Facilities: The College of William and Mary has received a $500,000 challenged grant from Mr. and Mrs. Jim Ukrop of Richmond, Virginia, to build a proposed $1 million natural grass field adjacent to William and Mary's baseball stadium, Plumeri Park, located at the college's Dillard complex. The new facility, to be called Albert/Daly Field, will be used by both the men's and women's soccer programs and the lacrosse team. The field is named after current William and Mary men's and women's head soccer coaches, Al Albert and John Daly. The William and Mary athletics department hopes to raise the additional $500,000 necessary to reach the $1 million goal. Construction tentatively is scheduled to begin May 1, 2002, with competition slated for fall 2003. The Ukrops are graduates of William and Mary and have long been generous supporters of the college. "It's badly needed for both the men's and women's soccer and lacrosse programs," said Daly. "It's going to help in every way from scheduling, recruiting, and to the perception of the program." William and Mary Athletics Director Terry Driscoll said the facility's natural grass surface will allow the three teams the opportunity to host preliminary-round NCAA tournament games on campus. "This facility will enhance the competitiveness of those programs in their respective efforts to recruit top student-athletes," Driscoll said.

Miscellaneous: University of Notre Dame Athletics Director Kevin White has announced a plan to provide all 26 of Notre Dame's varsity teams with the full number of scholarships allowed by the NCAA. The move will add 16 athletics scholarships each year for the next four years, 64 total, starting with next fall's freshmen. "To achieve our stated departmental and university mission of providing a high-quality intercollegiate athletics experience for the most academically and athletically gifted individuals available, it's imperative that our programs have access to the full complement of athletics-related financial aid," White said. Currently, Notre Dame fully funds grants-in-aid for 10 teams, including football, men's and women's basketball and women's soccer. Women's rowing, which will go from offering no scholarships to 20, will benefit the most from the additional funding. Men's lacrosse, another sport currently without grants-in-aid, will gain 12.6. Men's swimming will pick up 7.9 and women's cross country/track and field will add six. Other sports to benefit will include baseball, men's and women's fencing, men's and women's golf, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, men's swimming and men's cross country/track and field. The plan to fully fund all varsity athletics involves adding scholarships to men's programs, but the majority of the 64 new scholarships will be dedicated to women's sports. Women's sports will gain 36 grants-in-aid, while men's teams will gain 28.

-- Compiled by Gary T. Brown