Sports sponsorship: Marshall University will discontinue men's indoor and outdoor track and field beginning with the 2003-04 school year. The move will cut expenses for the athletics department by an estimated $150,000 next year. The reduction leaves Marshall with 16 varsity sports, the minimum number required by the NCAA for Division
I-A membership. "These decisions are not easily reached and are tough for all those involved in the process -- athletes, coaches and administrators," Athletics Director Bob Marcum said. A total of 18 student-athletes will be affected by the reductions. "Our goal is to build a highly competitive total sports program for Marshall and the state of West Virginia," Marcum said. "We are certainly grateful for the resources that the university and the Board of Governors made available for us to compete in the Mid-American Conference. However, due to the fiscal conditions the university and the state of West Virginia are facing, we must make cuts in an attempt to balance our overall budget." Marshall President Dan Angel said, "You can't simply say, yes, keep everything. You're between a rock and a hard place. Whatever we cut, it won't be because we want to."

Facilities: Towson University will grant Sandy Unitas' wish to name its newly renovated and expanded stadium for one of Baltimore's most famous and revered legends when it christens Johnny Unitas Stadium during the fall 2003 season. The announcement was marked by the unveiling of an artist's rendering of the stadium with Johnny Unitas' name memorialized on the façade. The university also kicked off a campaign to raise $5.25 million to help finance construction of the stadium, which includes 11,000 seats, a 48,000-square-foot field house, an expanded concourse and concession area, and a larger, more comfortable press box. The money raised through donations from private corporations and the public will be used to subsidize the cost of the renovations, which otherwise would have been covered by the sale of the stadium's naming rights. Johnny Unitas and Towson had maintained a strong relationship over the years. His eldest daughter, Janice, is a graduate of the university and two other children, Chad, 24, and Paige, 20, currently are enrolled. In addition, just three weeks before his death, Johnny -- a lifelong supporter of intercollegiate athletics -- undertook the role of community liaison for Towson athletics, spearheading the campaign to obtain a naming rights partner for the new Towson University Stadium. Sandy stepped into her late husband's role, and the fund-raising campaign has become her priority. The capital campaign seeks to pay for the stadium by raising the money that otherwise would have been received through a corporate naming partnership. The campaign will be conducted with the help of Sandy Unitas and will offer donors various giving levels, including the opportunity to become a seat sponsor for one of the stadium's 11,000 seats, 275 of which are numbered 19, Johnny Unitas' famed number.

Conferences: The America East Conference will add the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in all sports for the 2003-04 academic year. The addition of UMBC brings the America East membership to 10 institutions. "The institution is a natural fit for the conference with an academic and athletics mission similar to our current members," said America East Commissioner Chris Monasch. "The Mid-Atlantic location of UMBC, combined with our present membership in New York and New England, positions America East as a significant mid-major conference in this part of the country." America East presently consists of nine institutions -- University at Albany; State University of New York at Binghamton; Boston University; University of Hartford; University of Maine, Orono; University of New Hampshire; Northeastern University; State University of New York at Stony Brook; and University of Vermont. America East also has associate membership with Quinnipiac University in men's lacrosse. The expansion is the first for America East since 2001 when it added Binghamton, Albany and Stony Brook.

Miscellaneous: Chase Corn, a football student-athlete at Wofford College, has been chosen as the recipient of the annual Division I-AA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. Corn, selected from a group of 10 finalists, will receive a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship. He will receive his award during the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics convention in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, this June. Corn is an outside linebacker, a three-time Verizon Academic All-American, and a member of the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll and Wofford's dean's list. Corn will attend medical school at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, where he plans to specialize in orthopedic sports medicine.

-- Compiled by Gary T. Brown