Conferences: The Mid-American Conference has extended the University of Central Florida an invitation for full conference membership, pending determination by the Big East Conference as to its future membership plans. The invitation becomes effective should the Big East expand this fall without adding any institutions from the Mid-American Conference, and is offered for competition beginning with the 2004-05 academic year. "Conference membership issues have been the dominant agenda item for our presidents since our June meeting," said Northern Illinois University President John Peters, who chairs the MAC Council of Presidents. "This unanimously adopted invitation is the end result of multiple conference-wide meetings since that time within the MAC governance structure, and in communication with UCF. The invitation, and the approved six-year conference scheduling plan for the 16 sports that UCF would bring to the MAC, has been thoroughly developed and reviewed with academic, financial and competitive considerations fully evaluated. We are mindful of the potential membership volatility within I-A conferences at this time and understand a certain sequencing may exist related to institutional membership decisions, particularly in our view as concerns the Big East Conference. With that said, our commitment as a conference to stability, strength and commonality of academic and athletic values once that sequencing occurs has guided our discussions of the last several months. We wholeheartedly believe that the UCF program reflects those same priorities, and makes for a natural extension of the very positive relationship that has already developed since November of 2001." The scheduling plan has eight sports that would compete in a full regular-season scheduling relationship (football, women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball and softball), along with eligibility for MAC championships and the league's automatic NCAA tournament bids. Eight additional sports would conduct individual regular-season competition within the MAC, along with competing for MAC championships and the league's automatic NCAA tournament bids: men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, and women's indoor and outdoor track and field.

Milestones: Jean-A. Tassy, women's soccer coach at University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, earned his 200th career win September 7 when the Bulls defeated Grambling University, 4-0. Tassy has been the head coach at Buffalo since 1995 and has amassed 80 wins there. Before coaching at Buffalo, Tassy coached the men's soccer program at State University College at Buffalo from 1982 to 1988 and posted a record of 74-47-8. From 1974 to1981, Tassy was the head coach of the Niagara University men's soccer program, going 47-40-7.

-- Compiled by Gary T. Brown