Dean Blais named head men’s ice hockey coach at Nebraska-Omaha. He led North Dakota to Division I championships in 1997 and 2000 before joining the Columbus Blue Jackets staff, then served last season as head coach and general manger of the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League.

Other transactions

Baseball – Kermit Smith named head coach at Lander after leading Belmont Abbey to the semifinals of the Division II Baseball Championship this year.

Men’s basketball – Jeff Burkhamer announced as head coach at Lander, following a seven-year stint at Armstrong Atlantic.

Women’s basketball – Tola Neils stepped down after three seasons as head coach at Edgewood.

Football assistants – John McKenzie hired as receivers coach at Alabama A&M … Neal Boozer named secondary coach and Bill McCarthy appointed running backs coach at Holy Cross.

Golf – Donnie Darr hired as head men’s coach at Ohio State after three seasons as an assistant at Oklahoma State.

Lacrosse – Lyndsey Boswell selected as head coach for the new women’s program at High Point. She has been head coach at St. Andrews Presbyterian for the past three seasons … Seth Tierney agreed to a new five-year contract as men’s coach at Hofstra.

Soccer – Kirsten Russell named head women’s coach at Notre Dame (Maryland), where she also will coordinate athletics recruiting. She previously was assistant coach at Washington (Maryland) … Mark Stollsteimer appointed head men’s coach at Millikin after 12 years as head coach at Davis & Elkins … Sean Brennan named assistant men’s coach at Mount Olive after a year on the staff at Methodist.

Softball – Keith Fisher retired after 10 years as head coach at IPFW, where he departs as the most-victorious coach in the program’s history with 135 wins … Kathy May Hill resigned as head coach at Felician, where she posted a 149-152 record through eight seasons.

Swimming and diving – Former Auburn all-Americans Aaron Ciarla and Carrie McCambridge named assistant coaches at the school, where Ciarla is a former graduate assistant who filled in this year on the staff after Richard Quick stepped down from day-to-day coaching duties before his death, and McCambridge served as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Conferences

Vaughn Calhoun named assistant commissioner of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. The former Rutgers football student-athlete will serve in a position funded for the next two years by a Division III Ethnic Minority and Women’s Internship Grant

Deaths

Chad Webb, an all-American football player at Pittsburg State who was named defensive player of the year in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in 1997, died June 11. He was 32.