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The Record

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Ouachita Baptist chose Kevin Wright to lead its men’s soccer program as head coach. Wright comes from Howard Payne, where he was head coach since 2008. Assistant coach Wilson Jones will also migrate from Howard Payne to the Tigers with Wright. Wright takes over for Alex Denning, who accepted the head women’s soccer coach position at NAIA institution Lubbock Christian.

Other transactions

Athletics directors – Hendrix appointed Amy Weaver athletics director. Weaver, also the Warriors’ head softball coach, had served as the interim athletic director since November … Rhode Island and director of athletics Thorr D. Bjorn agreed to a three-year contract extension. Bjorn, who has been with the institution since 2007, is now inked through June 30, 2015.

Coaches

Baseball – WPI named Michael Callahan full-time head baseball coach and assistant sports information director. Callahan had been the team’s part-time head coach the past six seasons.

Men’s basketball – Canisius will not retain head basketball coach Tom Parrotta after his sixth season at the helm … Rhode Island released head men’s basketball coach Jim Baron from his contract. Baron coached the Rams for 11 seasons … Chris Lowery will not return as Southern Illinois’ head men’s basketball coach. Lowery spent eight seasons with the Salukis.

Women’s basketball – Longtime Wagner head women’s basketball coach Gela Mikalauskas announced her retirement. Mikalauskas spent 18 seasons at the helm of the Seahawks.

Football assistants – East Carolina named Dave Nichol outside receivers coach. Nichol spent the previous five seasons at Arizona … Georgia State moved Lamont Seward from wide receivers to running backs coach. Brett Gilliland will coach the wide receivers and Jeff Monken will coach the tight ends. Quarterbacks coach Mitch Ware was also named assistant head coach … Howard Payne added Randy Miller to its football coaching staff as offensive line coach. Miller was most recently an assistant coach at the high school level … Northern Arizona wide receivers coach Francis St. Paul resigned after five years overall with the program … Stanford named David Kotulski inside linebackers coach. Kotulski was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Lehigh the past six seasons.

Men’s and women’s soccer – Knox chose Matt Edwards to lead its men’s soccer program as head coach. Edwards previously coached at Amherst and Springfield as an assistant … St. Norbert named Derek Rhodes head men’s soccer coach. Rhodes comes from the high school level.

Softball – Christina Perez is John Jay’s new head softball coach. Perez played for the Bloodhounds from 2008-11.

Softball assistants – Holy Cross named Nick French assistant softball coach. He spent one year as an assistant at Memphis.

Men’s and women’s tennis – Caldwell hired Jan Marco Jiras as its head men’s tennis coach. Jiras is a former Caldwell student-athlete and currently works in the institution’s office of admissions.

Men’s and women’s volleyball – Knox tabbed Shayla Chalker as its new head women’s volleyball coach. Chalker was previously an assistant at Quincy.

NCAA Committee Vacancies

The NCAA is soliciting additional nominations for the following committee vacancies. The deadline for submitting nomination materials is April 6, 2012. Nominations must be submitted online (access code: membership2 – password: service).

Division II Nominating Committee – One September vacancy; preference: South Central region (Heartland Conference, Great American Conference, Lone Star Conference, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (9/12). Committee preference:  individuals with previous committee experience and/or Division II longevity.

Division II Baseball Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies; Atlantic and Central regions; coaches or administrators. 

Division II Men’s Basketball Committee – One September 2012 vacancy; Midwest region: coach or administrator. 

Division II Women’s Lacrosse Committee – One September 2012 vacancy; South region; coach or administrator. 

Division II Men’s Soccer Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies; South Central and West regions; one must be an administrator. 

Division II Women’s Soccer Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies; Atlantic and East regions; one must be an administrator. 

Division II Softball Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies.  Southeast and Central regions; coaches or administrators. 

Division II Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies. One must have diving expertise; one must be an administrator; one must represent men’s or women’s swimming interests.

Division II Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee – Two September 2012 vacancies.  Atlantic and Central regions; one must be a female; one must be an administrator. 

Division II Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Committee – One September 2012 vacancy. Central region; coach or administrator; men’s or women’s interests. 

Division II Women’s Volleyball Committee – One immediate vacancy replacing Taylor Mott, Flagler College; Southeast region. Two September 2012 vacancies; Central and West regions. Two of the three appointees must be administrators. 

Division II Wrestling Committee – One September 2012 vacancy; East region; coach or administrator.

Men’s Basketball Rules Committee – One September 2012 Division II vacancy; Region 4 (Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming); coach or administrator.

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