The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- July 5, 1999

Notes

Facilities: Construction will begin this summer on a $2.5 million expansion of the University of Evansville's athletics facilities. Beginning in 2000, the Purple Aces' men's and women's soccer teams will play in 2,500-seat Arad McCutchan Stadium, formerly used by the school's football team. Evansville discontinued football in 1998. Once soccer moves into the facility, on-campus baseball and softball stadiums will be built nearby ... The University of Pittsburgh has received a $10 million gift, the largest in school history, from alumnus John Petersen and his wife Gertrude for a new convocation and events center. The building will provide the campus with a location for graduation ceremonies, modern recreation and fitness facilities and a state-of-the-art home for the men's and women's basketball teams. The basketball arena will include seating for 12,500 people and house a private basketball practice complex, a unique restaurant row and a full-service ticket operations center. Construction is scheduled to being in 2000.

Conferences: A seven-team Division I men's ice hockey conference, College Hockey America, will begin play in 1999-00. The seven founding members of the new league are the U.S. Air Force Academy; the University of Alabama, Huntsville; the U.S. Military Academy; Bemidji State University; the University of Findlay; Niagara University; and Wayne State University (Michigan). College Hockey America, which will apply for Division I status and an automatic bid to the 2002 championship, is the sixth Division I men's ice hockey conference, joining the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, the Eastern College Athletic Conference, the Hockey East Association, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Milestones: Bob Hannah, University of Delaware, 1,000 victories in baseball. Hannah is just the 22nd coach in college baseball to achieve the 1,000-victory plateau. Hannah was hired as the Blue Hens' skipper in 1965 and has guided his teams to 20 conference titles and 10 Division I Baseball Championship appearances.