NCCA News

In an effort to improve the men’s basketball environment, the NCAA and its member coaches have partnered to establish the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Ethics Coalition, an independent committee of current and former basketball coaches. The group will be charged with promoting ethical conduct through leadership, education and mentoring.

Melinda Campbell was chosen as head women’s basketball coach at Meredith. Campbell, who as head tennis coach from 1992-2000 led the school to its first NCAA tournament berth, has been a faculty member at the college for the past 17 years. She will continue to serve as a professor of exercise and sports science in addition to her basketball coaching duties. Campbell succeeds David Zinn, who stepped down assume responsibilities as an assistant athletics coordinator at Meredith.

This past fall, the women’s soccer team at Mercy embarked on a semester-long campaign to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research. In addition to generating dollars through the sale of pink caps stamped with the college’s logo and by collecting donations, the Mavericks shined a spotlight on an important new weapon in the battle against breast cancer.

Sara Tolner’s memory of her graduation from Gettysburg will be unlike anyone else’s this spring.

The Southland Conference will induct former McNeese State basketball student-athlete Joe Dumars and former Stephen F. Austin women’s basketball coach Gary Blair into the conference’s Hall of Honor. The two will be recognized during the conference’s annual honors ceremony on May 28.

The NCAA is soliciting nominations for an immediate vacancy on the Softball Rules Committee. The appointee will replace Jamie Brown of Cal State Chico, who resigned from the committee. The appointee may be a coach or an administrator.

In line with the stated purpose of an emerging sport, does sand volleyball really provide additional participation opportunities for women, or will it be populated by student-athletes who already play the indoor game?

Toledo hired Greg Smith as head women’s volleyball coach. Smith has spent the past three seasons as the top assistant at Notre Dame.

Members of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics called for NCAA presidents and chancellors to take “collective action” to moderate rates in the growth of athletics spending that have outpaced those in higher education overall

Julie Roe, NCAA director of enforcement, is among this year’s College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America Hall of Fame inductees.

The Division III Management Council has new members in positions allocated for a president and a student-athlete.

(The following is Part 1 of a three-part series)

Drury will break ground on its O’Reilly Family Event Center this Friday. Construction will begin soon thereafter, with a goal of opening the facility in fall 2010.

Southeastern Louisiana eliminated its men’s tennis program, effective June 30, and department officials warned that more budget reductions could be on the horizon. With the removal of men’s tennis, the Lions now sponsor 15 Division I sports.

(The following is Part 1 of a three-part series) Immediately after Divisions I and II approved sand volleyball as an emerging sport this year, a popular volleyball message board overflowed with comments and questions: When would the season be played? How many scholarships will be allotted? Do we need to build facilities? What about scoring? Staffing? Uniforms?

The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions has levied penalties against South Alabama’s men’s tennis program that include a postseason ban and scholarship reductions.

Division III softball championship scores from the weekend:

When American University volleyball coach Barry Goldberg finds a 17-year-old international recruit in her hometown, playing on the local club team, he knows he’s got to be careful recruiting her.