Conferences: Philadelphia University will join the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference beginning in fall 2005. "This is an outstanding opportunity for our student-athletes and athletics department as a whole," said President James P. Gallagher. "We have worked very hard in developing working relationships with the members of the CACC, and we look forward to being part of this outstanding conference." Philadelphia U. has been a member of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference since 1991. Its men's soccer program will continue to be classified in Division I and compete in the Atlantic Soccer Conference.

Facilities: Nova Southeastern University broke ground April 21 on a new 260,000 square foot, state-of-the-art University Center, a multipurpose facility featuring a student union, wellness and fitness center, performing arts venue, and a convocation center sports arena -- the second-largest of its kind in Broward County, Florida. Nova Southeastern's men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team will play their home games at the University Center. The Knights also will have team-specific locker rooms for each of their 13 intercollegiate sports, and the university's athletic training staff will be housed in the facility as well. The project should be competed during the 2005-06 academic year.

Sports sponsorship: West Chester University of Pennsylvania will keep its women's gymnastics team to settle claims that eliminating the program would violate Title IX regulations. U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick had ruled that a group of students were likely to prevail in their argument that eliminating the team would violate Title IX. Surrick noted that 60 percent of the student-athletes at West Chester are women but that most intercollegiate athletics participants are men. West Chester eliminated men's lacrosse at the same time as women's gymnastics, and Athletics Director Edward Matejkovic said the school never intended to discriminate against women. In related actions, West Chester added a women's rugby team this month and a women's golf team last fall.

-- Compiled by David Pickle