“This is an accomplishment that really reflects on the quality of student-athletes we have at Grand Valley State,” said athletic director, Tim Selgo. “I am extremely proud of our coaches and administration and thank the university for its wonderful support of our athletic program.”

GVSU finished with 1021.50 points and was able to tally points in the maximum of 14 sports (7 men’s, 7 women’s). The Lakers placed a total of 16 teams in postseason play during the 2009-10 academic year, with eleven teams finishing in the top 10 nationally. GVSU used consistency throughout each season, collecting 355.00 points in the fall, 330.50 points in the winter and 336.00 points in the spring. The Laker women scored 570.5 points, while the men scored 451.0 points.

Grand Valley State claimed the National Championship in women’s soccer, finished second in football, women’s cross country and women’s indoor track & field, third in women’s outdoor track & field, fourth in men’s swimming & diving, fifth in men’s cross country, sixth in women’s golf, eighth in women’s swimming & diving, ninth in baseball and women’s tennis, 17th in men’s basketball, 23rd in men’s outdoor track & field and 29th in men’s indoor track & field. GVSU did not count the points scored by men’s golf and women’s volleyball.

Rounding out the top five nationally were California (Pa.) (703.00), Central Missouri (672.50), Minnesota State-Mankato (660.50), and St. Cloud State (643.50). GLIAC schools were also well represented with Ashland finishing seventh (636.75), Wayne State 21st (454.5) and Findlay 34th (392.25).

GVSU’s seven Directors’ Cup titles are tops among all NCAA DII school’s and the 2009-10 campaign marked the third straight year that Grand Valley State has eclipsed the 1,000-point total.

The Lakers lead the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings following the completion of the fall sports season.

In standings announced Wednesday, GVSU earned 380 points — well ahead of the nearest competitor. The Lakers are seeking their seventh consecutive Directors’ Cup trophy.

Minnesota-Duluth is second with 239 points, while Carson-Newman, Tenn., (231), California, Pa., (229) and West Texas A&M (216) round out the top five.

Grand Valley finished in the top 10 in four of the five championships it qualified for — women’s soccer, first; football and women’s cross country, second; and men’s cross country, fifth. They also finished 33rd in women’s volleyball.

–Courtesy HollandSentinal.com

After more than a year of planning, changing our mind, moving forward and procrastinating, we have decided to introduce the first publication of D2SportsTalk.

Our site is dedicated to highlighting and celebrating each sport in NCAA Division II, while spotlighting each national champion. This magazine does just that.

Within days we will be announcing specifics on how to order the hard-copy publication and possibly an e-zine version.

Brand, who began his tenure in January 2003 after having served as president at Indiana and Oregon, died at his Indianapolis home. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2008 and announced his condition to the NCAA Executive Committee, the national office staff and the leadership at NCAA member schools in January, saying the long-term prognosis for his condition was “not good.”

Brand remained committed to leading the Association even through his illness, guiding the national office staff and communicating with presidential leadership up until the final days. He attended the Men’s Final Four in Detroit, was at the table for the Association’s spring governance meetings and worked at his office into September.

Brand was named president-elect of the Association in October 2002 after a national search to replace Cedric W. Dempsey, who had announced he was retiring at the end of that year after having led the Association since 1994.

Robert Lawless, who as president of Tulsa chaired the Executive Committee at the time of Brand’s hire and chaired the search committee, called Brand a pre-eminent “educational leader.

Brand’s contract originally was to run through December 31, 2007, but the NCAA Executive Committee voted in 2005 to extend Brand’s contract by two years and then annually for the indefinite future. The contract extension was scheduled to run through December 31, 2009.

Before assuming the NCAA’s top leadership position, Brand was president at Indiana from 1994 through 2002, and at Oregon from 1989 to 1994.

Born May 17, 1942, Brand earned his bachelor of science degree in philosophy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1964 and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Rochester in 1967.

He is survived by his wife, Peg, and one son, Joshua.

FULL STORY

–Courtesy NCAA.org

This the first time since the Association restructured in 1997 that the committee has elected a standing member as chair. Previously, the vice chair of the Division II Management Council automatically served as chair of the Championships Committee. However, the Council recently adopted noncontroversial legislation to make its vice chair an ex-officio, non-voting member of the committee rather than chair.

The Championships Committee had been the only Division II governing body to have its chair come from another committee. After Montgomery’s term expires, the committee may elect a replacement to serve up to two years as chair.

Montgomery is entering her 21st year at West Alabama. She has spent the last two years in administration, serving as associate athletics director and as the athletics department’s senior woman administrator.

“Janet Montgomery is highly respected around the country, especially in NCAA circles. She continually brings positive recognition to UWA through her NCAA involvement and we applaud her efforts. UWA is lucky to have her and so is the NCAA Division II Championships Committee,” said UWA Director of Athletics E. J. Brophy.

She began her tenure at UWA in 1989 as women’s volleyball and softball coach. On the diamond, Montgomery amassed more than 400 wins and ranks among the winningest coaches in Gulf South Conference softball history. The former Wisconsin-Parkside standout and UW-P Hall of Fame inductee guided the Tigers to five Gulf South titles and an NCAA regional appearance.

Montgomery has served on a number of NCAA committees since 2000, including her tenure as chair of the Division II Softball Committee from 2002-04. She also was a member of the Division II Championships Eligibility project team in 2004-05.

Montgomery was appointed to the Division II Championships Committee in 2002.

–Courtesy UWA Athletics

Quote from Grand Valley State Athletics Director Tim Selgo:

“While we’re very proud of all the competitive success of all our student-athletes, we’re proud of them in other ways as well. This past semester, 59.6 percent of our student-athletes achieved a three-point grade point average or better and have accumulated a total of 3,200 community service hours. Our competitive success is due in large part to the outstanding conference we compete in. In this year’s Directors’ Cup standings, four our conference members finished in the top 20.”

Minnesota State-Mankato, Central Missouri, Abilene Christian and Indianapolis rounded out the Top 5.

–Courtesy NACDA.com

With the 2009 NCAA Championship title, Nebraska has captured five national titles (three NCAA and two IBC) since the program was elevated to varsity status in the 1997-98 season.

Junior Cassandra Leuthold, anchor for the NU team, was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 2009 Championships.

The Huskers are no strangers to Central, as the two teams met in both 2004 and 2005 at the NCAA finals. NU prevailed in both years for its first two NCAA Championship titles.

Nebraska commanded the lead early in the first game with a 200-185 win over Central. However, NU left several open frames in the second game and fell, 198-149, to the Jennies. The Huskers picked up momentum again in the third game with a 201-168 win over UCM.

In the fourth game, freshmen Danielle van der Meer and Valerie Calberry came out strong in the eighth and ninth frames with two strikes in a row, setting Central Missouri down 31 pins as Leuthold entered the 10th frame. The Huskers defeated UCM in the fourth, 201-177, and led Central 3-1 heading into the fifth game.

The Huskers came out swinging in the fifth game, as sophomore Katie Ann Sopp rolled her third strike in five frames. Van der Meer and Calberry earned two more strikes for the Huskers in the third and fourth frames. Nebraska held tight to the momentum and defeated UCM, 190-135, in game five for the title.

–Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

In Swimming and Diving, defending men’s champion Drury joins 21 other teams to compete for this year’s title as the defending women’s champ, Truman State, has to battle it out with 23 other teams to repeat.

Defending track champions, St. Augustine’s (men) & Adams State (women), will join a field of to vie to the national title, while defending wrestling champion, Nebraska-Kearney will seek to repeat as champion.

NCAA FESTIVAL BLOG

This case includes a failure to monitor by the university and the head track and field coach, as well as violations involving impermissible inducements, extra benefits and paid visit violations.

Penalties for the violations, including those self-imposed by the university, include two years probation, vacation of records, recruiting restrictions, athletics scholarship reductions, and a financial penalty.

The majority of the violations occurred in the track and field program, with many committed by the head coach. Other violations in this case occurred when members of the football coaching staff provided academic assistance to two prospective student-athletes to assist them in attaining NCAA academic eligibility at the university. This assistance included allowing the young men to utilize the coaching staff’s office computers to complete the assignments and then mailing in the coursework to the outside institution to be graded.

Finally, the committee found the university did not monitor the living arrangements of prospective student-athletes living in on-campus housing and using the on-campus recreation facility free of charge. The committee also found the university failed to monitor the official paid visit process during one academic year.

FULL STORY

–Courtesy ReporterNews.com

The Lakers totaled 382 points, 141 more than second-place University of Massachusetts Lowell. GVSU finished in the top 10 of the five championships they qualified for — women’s cross country (second), women’s volleyball (third), men’s cross country (fifth), football (fifth) and women’s soccer (ninth).

The second place River Hawks placed second in women’s field hockey, fifth in men’s soccer, 13th in men’s cross country and 22nd in women’s cross country. Tampa is in a close third position after finishing third in men’s soccer, 14th in women’s cross country and 17th in both women’s volleyball and women’s soccer.

Minnesota-Duluth sits in fourth place after winning the national title in football and earning points in women’s cross country and volleyball. Rounding out the top five was Metropolitan State (CO) after the Roadrunners finished third in women’s soccer, 14th in men’s cross country, 17th in men’s soccer, 19th in women’s cross country and 33rd in women’s volleyball.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup is a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 14 sports — seven women’s and seven men’s.

–Courtesy NACDA