this community has just come behind you with cooperation and collaboration and teamwork...and at that very moment we became a partnership." - link

Part 3 of USA Today's The Spectrum look at Dixie State athletics focuses on the school's "need to make one incredibly important decision: Stay as a member of the Pacific West Conference or move to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference." AD Boothe: "Conference affiliation, we've just got to get that put to bed." [...] "It's gonna be tough because both are very, very good conferences. The nice part is we're in the driver's seat, we're good either way we go. We're gonna be just fine if we stay in the PacWest and football goes back into the GNAC or remains as an (RMAC) affiliate, hopefully, or if we go all in." Much more including DSU's path to rise up the Learfield Director's Cup rankings. - link

The Mountain East announces changes to its policies and bylaws, including a format change for men's and women's basketball wherein the top ten teams in the final regular season standings will advance to the MEC Tournament venue. Commissioner Amos: "The shift from opening round games on campus to all tournament games at one centralized location will allow the MEC to significantly enhance marketing efforts. This approach allows teams and their fans to have a much longer period of time to make plans for the event as teams clinch spots and will additionally enhance opportunities for institutions to engage with their alumni." Other changes involve video exchange programs in volleyball and soccer. - link

Despite a "slow drain of some of its more prominent members," an article in the Leavenworth Times posits that the NAIA is "doing just fine even if it's going through a bit of a crossroads." NAIA President and CEO Carr discusses some of the "defections to the NCAA: "Poaching is a term that used to be out there when I first started and NCAA D2 took the gloves off about seven or eight years ago -- not necessarily the national office but conference by conference." [...] "What they are promising is that their championship [travel] gets reimbursed. We reimburse some, but nowhere near the extent that NCAA is. The other things they are selling and I don’t think are true are, ‘If you come over here you’ll be able to raise more money at the institutional level and get more exposure. In my mind, those things come along with winning, how you run your program, how you run your institution." [sic]. Car hopes to get membership back up to 275 by 2020: "How do we make sure to value our current members so they stay and what is it that can differentiate us from D2 to D3 to get some of those members, who used to be with us, to come back?" Much more. - link

Minnesota Duluth raised $1.83M from around 1,500 donors in FY16, eclipsing the school's previous record of $1.33M set in 2014-15. It also represents a 317% increase from the $487K raised four years ago. UMD AD Berlo: "The ardent support of our benefactors has helped Bulldog athletics improve its financial position for the present and future as we continue to strive to be the best DI/DII athletic department in the nation as measured by excellence in the classroom, community and competition." - link

Although CIAA officials have a stated the conference position that it "strongly disagreed with HB2," the CIAA [Basketball] Tournament is staying put, which is good news for the city of Charlotte. The Charlotte Convention and Visitor's Bureau says losing the tournament would mean a loss of $56M annually, compared to the one-time loss of $100M the city will suffer from losing the NBA All-Star Game. The CIAA said in a statement that as it analyzes "current and future championship locations, the CIAA will ensure that the host city and venue demonstrate a commitment to provide inclusive and non-discriminatory practices." - link

A U.S. District Judge has granted a preliminary injunction which will at least temporarily disallow St. Cloud State's plan to eliminate women's tennis. Judge John R. Turheim, in his ruling, stated that tennis players would suffer "irreparable harm" if the program was terminated while the players' Title IX lawsuit is ongoing: "The court finds that the status quo should remain the status quo for the duration of this case, or until the Court decides otherwise." The lawsuit accuses the school of affording "at least 116 more athletic opportunities for men than women during each of the last 12 years." - link

The NCAA names its nominees for 2016 Woman of the Year. The list is comprised of 142 student-athletes from 17 sports and is broken down by division as follows: 54 from DI, 37 from DII, 51 in DIII. Full list. - link

New NCAA DI guidelines which recommend football programs reduce the amount of "live-contact" practices during the upcoming season are likely to make their way to DII and DIII. The recommendation, made by the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports, calls for the number of weekly live contact practices to be reduced from two to one and takes effect six days before the each team's 2016 opener. - link

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Olympic sport coaching movement:
+ Fresno Pacific hires Danny Baladi to be the school's first head strength and conditioning coach. Baladi comes from DI St. Mary's - link
+ Cedarville alum Ryan Bowen will return as head coach of the men's golf team. Bowen previously coached the team from 2001-2011. - link
+ Embry Riddle hires interim Mercyhurst head rowing coach to be the school's first head coach of rowing. - link
+ Millersville hires Elizabethtown men's and women's head tennis coach Matt Helsel to the same position. - link
+ Mars Hill names Bill Kreger head coach of men's and women's tennis. - link
+ Biola hires alumna Emily Mosbacher as head coach of swimming and diving. - link
+ Salem International selects Addison Rouse to be its next baseball coach. Rouse comes from DIII Eastern Nazarene (MA). - link
+ Nova Southeastern women's golf coach Amanda Brown announces she will step down. - link

The Gulf South Conference and Florida's Space Coast agree to renew the latter's exclusive naming rights sponsorship. GSC Commissioner Wilson: "Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism has been a key partner for the Gulf South Conference and we are excited about continuing this relationship that creates more opportunities to showcase our tremendous student-athletes and institutions." The agreement includes a ten-game Florida's's Space Coast Game of the Week football package and the 2017 VisitSpaceCoast.com GSC Basketball Championships. - link

Lincoln Memorial is set to install a state-of-the-art scoreboard at Tex Turner Arena. AD Green says the addition of the 12x17 "LED scoreboard to Tex Turner Arena is a game changer not only for our basketball programs, but for the institution as a whole and community at-large...this new feature solidifies Tex Turner Arena as one of the top facilities in all of NCAA Division II." - link

The Charleston Gazette-Mail takes a look at the four new Mountain East football coaches: Concord's Paul Price, Notre Dame College's Mike Jacobs, UVA-Wise's Dane Dameron and West Virginia Wesleyan's Del Smith, who comments on the shake-up: "You can watch as much film as you want. But sometimes you don't appreciate people's skill sets until you see them in person. It's not intimidating, but the majority of your staff is made up of guys who didn't compete against these teams last year. It's hard to establish the bar to where you stack up." Fourth-year head West Virginia State head coach Jon Anderson, a "newly minted MEC veteran," advises the coaches to stick to their philosophies, even if it doesn't result in wins right away: "We had a plan and we had a way we were going to do things. And we stuck to that, even when the results weren't coming the way we wanted." [...] "They're all smart men. They all got the opportunities they got through what they've accomplished. I'm sure they'll all do well." - link

Wisconsin-Parkside is using its US Junior National Midwest girls' basketball showcase as an opportunity showcase itself as well. Former Louisville student-athlete and AAU coach Lakisha Hoffman had little knowledge of Parkside, but says while she hasn't "driven around campus yet, it looks like a real nice facility. All we knew about Parkside was that it was 100 miles away." The tournament is organized by Parkside WBB coach Jacob Yorg, who says the school is privileged to host: "How else can you get this many high school kids on campus, most of them who have never been to Parkside? Any way the women's basketball team can help, we'll do it." - link

While college wrestling programs around the country continue to be discontinued, Drury intends to emphasize theirs, committing five full scholarships this season and seven next season. Since the 1988-89 school year, 161 wrestling programs have shuttered while only 61 added it as a sport. Drury was number 62. AD Fisher: "In talking with wrestling coaches in the city and throughout the area, we felt like there's been a void for high school wrestlers to be able to continue their education and being able to compete in the sport they love." After filling out a coaching staff, the program now has a roster to go with it, including freshman Kyle Caldwell, who "came here to start the legacy of Drury wrestling and bring the wrestling tradition back to Springfield." More on the formation the program and its importance to the area. - link

King announces that through crowdfunding and private donations it has achieved its campaign goal and will use the money to install a new sound system in the Student Center Complex. AD Hicks: "The new sound system is state-of-the-art; it will enhance the experience for our student-athletes as well as our fans and supporters." - link

Recently released facility pics include:
+ Lights are up at the Limestone baseball field. - link
+ Rooftop deck and high-tech amenities at the North Georgia Commons residence facility. - link

Recently announced broadcast news:
+ West Chester will have three home games (v. Slippery Rock, Shippensburg and Millersville) and one away game (@ Bloomsburg) broadcast on SportsFever TV this season. WCU HC Zwaan: "Every time we are on television it helps us recruit. The one game we really saw a spike in our recruiting was the Bloomsburg playoff game that we won up there a couple years ago." - link
+ Augusta will screen a documentary short titled "The Extra Mile" about alumnus and Olympian Pardon Ndhlovu at the Maxwell Theater on August 4. - link

The UIndy School for Adult Learning will host NCAA supervisors in an eight-week program designed to enhance managerial skills in the areas of critical thinking, conflict resolution, employee management, change management, human resources and legal affairs. Three groups of 20 to 25 employees will make up each cohort, the first of which graduates this week. - link

In general academia news:
+ Indiana of PA receives a reaffirmation of accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The school will submit a monitoring report in 2018. - link
+ Augusta's new dorms were built to give the campus a more residential feel and help foster campus unity. Full story. - link

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(Posted from most recent over the last 30 days)

Director of Athletics (CETYS Universidad / Mexicali, Baja California, México): Dir.of Athletics will guide the development and implementation of a comprehensive intercollegiate athletics program for CETYS capable of competing as a member of NCAA DII. Must be fluent in Spa & Eng. More HERE.

Assistant AD for Student Success/SWA (Cal State Monterey Bay / Seaside, CA): Senior leadership position will assist with overall direction & management of Department of Athletics. Focus areas: academic advising, health & wellness, career development, SAAC and Title IX. More HERE.

Assistant Athletic Director for External Affairs (University of Arkansas at Monticello / Monticello, AR): Responsible for achieving the annual fundraising goals through efficient and effective leadership and management of annual programs and corporate sales. More HERE.

Assistant Compliance & Game Day Operations (University of Montevallo / Montevallo, AL): The purpose of this position is to assist in the daily operations of the department’s compliance program and to assist in management and coordination of all game day operations. More HERE.

Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant (Quincy University / Quincy, IL): Assist in all aspects of the communications office, including serving as the primary contact for several sports. Bachelor's degree required. StatCrew, graphic design, video experience preferred. More HERE.

Athletic Media Relations Graduate Assistant (University of Central Missouri / Warrensburg, MO): Will assist in all phases of the media relations office. Serve as the primary contact for 2-3 sports. Responsibilities include layout/design of media guides& game notes; write press releases; & more. More HERE.

Head Coach - Strength & Conditioning (West Chester University / West Chester, PA): Responsibilities: Design, implement, and monitor strength and conditioning programs (strength, power, speed, and agility) appropriate for the specific needs of each athletic team. More HERE.

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