#10: Southern Maine MSOC HC Keller will retire after 19 seasons leading the Huskies. (link) |
#9: Drive & Company, parent firm of D3.ticker (yea, that’s us), has hired Fontbonne VP of Athletics & Operations Buckel as its new COO. Buckel: "I wasn't considering leaving Fontbonne or college campus but the more that we talked over months and the more I learned about the dynamic team, the more I knew that I wanted to be part of the vision that the team's working towards. Professionals are so stretched right now in higher ed and often do not have the time to prioritize the things in their lives and their work that they'd like to and I'm excited to join a team that's trying to fill those gaps in the industry that can allow them greater flexibility to determine how to make their time the most fulfilling they can." (link - release, link - Collegiate Sports Connect convo with Buckel on her move)
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#8: Baldwin Wallace Dean of the College of Education and Health Sciences Dittmore pens on “Why Consistent Messaging in Crisis is Important to Organizations” in relation to Whittier’s decision to drop four sports. Dittmore details his concern with citing concern for CTE and head injuries in the decision to drop FB and Lacrosse specifically as multiple follow-ups with news outlets make no mention of the reference. “[Board of Trustees Chair] Santana and [President] Oubre obviously know their campus situation better than I do, but the takeaway here is that in a time of crisis or significant negative news, what people in positions of authority say matters. It is nearly impossible to appease all stakeholders when deciding to cut a college sport. Therefore, how the news is delivered, and what is said, will go a long way to explaining a decision. An underlying theme throughout the Handbook of Risk and Crisis Communication (published by Routledge) is consistency of the message is critical in communicating the organizational position on an issue, and helping interpret fact from rumor. When messaging changes, organizational credibility is easily questioned. Why the change in message from the official announcement to the Los Angeles Times and television stories? Perhaps Santana received pushback after the initial announcement and deliberately avoided the topic of potential head injury while being interviewed by Solis and Marin. Or perhaps the reporters chose to emphasize cost as the primary reason for the decisions.” (link)
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#7: Goucher Field Hockey HC Eversley steps down after four seasons. (link) |
#6: The Los Angeles Times’ Solis pens on the aftermath of Whittier deciding to drop four sports, which will impact 120 S-As and around a dozen coaches. Board of Trustees Chair Santana estimates the move will save $700K which will be reallocated to “supporting student wellness,” adding that FB required around $500K annually. Solis: “College officials said the decision to cut the athletic programs was meant to benefit the rest of the student body. Santana points out that since the lacrosse program was the only team on the West Coast, their closest competitors were in the Rocky Mountains and other teams are farther east. The costs for these teams were too high to justify, he said, when compared to the rest of the college. Alumni who learned the school was cutting the lacrosse program criticized the school for not trying to raise funds through the alumni community. But Santana said even then the costs would have been too high to maintain the programs in an ongoing basis. The decision was made to ensure that other sports programs will be able to survive in the long term, Santana said. The school promised it would not be eliminating any additional programs, and that's why the administration eliminated all three programs all at once. Santana noted that the school has a growing esports program, which involves athletes who play competitive video games, and the administration sees that as a place where the school can invest its resources.” (link)
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#5: Gwynedd Mercy Freshman XC S-A DeSimone completed his first season of competition this fall after receiving waiver approval to compete while enrolled in GWU’s Integrated Studies program for those with intellectual disabilities. Griffins AD Mondillo: “To me, it was almost a slam dunk. You have a student here that’s full time that wants to participate and is able to participate athletically.” Moving forward, students with intellectual disabilities will no longer need a waiver, provided they are enrolled in a program approved by the Department of Education. (link)
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#4: Cedar Crest has been awarded $1M in state funding to convert its Softball field to turf and add lighting. (link) |
#3: The FB quarterfinals kick off Saturday. (link) |
#2: Albion Asst. AD for Athletic Training/Head Athletic Trainer Lawrence will serve as Interim AD, effective immediately. (link) |
#1: Babson unveiled The Path Forward, a comprehensive strategic plan that includes a new mission statement, six guiding principles and five strategic priorities. AD Lynch: “This comprehensive, thoughtful and ambitious plan provides the department with a road map for an even brighter future. Through its development and our collective execution of its concepts, Babson student-athletes will benefit in myriad ways and our program will continue its ascent among the very best in college athletics.” (link)
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