Conferences: The Presidents� Athletic Conference added its fourth new member in nine months � and its first single-gender athletics program � with its acceptance of Chatham College as its 10th member beginning in 2007-08. Chatham, which currently competes in the Atlantic Women�s Colleges Conference, sponsors seven varsity sports. �Aligning with the PAC will enhance the athletic experience of our student-athletes and will continue to raise the bar for our athletics program overall,� said Amy Buxbaum, athletics director at the 1,500-student institution. The conference currently sponsors championships in nine women�s sports, in addition to 10 men�s championships. �The addition of Chatham to the PAC is an historic event, as it marks the first time in the 50-year history of the conference that a single-gender undergraduate institution has been accepted for league membership,� said Timothy R. Thyreen, president at Waynesburg College and chair of the league�s Presidents� Council. Chatham President Esther L. Barrazzone said her school is eager to build relationships with other PAC members. �Like Chatham, the current and future members of this conference are committed to developing strong athletics programs within an environment of academic quality,� she said. �We know that our young women will positively contribute to the conference and represent Chatham well, both on and off the field.�

Facilities: Albright College recently completed its first football season in a rebuilt stadium named for longtime coach Eugene Shirk. �It was a labor of love,� said Athletics Director Steve George, a former football and baseball captain at the school who headed the project. George credited 1969 graduate John Scholl�s $1 million donation with kicking off what became a $6 million project to completely rebuild Shirk Stadium � preserving only two stone columns standing at the stadium�s original entrance. The 5,000-seat structure and its artificial turf field now is home to several varsity teams, including soccer, field hockey and lacrosse in addition to football. �In the first part of the 20th century, there was no finer place in the East to play college football than Albright Stadium,� George said. �Because the concrete structure was perceived as an identifying icon for the college, the design of the new facility had to equally reflect and enhance that perception.� The facility also is used by the Reading (Pennsylvania) School District, which shared in the cost of the project. The project also included more locker room space for teams, a modern press box and a new scoreboard, as well as a redesign of the exterior of the adjacent LifeSports Center.

Milestones: Pat Miller earned his 100th victory in men�s basketball when the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, clinched the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with its February 18 win over the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. Miller is in his fifth season at the school ... Bosco Djurickovic notched his 171st victory at Carthage College February 11 against North Central College (Illinois), making him the school�s most-victorious men�s basketball coach and boosting his overall 20-year record to 367-165 (including his 10 seasons at North Park College) ... Tobin Anderson collected his 100th victory in men�s basketball during his seventh season at Hamilton College, with a February 10 win over Vassar College.

Miscellaneous: Suzanne Coffey, director of athletics at Bates College and former chair of the Division III Management Council, will serve as commissioner for the fourth World Scholar-Athlete Games this summer in Rhode Island. The event, first staged by the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island in 1993, is expected to attract more than 2,000 participants aged 15 to 19 from more than 150 countries and all 50 states, beginning June 24. �The Games present an extraordinary opportunity for young leaders from around the world to come together to compete and learn with each other in a context that highlights world citizenship,� said Coffey, who also accepted an appointment as the institute�s interim vice president. The event features competition in 15 sports, as well as activities in the arts and �educational theme days� focusing on such topics as ethics and sportsmanship, and world health, hunger and nutrition. This year�s gathering also is the highlight of the institute�s 20th anniversary celebration ... Beloit College�s Josh Hinz tied a Division III single-game mark with his 36 rebounds in his team�s latest basketball shootout with Grinnell College February 4 � but even that accomplishment may have been overshadowed by his 50 points in Beloit�s 120-112 victory. Hinz closed out his career at the school two weeks later with more than 1,915 points and 834 rebounds � both school career records. The performance against Grinnell was one of 15 double-doubles posted this season by the senior ... Perhaps an even more unusual � in fact, very possibly unprecendented � �double� was recorded February 10 and 11 when Chapman University baseball centerfielder Tyler Dean hit for the cycle in back-to-back games against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. During the first game, Dean opened his day with a triple, then followed it with a double, home run and single on his home field. A day later, at Pomona-Pitzer�s field, he was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat, then responded with a double, a triple, a single and an eighth-inning home run. There are no NCAA records for multiple �cycle� games, but the Elias Sports Bureau, responding to a question from Chapman Sports Information Director Doug Aiken, reports that no professional baseball player ever has hit for the cycle in back-to-back games.