Conferences: The Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) recently announced the addition of Shenandoah University and Villa Julie College as associate members in men's lacrosse, beginning in spring 2002. With these two additions, the conference will have seven members in men's lacrosse. The other five are Cabrini College, Eastern College, College Misericordia, Neumann College and Wesley College. Alvernia College currently competes in men's lacrosse on the club level, but conference officials expect that it may elevate its program to varsity status soon. "With seven members for the spring 2002 season, the PAC now has the requisite numbers to apply for the automatic qualifier in this sport," said Tom Bonerbo, PAC commissioner. "If (the conference is) granted the AQ in men's lacrosse, the PAC will have a postseason opportunity in every eligible team sport we offer. By taking this step, the PAC continues its commitment to all of our student-athletes." Shenandoah is a member of the Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (DIAC) in all sports except men's lacrosse. The DIAC does not offer men's lacrosse as a conference championship sport, and only one other school in the conference offers men's lacrosse on the varsity level. Villa Julie's affiliation with the PAC is the school's first with any conference in any sport ... The Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA) announced the addition of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Worcester Polytechnic Institute as associate members in football, beginning with the 2004 season. Those three institutions, which currently play in the Freedom Football Conference, will join UCAA members Hobart College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Rochester, St. Lawrence University and Union College (New York) as the football playing institutions competing for the conference championship. The addition of the three associate members, bringing the total of football-sponsored institutions to seven, will allow the UCAA to apply for an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Football Championship.

Facilities: The new football and track stadium at Wartburg College, which will cost $3.8 million, has been named the Walston-Hoover Stadium. The facility will seat 4,000 spectators, with a concession area and restrooms beneath the seating area. The project also includes field lighting, new visitor stands, installation of a new Field Turf playing surface on the football field and construction of an eight-lane, all-weather track. As part of the project, new soccer fields and a throwing venue for field events also will be constructed on the northwest side of campus. The project will benefit the more than 200 student-athletes at Wartburg who participate in football and track, as well as the 50 who participate in men's and women's soccer. "We have been very competitive in football and track," said Gary Grace, Wartburg's athletics director, "and we feel that our soccer program is on the rise. This entire project gives the three programs a solid working situation for the future" ... John Carroll University named its new football stadium after Don Shula, a 1951 graduate of the school and the winningest coach in NFL history. The $7 million facility, which seats 6,000, is scheduled for completion in time for the 2002 football season. Shula, who played in the NFL for five years as a defensive back, was a running back at John Carroll. Shula went on to coach Baltimore and Miami, winning 347 games and two Super Bowls ... Augsburg College recently dedicated three areas within its Si Melby Hall indoor athletics complex to honor college alumni. The college dedicated its gymnasium in honor of Ernie Anderson, the 1937 Augsburg alumnus who coached the Auggies' men's basketball team for 23 seasons and spent 34 years as athletics director and health and physical education instructor. The college also dedicated its fitness center in honor of 1939 Augsburg grad Hoyt Messerer, a school hall-of-famer in three sports and one of the founders of the college's alumni organization. It also dedicated its outdoor plaza in front of the complex to Gertrude and Richard Pautz, both Augsburg grads, and in September the school will rededicate its outdoor athletics field in honor of Edor Nelson, a 1939 Augsburg graduate who was football coach for 23 years, baseball coach for 33 years and professor for 32 years.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes