Sports sponsorship: Colorado State University will add women's water polo as the school's 16th sport program, effective in the 2004-05 academic year. The addition brings Colorado State into compliance with NCAA legislation requiring all Division I-A institutions to sponsor a minimum of 16 sport programs. "We conducted thorough research before arriving at this decision," said Colorado State Athletics Director Mark Driscoll. "In each case when examining a potential sport program, we based our evaluation on four primary elements: bringing our program into NCAA compliance by the deadline set previously; maintaining gender equity and Title IX compliance; minimizing the financial impact on the entire athletics program and its resources; and having the ability to be a competitive sport program that would be reflective of the success that all of our sport programs currently enjoy." John Mattos, who has been the school's women's swimming coach for two decades, will now also become the women's water polo coach and will immediately begin recruiting and scheduling water polo events. "We believe women's water polo will continue the long and successful tradition that Colorado State has enjoyed in aquatics," he said. "Additionally, we have the coaching staff, the facility and a significant number of student-athletes already in place to begin competition. We will complement those individuals already within our program by actively recruiting to meet our competitive needs." ... Campbell University has named Pascal Molinard as head coach of its women's swimming team that will begin varsity competition in the 2004-05 academic year. The addition of women's swimming brings the number of Division I sports sponsored by the university to 19. Campbell Director of Athletics Stan Williamson said, "We have seen the increased interest in our area for women's swimming and look forward to providing intercollegiate opportunities for young ladies to participate in the sport." Williamson said the university plans to align with a conference for swimming, but has yet to reach an agreement with a league. The Atlantic Sun Conference, of which Campbell is a member in 15 varsity sports, does not sponsor a women's swimming championship ... New Mexico State University has announced the addition of equestrian as a varsity sport beginning in 2004-05. The addition will give New Mexico State 16 intercollegiate sports programs, meeting the new NCAA Division I-A membership criteria. Of those 16 sports, 10 are women's. The school's equestrian team has participated at the club team since 1993 and has won a pair of national championships. "This is a natural for New Mexico State," said Athletics Director Brian Faison. "We are a land-grant institution and I can't think of another sport that better fits with that mission than equestrian." The NCAA does not currently sponsor an equestrian championship, but in 1999 the NCAA declared equestrian as a emerging sport for women.

Facilities: St. Francis College (New York) President Frank J. Macchiarola led a host of state and city officials in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the school's Anthony J. Genovesi Center, a new venue for college and community events. Macchiarola also announced the inauguration of a $25 million capital campaign and discussed plans for new facilities and programs that will enhance the college's downtown Brooklyn campus. The Genovesi Center, named for the late Brooklyn assemblyman, is a 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a space for athletics competition, special events, community activities and academic affairs. Work on the $7.4 million facility began in spring 2002 and was completed this past summer ... The University of Nevada, Reno, has announced plans for a comprehensive expansion of its athletics facilities. The plan includes construction of an on-campus, 15,000-square-foot training, rehabilitation, and strength and conditioning complex this spring, and the expansion of the football offices at Cashell Field House. The announcement comes on the heels of the recent $2.2 million renovation of Wolf Pack Park, a facility that features three lighted FieldTurf football and soccer practice fields and the Sala intramural fields, in addition to the lights that were installed at Mackay Stadium earlier this summer. "Our commitment to provide the resources and facilities for our student-athletes to compete at a championship level has always been a top priority," said Athletics Director Chris Ault. "Our unprecedented growth is equally matched by our tradition and vision to secure a positive and productive environment for the future of our student-athletes and coaches." ...

Southwest Missouri State University's new 8,000-seat baseball facility is slated to be christened April 2 when the Bears take on Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Hammons Field will include 28 luxury suites, five party decks, six food and beverage outlets, a souvenir shop and a club lounge. The clubhouse offices will accommodate Southwest Missouri State coaches as well as coaches from a possible minor league team.

Milestones: Pepperdine University women's volleyball coach Nina Matthies earned her 400th career victory October 24 when her Waves downed the University of San Diego. The win also stretched Pepperdine's streak of consecutive West Coast Conference wins to 34. "Numbers have never been important to me, so tonight was just another win," Matthies said afterward. "If anything, I'm thankful for all those kids and teams that earned the 400 wins with me." ... University of Delaware women's swimming and diving coach John Hayman earned his 100th win at the school when his squad posted a 143-98 victory over Georgetown University November 1. The victory improved Hayman's career record to 100-59 in 15 seasons ... University at Albany head football coach Bob Ford became the fourth active Division I-AA head coach to reach the 200-career win mark with the Great Danes' 28-7 victory over Wagner College November 1. Ford joins Florida A&M University's Billy Joe (234), University of Dayton's Mike Kelly (214) and Sam Houston State University's Ron Randleman (206) in the group of coaches to have achieved the milestone. The win improved Ford's career record to 200-140-1 in 35 seasons.

-- Compiled by Gary T. Brown