1. The meeting came to order at 10:30 a.m. Members attending were Athletic Director Steve Kirkham; Faculty representatives Jacqueline Berning and Travis Peterson; Academic Coordinator Robert King; Executive Director of Student Support and Judicial Affairs Steve Linhart; Financial Aid representative Jennifer Fisher; SAAC representative Jason Shaver; Staff Representative Gudrun McCollum; and UBAC representative Al Schoffstall.
Also attending were coaches Barnett, Ellis, Misch, and Ridenour.
2. The minutes of the October 7 meeting were approved without dissent.
3. The Attending Coaches all gave wrapup reports for their fall sports. All coaches would love to have more faculty and staff attend games! It's free and it means a lot to the student athletes. The faculty have been great at accommodating the schedules of the players when they have to travel. The coaches really appreciate the support.
- Coach Misch noted: Cross Country is finishing up. The first track meet is on Saturday. Academic All American for both teams. There are 25 students in XC. 60% men 40% Women. It's really hard to recruit in Division II, especially women. Scholarships - He has about 6.5 full scholarships. Maximum in Division II is 25.2. This can make recruitment difficult. Approximately 60-65 students per year are recruited to UCCS because of the Track and XC programs. Average scholarship is $1200.
- Coach Barnett noted: The team placed 4th in the RMAC - good influx of talent. They were projected to take eighth place in the beginning of the season. The team is estimated to have an average 3.4 GPA. Great team work administratively. 15 students started the season and only one left. Recruiting is just about done. Three students coming in for sure, possibly one additional student from DI.
- Coach Ridenour noted: The team finished 6th in conference and made the RMAC playoffs for the first time ever! This is a big accomplishment because the team has only been in existence for two years. The team GPA is great. Eight student athletes were selected for academic teams. Lauren Hall was 1st team all conference and all region. Coach Ridenour needs to recruit a big scorer for next year. Of the 11 starting positions eight were sophomore and freshman. On Jan 30 an open try out will be held.
- Coach Ellis noted: The team finished 5th (first out of the playoffs) this year. He characterized the team as very young composed of mostly freshmen and sophomores. They have had the most wins since 2003. Three students made all conference two made all region. Two academic awards. GPA is at 3.0 now which is a big improvement from before. Recruiting mostly from Colorado. Players are 60% instate 40% out of state now.
4. Kirkham gave the Athletics Director Report.
- Women's Basketball has only 2 games left in the Lion's Den. The first games in the new event center will be January 8.
- Kirkham discussed proposed legislation. The Division II package is intended to establish an identity more like Division III and less like Division I. Eleven programs are going from Div I to Div II next year. If the package passes, student athletes will be arriving a week later than before. This will save money. Basketball would be playing 26 games (one less than before). Soccer would be cut back from 20 to 18 matches.
- The grand opening of the event center will be January 22. Seating is limited to 1300, so get there early.
- Current steel and silver standing is 18-0. UCCS has won every fall competition.
5. Jason Shaver gave the SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) report.
- The halloween BOO-zar event was held on October 28. Despite the blizzard, over $100 was raised for the Make A Wish Foundation.
- Pumpkin cut outs were sold during a volleyball match with receipts to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation.
- Had a successful food drive.
- Will be holding a bake sale on December 5, also to benefit Make A Wish Foundation.
- The pen pals program with local elementary schools will be expanded to involve each of the teams, not merely each of the SAAC representatives. The track team will meet their pen pals next week.
6. At 11:35, the meeting was adjourned.
