Sports sponsorship: New Jersey Institute of Technology will reclassify its men's soccer program to Division I and play as a member of the Atlantic Soccer Conference beginning in 2005. The school will play in its final season as a member of the Division II Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference in 2003. Since reclassification is a two-year process, all players must meet Division I eligibility standards beginning with the 2003-04 academic year, and in 2004, the Highlanders must play a minimum of 11 Division I opponents. "This is a step toward improving the level of national visibility of our entire athletics program," New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics Director Leonard Kaplan said. "One benefit of athletics to universities is to help create a higher profile and more visibility and marketability. We have three other sports, men's and women's fencing and men's volleyball, which are classified as 'national collegiate' sports, and as such, already face Division I opponents. After an evaluation of our remaining sports on facilities, program history, conference availability, and other factors, men's soccer was an easy choice." In June, Kaplan named Pedro Lopes as head coach. Lopes is a former assistant soccer coach at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey at New Brunswick. The Atlantic Soccer Conference was established in 2000 with nine schools offering Division I men's soccer while holding various NCAA classifications. On May 20, the league accepted New Jersey Institute of Technology as its seventh member, joining Adelphi University, Florida International University, Hartwick College, Howard University, State University College at Oneonta and Philadelphia University.

Facilities: Officials from A-Turf, a division of Surface America, have completed installation of the new A-Turf Premier-RS synthetic playing surface at Gerald J. Ford Stadium, which Southern Methodist University uses as its football facility. The new surface replaces the natural grass that had been used at the stadium since the facility opened in 2000. A-Turf Premier-RS is a state-of-the-art synthetic grass surface. Southern Methodist will host Oklahoma State University September 20 for the first game on the new field.

Miscellaneous: The Southland Conference is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2003-04 and has unveiled a commemorative logo to mark the occasion. The league was formed in 1963 when administrators from Abilene Christian College, Arkansas State College, Arlington State College, Lamar State College of Technology and Trinity University met at the Baker Hotel in Dallas. Originally an NAIA conference, the Southland joined the NCAA College Division in 1968. The College Division was re-named NCAA Division II and Division III in 1973, and the league played two seasons as a Division II member. The Southland was an Division I league from 1975 to 1981 before joining the Division I-AA ranks in 1982, its home ever since. Current Southland members are Lamar University, University of Louisiana at Monroe, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Sam Houston State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, Southwest Texas State University, Stephen F. Austin State University, University of Texas at Arlington, and University of Texas at San Antonio. The Southland sponsors 17 championship sports, all at the NCAA Division I level. The league earns automatic qualification to NCAA championships in football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, men's golf, women's tennis and women's soccer.

-- Compiled by Gary T. Brown