#10: Longtime Cabrini Women's Lacrosse and Field Hockey HC Jackie Neary on the final few weeks of the athletic department's existence: "We’re smiling on the outside, crying on the inside. That’s what we’re doing. You’re trying to be very stoic and it’s hard, it’s tough. During my long walk today, going through my head was how are we going to manage the emotions of our girls this weekend? Every year you’re either going to win or it’s the end, one or the other. I just want to make sure that there’s not too much weight put on the end this time. We talked about the elephant in the room. Now the elephant is bigger than the room. So that’s going to be one of my big coaching talks. I just want them to be prepared. I want them to take a deep breath. I do this every year but this year there’s just so much more weight to it.” Former Baseball HC John Dzik: "It’s just so bad to see Cabrini go down the drain. From my perspective I really felt like the administration did not give the alumni the real story about finances and then say, ‘do you want to do anything to try and save your school?’ The alumni never really had a chance. They were broadsided by the fact that the school was going to close their doors by the end of May." Cabrini's campus was sold to Villanova and will officially become Villanova West in the coming months. (link)
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#9: Eastern Nazarene elevates Assoc. AD/Men’s & Women’s Volleyball HC/Men’s & Women’s Tennis Interim HC Derek Schmitt to AD. He replaces Brad Zarges following the former AD’s recent transition to serve as Chief Experience Officer for the College. Zarges: “Since Derek arrived at ENC, he has been an integral part of the athletic department leadership team. In recent years, as Associate Athletic Director, he has been instrumental in pushing forward with our continual improvement planning and execution. Derek's legacy of success as a coach is evident in every program he has led, which can be attributed, at least in part, to his relentless pursuit of excellence. I have no doubt that he will bring the same work ethic and tenacity to his duties as Director of Athletics. I am excited to see new initiatives under his leadership that will positively impact our student-athletes and campus.” (link)
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#8: The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) and Southern Athletic Association (SAA) agree on a 2024 football scheduling agreement that will feature a series of crossover contests between league members during week three of the DIII football calendar. More info, including a list of match-ups. (link)
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#7: Birmingham-Southern Baseball advanced to Super Regional play and is starting to garner media attention for the fact that, should the Panthers advance to the DIII World Series, the team would be active after the school shuts its doors. (link)
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#6: Dozens of additional coaching moves from across the college athletics landscape are in this morning’s Coaches.wire. (link)
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#5: Geneva freshman center fielder Molly Shelley’s snag, while crashing through the temporary fencing during a NCCAA Tournament match-up, came in at No. 2 on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays. (link)
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#4: The 2024 NCAA DIII Softball Super Regionals are also set with action slated for campus sites over May 23-24. (link) |
#3: The final 16 squads have been finalized for 2024 NCAA DIII Baseball Super Regionals to be held at campus sites over May 24-25. (link, link)
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#2: Macalester promotes AD Donnie Brooks to Assoc. VP for Student Affairs/AD after leading the department since January of 2019. VP for Student Affairs Kathryn Kay Coquemont: "Donnie is a wonderful leader, inspiring not only our students and his team, but our alumni, parents, and community, too.” Brooks: "This is an exciting time at Macalester Athletics. Over the past five-plus years, we have worked hard to transition our culture and enhance the way we recruit, develop and support our students. The changes we've made as a team have led to a more holistic approach to competitiveness in the MIAC as we look to bring that same approach to the national stage.” (link)
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#1: St. Lawrence Senior Assoc. VP for Athletics Bob Durocher announces his intention to retire after nine years leading the athletic department. He originally joined the Saints back in 1989 as a Men’s & Women’s Soccer AC, was elevated to serve as Men’s Soccer HC in 1990 and then promoted further to Asst. AD in 2000. He was eventually selected to lead athletics in 2015 and named Senior VP for Athletics in fall of 2020. (link)
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