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Mississippi State named Rick Ray head men’s basketball coach. Ray comes from Clemson, where he was associate head coach the past two seasons. He also spent time coaching at Purdue for four seasons and Indiana State for seven.

Other transactions

Athletics directors – Arizona State appointed Steve Patterson vice president for university athletics and athletics director. Patterson joined the Sun Devils originally in 2011 as the chief operating officer … Montana will not renew the contract of Athletics Director Jim O’Day. Jean Gee will take over in an interim capacity.

Associate athletics directors – Southern Mississippi hired Brian Morrison as associate athletics director for major gifts.

Coaches

Baseball – Palm Beach Atlantic appointed Kent Bottenfield as its head baseball coach. Bottenfield was the associate head coach to Gary Carter before Carter died in February.

Men’s basketball – Chowan will not retain head men’s basketball coach Dan DeRose. DeRose spent two seasons leading the program … John Groce is Illinois’ new head men’s basketball coach. Groce spent the last four seasons as Ohio’s head coach. He replaces Bruce Weber, who was hired at Kansas State … Mount St. Mary’s introduced Jamion Christian as its new head men’s basketball coach. Christian is returning to his alma mater after being an assistant at VCU … Southern Illinois tabbed Barry Hinson as its head men’s basketball coach. Hinson spent the last four years on Kansas’ staff and has head coaching experience at Missouri State … Nick Robinson is Southern Utah’s new head men’s basketball coach. Robinson spent the last the seasons on LSU’s coaching staff as an assistant … Tulsa named Danny Manning head men’s basketball coach. Manning has been an assistant at Kansas since 2007 … Winthrop selected Pat Kelsey as its head men’s basketball coach. Kelsey is a former Wake Forest and Xavier assistant … Wisconsin-Oshkosh head men’s basketball coach Ted Van Dellen announced his retirement. Van Dellen spent 22 years with the Titans.

Women’s basketball – Illinois hired Matt Bollant as its new head women’s basketball coach. Bollant led Green Bay for the past five seasons … Indiana chose Curt Miller to lead its women’s basketball program as head coach. Miller spent the previous 11 seasons leading Bowling Green … Longtime Northern Kentucky women’s basketball coach Nancy Winstel announced her retirement. Winstel lead the program for 29 seasons … Wisconsin-Oshkosh head women’s basketball coach Terri Schumacher stepped down … Texas-Tyler head women’s basketball coach Stasha Richards resigned after three seasons at the helm.

Women’s basketball assistants – Missouri Southern added Jaime Green to its women’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant. Green, a former Lion player, most recently was Newman’s head coach for two years.

Football – Robin Pflugrad will not return as Montana’s head football coach. Pflugrad spent two seasons in the role. Mick Delaney is the interim head coach.

Football assistants – Arkansas Tech promoted Jo Nixon to defensive coordinator and graduate assistant Matt Kitchens to linebackers coach … Wagner hired Custavious Patterson as wide receivers coach. Patterson spent the last six seasons as an assistant at Fordham.

Men’s and women’s lacrosse – Colorado named Ann Elliott its first head women’s lacrosse coach. Elliott, a former player and assistant at Northwestern, will lead her squad into competition in 2014.

Men’s and women’s soccer – Holy Cross tabbed Marco Koolman as its new head men’s soccer coach.

Softball – Illinois-Chicago and head softball coach Michelle Venturella agreed to a three-year contract extension, keeping her with the program through 2015. Venturella is currently in her fourth season as head coach.

Men’s and women’s volleyball – Morehead State awarded head women’s volleyball coach Jaime Gordon with a contract extension through the 2015 season.

Men’s and women’s volleyball assistants – Kennesaw State added Orlando Gonzalez to its women’s volleyball coaching staff as an assistant. Gonzalez spent the last three seasons as Michigan Tech’s head coach.

Staff

Development – Nevada named Robyn Sharp director of development for athletics.

Spots information – McNeese State sports information director Louis Bonnette is retiring after 46 years.

Conferences

The Colonial States Athletic Conference appointed Jennifer J. Dubow as commissioner. Dubow has been the league’s interim commissioner since August and has worked with the conference since 2009 … The Eastern College Athletic Conference announced the formation of a Division II lacrosse league that will begin play with the 2013 season … Pacific accepted an invitation to join the West Coast Conference for the 2013-14 academic year.

Milestones

Rensselaer head baseball coach Karl Steffen earned his 700^th career win. Steffen took over the program in 1985 … Juan Ranero, Rowan’s head baseball coach, won his 400^th career game. 

NCAA committee vacancies

Division I

The NCAA is soliciting nominations for a September 2012 vacancy on the Men’s Gymnastics Committee. The appointee can be from any division or subdivision; any region and must be an administrator. The following Division I institutions are eligible for consideration:

University of California, Berkeley; Stanford University; University of Illinois, Champaign; University of Iowa; University of Michigan; University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Pennsylvania State University (Big Ten will have representation in September); University of Illinois at Chicago; Temple University; U.S. Air Force Academy; U.S. Naval Academy (Patriot League currently represented)

Due to low sports sponsorship, duplicate conference representation is permissible on this committee. The deadline for submitting nomination materials is April 27, 2012. Nominations must be submitted online.

Division III

The NCAA is soliciting additional nominations for the following committee vacancies. The deadline for submitting nomination materials is April 27. Nominations must be submitted online (Access code: committee3 – Password: 2006).

• Division III Financial Aid Committee – One immediate vacancy. There are no restrictions on this appointment.
• Division III Interpretations and Legislation Committee – One immediate vacancy. The appointee will replace Lisa Wisniowicz, Aurora University, who resigned from the committee.  The appointee must be a female.
• Division III Baseball Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Central region; coach or administrator.
• Division III Women’s Golf Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Midwest region; coach or administrator. 
• Men’s Gymnastics Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Any division or subdivision; any region; must be an administrator.
• Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies; East and West regions; both must be administrators. 
• Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. ECAC West Ice Hockey Conference; must be an administrator.
• Division III Women’s Lacrosse Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Metro region; must be an administrator. 
• Division III Rowing Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Pacific region; must be an administrator. 
• Division III Men’s Soccer Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. South Atlantic region; must be an administrator.
• Division III Softball Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Midwest region; must be an administrator. 
• Division III Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies. One must represent diving interests (preference: diving coach); one must represent women’s swimming interests; one must be a female; any region; coaches or administrators.
• Division III Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies. One must represent men’s interests; one must represent women’s interests; one must be a female; South/Southeast and Central regions; one must be an administrator. 
• Division III Women’s Volleyball Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Central region; coach or administrator. 
• Football Rules Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Region 2 (Connecticut, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia); coach or administrator.
• Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies: one must represent men’s interests and one must represent women’s interests; one must be a coach.

Send announcements – including hirings, contract extensions, retirements, milestones and deaths – to transactions@ncaa.org.