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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Facilities: Lafayette College dedicated the Bourger Varsity Football House in June as part of Reunion Weekend. The opening of the 24,000-square-foot facility at the west end of Fisher Field features team locker rooms, strength and conditioning areas, sports medicine facilities, offices and meeting rooms. The facility is named after John Bourger’s parents in appreciation for the support and encouragement they provided Bourger while he was a member of the Lafayette football team ... Iona College unveiled a new design for its basketball and volleyball court. The redesign features a natural wood color with Iona’s traditional maroon-colored lines. A 25-foot Gael marks center court and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Iona College Gaels word marks are also incorporated into the design ... Wichita State University has embarked on a “Building Excellence for the Student-Athlete” campaign, the crux of which is an indoor practice facility adjacent to Eck Stadium. Director of Athletics Jim Schaus said the project is divided into two phases, which total $5.5 million, based on priority of need. However, it is the intention of the campaign to fund and construct both phases together and as soon as possible. “We feel we have one of the finest baseball facilities in the country, but there are some areas that need to be addressed for us to maintain success,” Schaus said. Phase I of the project includes a 22,500-square-foot indoor practice facility with field turf, full infield and retractable batting cages. The climate-controlled facility will be used during inclement weather by the baseball, softball, golf and track teams, as well as for conditioning and training activities by all 15 sport programs. Phase II includes a new home team locker room and the relocation of the baseball offices. The school has set a tentative start date for the project of December 2008 or early 2009, but the target will be dictated by fund-raising and necessary timing of the project for the earliest possible completion, according to Schaus.
Sport sponsorship: Fairfield University elevated men’s rowing to become the program’s 20th varsity sport beginning with the 2007-08 academic year. Men’s and women’s rowing club teams began operation at Fairfield in the early 1990s, and the women’s team was given varsity status for the 1997-98 season. The institution is searching for a director of rowing to oversee both the men’s and women’s programs.
Conferences: The Atlantic Sun Conference formed a partnership with Play ON! Sports, a division of Turner Sports, to provide exclusive online video streaming of all sports for its nine member institutions. The service will begin in August 2007 and is expected to host a minimum of 540 regular-season and championship games in a variety of sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball and baseball ... Four NCAA conferences announced they have formed the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association, a new Division I men’s and women’s swimming and diving conference composed of 12 members from four regional conferences in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. The CCSA, which will begin competing this fall, was established through the cooperative efforts of the coaches, administrators and commissioners of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Big South Conference, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southern Conference, and has received approval from the NCAA for membership as a Division I conference. “The Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association creates a regional conference championship opportunity for all the swimming and diving programs in the four participating conferences,” said Atlantic Sun Commissioner Ted Gumbart, executive director of the CCSA. “The main focus in establishing the CCSA has been the student-athletes, and we are excited that the swimmers and divers in each of our leagues now have a conference home and honors for which to compete.” The charter members of the CCSA in women’s swimming are Campbell University, College of Charleston (South Carolina), Davidson College, Florida A&M University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Georgia Southern University, Howard University, North Carolina A&T State University, the University of North Florida, Radford University and Virginia Military Institute. The six schools that comprise the CCSA men’s swimming members are College of Charleston, Davidson, Florida A&M, Gardner-Webb, Howard and VMI. The CCSA will host its inaugural league championship February 21-23, 2008. CCSA administrative duties will be divided among the four conferences. Also planned are the selection of a senior woman administrator and the formation of a student-athlete advisory committee.
Miscellaneous: Marquette University men’s basketball coach Tom Crean and his wife Joani committed $100,000 to the construction of a new soccer stadium. The Creans said the soccer program has a “promising future” due in part to the quality people leading the athletics department. The new stadium will feature a natural grass pitch, partially covered spectator seating, team locker and meeting rooms, concessions and restrooms. It is expected to cost about $5 million and should open in September 2008. Interim Athletics Director Steve Cottingham said he was delighted but not surprised by the Creans’ generosity. “This commitment is simply another instance of the ownership they have had in this university and athletics program since that day more than eight years ago when they first stepped foot on campus,” Cottingham said. “We are very fortunate to have Tom as Marquette’s men’s basketball coach, but even more fortunate to have the Crean family as part of the Marquette family.” ... The University of Memphis Tiger Scholarship Fund set a record for contributions in the 2006-07 fiscal year — more than $5.6 million was donated to the organization charged with raising scholarship dollars for Memphis student-athletes. It is the ninth consecutive year that the fund-raising efforts for the fund set a record. In addition to the $5.6 million in unrestricted donations, the fund also generated $2 million in gifts-in-kind ... The University of Houston extended its contract with multi-media partner ISP sports through 2015-16. Since the initial contract was signed before the 2002-03 season, ISP has increased the amount of sponsorship dollars for Houston athletics.
The University of Nevada, Reno, recently broke ground on its 8,000-square-foot Marguerite Petersen Academic Center. The center completes the E.L. Cord Foundation Academic and Athletics Performance Complex, a 46,000-plus-square-foot facility designed to provide Wolf Pack student-athletes with top-notch resources. Already completed are the renovations to the Robert and Nancy Cashell Football Center, including new locker rooms, and the state-of-the art Roger B. Primm Sports Medicine and Strength Center. Construction on the academic center should be completed in eight to 10 months.
Iona College’s new basketball and volleyball court design features a natural wood color and a 25-foot Gael at center court.
Wichita State University’s “Building Excellence for the Student-Athlete” effort includes an indoor practice facility.
Sport sponsorship: Fairfield University elevated men’s rowing to become the program’s 20th varsity sport beginning with the 2007-08 academic year. Men’s and women’s rowing club teams began operation at Fairfield in the early 1990s, and the women’s team was given varsity status for the 1997-98 season. The institution is searching for a director of rowing to oversee both the men’s and women’s programs.Conferences: The Atlantic Sun Conference formed a partnership with Play ON! Sports, a division of Turner Sports, to provide exclusive online video streaming of all sports for its nine member institutions. The service will begin in August 2007 and is expected to host a minimum of 540 regular-season and championship games in a variety of sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball and baseball ... Four NCAA conferences announced they have formed the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association, a new Division I men’s and women’s swimming and diving conference composed of 12 members from four regional conferences in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. The CCSA, which will begin competing this fall, was established through the cooperative efforts of the coaches, administrators and commissioners of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Big South Conference, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southern Conference, and has received approval from the NCAA for membership as a Division I conference. “The Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association creates a regional conference championship opportunity for all the swimming and diving programs in the four participating conferences,” said Atlantic Sun Commissioner Ted Gumbart, executive director of the CCSA. “The main focus in establishing the CCSA has been the student-athletes, and we are excited that the swimmers and divers in each of our leagues now have a conference home and honors for which to compete.” The charter members of the CCSA in women’s swimming are Campbell University, College of Charleston (South Carolina), Davidson College, Florida A&M University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Georgia Southern University, Howard University, North Carolina A&T State University, the University of North Florida, Radford University and Virginia Military Institute. The six schools that comprise the CCSA men’s swimming members are College of Charleston, Davidson, Florida A&M, Gardner-Webb, Howard and VMI. The CCSA will host its inaugural league championship February 21-23, 2008. CCSA administrative duties will be divided among the four conferences. Also planned are the selection of a senior woman administrator and the formation of a student-athlete advisory committee.
Miscellaneous: Marquette University men’s basketball coach Tom Crean and his wife Joani committed $100,000 to the construction of a new soccer stadium. The Creans said the soccer program has a “promising future” due in part to the quality people leading the athletics department. The new stadium will feature a natural grass pitch, partially covered spectator seating, team locker and meeting rooms, concessions and restrooms. It is expected to cost about $5 million and should open in September 2008. Interim Athletics Director Steve Cottingham said he was delighted but not surprised by the Creans’ generosity. “This commitment is simply another instance of the ownership they have had in this university and athletics program since that day more than eight years ago when they first stepped foot on campus,” Cottingham said. “We are very fortunate to have Tom as Marquette’s men’s basketball coach, but even more fortunate to have the Crean family as part of the Marquette family.” ... The University of Memphis Tiger Scholarship Fund set a record for contributions in the 2006-07 fiscal year — more than $5.6 million was donated to the organization charged with raising scholarship dollars for Memphis student-athletes. It is the ninth consecutive year that the fund-raising efforts for the fund set a record. In addition to the $5.6 million in unrestricted donations, the fund also generated $2 million in gifts-in-kind ... The University of Houston extended its contract with multi-media partner ISP sports through 2015-16. Since the initial contract was signed before the 2002-03 season, ISP has increased the amount of sponsorship dollars for Houston athletics.
The University of Nevada, Reno, recently broke ground on its 8,000-square-foot Marguerite Petersen Academic Center. The center completes the E.L. Cord Foundation Academic and Athletics Performance Complex, a 46,000-plus-square-foot facility designed to provide Wolf Pack student-athletes with top-notch resources. Already completed are the renovations to the Robert and Nancy Cashell Football Center, including new locker rooms, and the state-of-the art Roger B. Primm Sports Medicine and Strength Center. Construction on the academic center should be completed in eight to 10 months.
Iona College’s new basketball and volleyball court design features a natural wood color and a 25-foot Gael at center court.
Wichita State University’s “Building Excellence for the Student-Athlete” effort includes an indoor practice facility.
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