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Notables

News and notes from around D-III

From June 2001

Hilbert hires Kosiba as women's coach
HAMBURG, N.Y. — Chris Kosiba has been appointed as the head women's basketball coach and athletics facilities coordinator at Hilbert College. He will also serve as the assistant women's volleyball coach.

Kosiba was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year for the Guilford in Greensboro, N.C. Most recently, Kosiba was assistant women's basketball coach at Guilford, which won the 2001 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship.

A native of Tampa, Kosiba, who will reside in Buffalo, is a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Association of Applied Sport Psychology.

Kosiba received a bachelor's degree in exercise and sport science from Guilford and is pursuing a master's degree in physical education from Western Illinois University.

Hungerford named at Conn. College
NEW LONDON, Conn. — Connecticut College Director of Athletics Kenneth McBryde has announced the hiring of Laura Hungerford as its new head women's basketball coach.

Hungerford comes to Connecticut College following a five-year stint as the head women's basketball coach at Rochester Institute of Technology. She was named the Empire Eight Conference Coach of the Year in 2000-01 after guiding the Tigers, 10-15, to the highest win total in the 14-year history of the program.

In addition to her coaching experience at RIT, Hungerford spent five years at the University of Chicago where from 1991-96 she served as a head softball coach, assistant women's basketball coach, and assistant professor of physical education.

From 1985-91 she held a similar position at Maine-Farmington where she was the head women's basketball and softball coach and an assistant professor of physical education.

Her first coaching job came in 1982 when she was named the head women's basketball coach at Manchester Community College in Manchester, Conn. In two seasons her teams compiled a record of 23-19.

Hungerford was a four-year standout for the women's basketball team at Central Connecticut State University and earned her bachelor of science degree in health and physical education in 1979. She then went on to serve as a graduate assistant for the women's basketball team from 1980-82 while earning a master's degree in secondary physical education.

Callero resigns as Puget Sound coach
University of Puget Sound Athletics Director Richard Ulrich announced the resignation of head men's basketball coach Joe Callero. Callero resigned his position with the Loggers to become head men's basketball coach at Division II Seattle University.

Callero, who directed the Puget Sound program during the 1999-2000 and the 2000-2001 seasons, takes over a Redhawks program that finished 6-21 last season. Seattle University competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Callero, a northwest native, compiled a 22-25 overall record during his two years with the Loggers and a 14-18 Northwest Conference ledger. This past season the Loggers were 14-10 overall and placed 4th in the conference with an 8-8 record.

A graduate of Central Washington (1986), Callero earned his M.Ed. from Seattle (1991) in Post-Secondary Counseling. Prior to his two-year stay at Puget Sound, Callero coached at Sumner (Wash.) High School from 1992-1995 and also Highline (Wash.) Community College from 1989-92 and 1995-98. Callero was also an assistant at Southern Cal for one season in 1998-99.

"Joe Callero did a fine job of revitalizing the Logger men's basketball program. The Logger players competed with energy and enthusiasm and this is a credit to his leadership and coaching," noted Ulrich.

"We will immediately begin a search for a new coach and anticipate the hire will occur in mid to late July."

Jenkins falls out of NBA draft
William Paterson guard Horace Jenkins was not the second Division III player to be selected in the NBA draft in the last three seasons.

The first team All-American, who led the Pioneers to two Final Four appearances and national runner-up status this spring, was hoping to join Augsburg alum Devean George as the only Division III players drafted in the past decade. There were a total of 58 selections made Wednesday night.

But all hope is not lost. Jenkins, who "has worked very hard to get to this point," according to William Paterson head coach Jose Rebimbas, is in the Orlando Magic rookie camp.

Lebanon Valley's Andy Panko, who was in the same class as George but not drafted, has spent two seasons in the Lakers' training camp and the IBL. He will report to the Chicago Bulls' camp this fall. George, as the only Division III player ever taken in the first round, has one season left on a guaranteed three-year contract with the Lakers.

Hoffman named head coach at Montclair
UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. — Montclair State University announced that it has hired Jaime Hoffman as its new head coach for women's basketball. Hoffman comes to MSU after serving as an assistant coach with St. Francis University in Brooklyn last season.

She becomes the eighth head coach in the 32-year history of the Red Hawk program.

Prior to her one-year stint with the Terriers, Hoffman was the head coach at Newbury College in Brookline, Mass., for three seasons, helping that program transition from the junior college level to NCAA Division III. The Knights finished 20-4 in her final campaign, its first in the NCAA. Hoffman, who also coached softball and women's tennis at Newbury, earned the Massachusetts Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Achievement Award in 2000, after being named NJCAA Region XXI Division II Coach of the Year in 1999.

Hoffman, who was the head women's basketball coach at Marymount College in Tarrytown, N.Y., prior to joining Newbury, played collegiately at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. A four-year letterwinner and two-year team captain for the Cardinals, she earned her bachelor's degree in Social Work and also played on Catholic's softball team.

SCAC adds conference tourney
The Board of Directors of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) passed legislation creating postseason league men's and women's basketball tournaments beginning in the 2002-03 academic year.

The top eight men's and women's basketball teams in the 10-school league will play a postseason tournament to determine the league's champion and automatic entry to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Previously, the league's regular-season champion has earned automatic entry into the tournament. Millsaps and Rose-Hulman shared the SCAC men's basketball regular season championship last season, with Millsaps earning the automatic bid. Centre, DePauw and Sewanee shared the women's crown, with Centre earning the automatic bid.

The SCAC regular-season schedule will change from an 18-game double round-robin format to a 14-game conference slate as designated by the Athletics Directors Council and the Basketball Coaches Council. The first two tournaments will be played in Memphis and hosted by Rhodes. The teams will be seeded from one to eight, based on winning percentage and current conference tiebreakers.

The move will leave just five conferences that award an automatic bid without a conference tournament — the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, Empire 8, St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and University Athletic Association.

Wilkes tabs Reed as women's coach
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Wilkes University Director of Athletics Addy Malatesta has announced the hiring of Jim Reed to head the school's women's basketball program. Reed replaces Karen Haag, who resigned in May after accepting the head coaching position at Division II College of St. Rose.

"Jim brings a wealth of coaching experience with him, ranging from the Division III to the Division I level," commented Malatesta. "We feel that Jim will be a very valuable addition to our athletic department staff. His credentials as a recruiting coordinator are a notable strength that he will bring to the position. We are excited about Jim joining our staff."

A 1985 graduate of Bucknell with a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Reed has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater. His duties at Bucknell included assisting in practice planning and organization, scouting and planning game strategy, practice and game coaching, and serving as the recruiting and NCAA recruiting compliance coordinator.

This past season Reed helped the Bison set a school record for wins with 20 as the squad fashioned a second place showing in the Patriot League. A season earlier, Bucknell advanced to the Patriot League championship game for the first time in school history.

Prior to his stint at Bucknell, Reed spent three seasons as a volunteer assistant girl's basketball coach at Indian Valley High School. He served as an assistant coach with the men's team at Division II Indianapolis during the 1994-95 season. He also had two stints, one each with the men's and women's programs at Susquehanna. Reed was a member of the women's basketball coaching staff at Susquehanna from 1989 to 1992, while serving in the same capacity with the men's program from 1992 to 1994.

"It is time to put our hard hats on and go to work," stated Reed. "We need to put a team together that will be able to compete against the better teams in the Freedom Conference. Looking at the current situation, our immediate goal is to improve as much as we can. We want to give ourselves a chance to be competitive with everyone. I feel it is very important to develop confidence that we can be competitive by affording our student/athletes an enthusiastic and hard working environment."

Reed will be inheriting a program that has struggled as of late, posting just a 6-18 overall record a year ago, while finishing with a 2-12 mark in the Freedom Conference. The Lady Colonels have had six consecutive losing campaigns since ending the 1994-95 season with a record of 13-11.

Despite the lack of success in recent years, Reed is excited about the prospects that lie ahead. "Being a head coach is something that has definitely been a goal of mine, and I feel that this is a good situation. I am going to attack this job with a great amount of enthusiasm and excitement."

E. Mennonite hires former D-I coach
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Mike Dunavant, former head coach at Rice University and most recently head girls' basketball coach at Central Virginia High School, as head coach of the Lady Royals' basketball team.

Dunavant just completed his eighth season at Central Virginia High School in Richmond, Va. He began coaching at Central Virginia in 1993. Over the past four years he compiled a 75-14 record and won two conference titles.

Dunavant brings 24 years of coaching experience at all levels of competition. He began his career with Randolph-Macon as an assistant to retired coach Hal Nunnally. After a brief stint with Randolph-Macon, he arrived at Virginia Wesleyan to lead the women's basketball team. During his stay at Virginia Wesleyan, he led his team to the Dixie Conferece Tournament for the first time in school history. After only two years, Dunavant's team ranked 16th in the country by the NCAA and they received the second bid into the NCAA Tournament after winning the conference title.

Dunavant then moved on to Virginia Commonwealth to head the women's basketball program. It took him only two years to coach the Rams to their first winning season and then led them to a perfect 12-0 home record and a school-record 21 wins.

In 1988, Dunavant left VCU and spent two years at Syracuse as assistant women's coach and recruiting coordinator. His journey then took him to Rice University in 1989 where he was named head women's basketball coach. In his first season, he led his team to a school record for wins. His second season brought more accolades as his team received a top 40 ranking for the first time in school history.

His next two seasons found his teams defeating top 25 ranked teams. In all, Dunavant has been part of three NCAA Tournament teams and has won six conference championships, seven coach of the year honors, and led five teams to a national ranking.

"I am delighted to have someone of Mike's caliber in our department," new EMU Athletic Director Larry Martin said. "It is not often that a Division III program gets someone with Division I head coaching experience. We are expecting good things to happen at EMU."

"My going to Harrisonburg is not about the basketball," Dunavant said. "This is listening to God's word. I am doing what he has led me to do. None of this would be possible without the training and the support I have received from my business family at Simsmetal America, my church family at Clover Hill Assembly of God, my home school basketball family, my old and new friends at EMU, and of course my immediate family, especially my wife Doris. If what happens to me during my stay in Harrisonburg can truly make a difference in others lives then that alone will make it all worthwhile."

Dunavant replaces Doug Hochstetler who coached the women's team for the past seven years. Assisting Dunavant will be Hope Warriner and Josh Dunavant, Mike's son.

The Lady Royals are coming off a 4-20 season, but they return the nation's leading scorer and three-point specialist in junior guard Emily Mullet.

OWU's Carney-DeBord takes sabbatical
DELAWARE, Ohio — Ohio Wesleyan women's basketball coach Nan Carney-DeBord will be on a faculty sabbatical during the 2001-02 academic year and will not coach the team during the upcoming season, it was announced June 15 by University provost Dr. William Louthan. Louthan also announced Liana Coutts has been hired as interim head coach for the 2001-02 season.

Carney-DeBord, a professor in Ohio Wesleyan's physical education department, will be on academic leave. Ohio Wesleyan faculty members are eligible for academic leaves every 6 years.

"First and foremost, I take my position as a member of the Ohio Wesleyan faculty with honor and with great seriousness," Carney-DeBord said. "I felt it was time to take a leave of absence to do scholarly work. After 16 years at Ohio Wesleyan and the demands of coaching year-round, there's no way to choose one semester over another semester. The decision was a difficult one — when coaching and teaching, you always have seniors, and the group most directly affected (by this) is the seniors. I respect and admire each and every one of my players and know that our senior leadership will help guide the 2001-02 basketball team."

Carney-DeBord guided the Battling Bishops to a third-place finish in the 2001 NCAA Division III tournament and a 26-7 overall record last season and was named the WBCA Division III National Coach of the Year. Ohio Wesleyan shared the North Coast Athletic Conference championship, then won the NCAC tournament to advance to the NCAA Division III tournament. Carney-DeBord is a six-time NCAC Coach of the Year. She has piloted the Battling Bishops to five NCAC championships, three NCAC tournament titles and four NCAA Division III tournament appearances. She has a career record of 285-132 in her 16 seasons at Ohio Wesleyan.

Coutts has served as an assistant coach at Butler University, Ohio University, Central Michigan University and the University of the Pacific. This will be her first head coaching position. A 1989 graduate of Ohio State, Coutts was a 3-year starter at point guard for the Buckeyes, helping the team win three Big Ten championships and advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 twice.

A native of Delaware, Coutts graduated from Hayes High School in 1984 after starting four years for the Pacers. She was a first-team All-Ohio selection and helped Hayes win two Ohio Capital Conference championships.

Ohio Wesleyan will return 11 letterwinners from last year's team. The Battling Bishops have won or shared the last 3 NCAC championships.

Cabrini hires new women's head coach
RADNOR, Pa. — Darlene Hildebrand has been named the women's basketball head coach at Cabrini College. Hildebrand served as an assistant coach at Philadelphia University for the past four seasons. She becomes the fourth head coach in program history, and the first female to guide the team.

Hildebrand replaces Dan Welde, who guided Cabrini to a 232-124 mark in his 14 seasons as head coach. She finished her playing career as the NCAA's all-time free-throw percentage leader (88.5%). Hildebrand also was a two-time All-American and was selected to the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference team in all four of her seasons.

Hildebrand takes over a team which finished the season 14-10, losing in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference quarterfinals. The Lady Cavaliers won the PAC Southern Division in the regular season.

As an assistant at Philadelphia University, Hildebrand was a major contributor in recruiting and organized the program's scouting process.

Texas assistant hired for Alma men
ALMA, Mich. — Alma has hired University of Texas assistant coach Ed Kohtala as its head men's basketball coach, athletic director Denny Griffin announced on June 13. Kohtala becomes the 23rd men’s basketball coach in school history, taking over for Kevin Skaggs, who was let go in April after six seasons with the Scots. Kohtala will begin his coaching duties July 1.

Kohtala, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant under Texas head coach Rick Barnes, organized individual player workouts, while also handling scouting preparation and assisting with on-campus recruiting for the Longhorns from 1998-2001. While at UT, Kohtala, 42, helped lead the Longhorns to a 68-31 (.687) overall record, which included three NCAA Tournament appearances (1999, 2000, 2001). The Longhorns finished the 2000-01 campaign ranked No. 18 nationally, going 25-9.

Prior to Texas, Kohtala spent one season as an assistant at Clemson (1997-98). He earned his first collegiate coaching job in 1996-97 as a graduate assistant at Florida under head coach Billy Donovan. The 42-year-old Kohtala was head coach at Rabun-Gap Nacoochee High School in Rabun-Gap, Ga. for three years prior to Florida.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for my family and I,” Kohtala said. “I’m very excited to be apart of Alma College and the surrounding community. It has been an amazing five years in Division I basketball and my advancement and knowledge in the sport has greatly increased because of great coaches like Rick Barnes and Billy Donovan. There is outstanding high school and college basketball in the state of Michigan and I’m looking forward to the challenge of recruiting top players to represent Alma College.”

“We’re thrilled to have Ed as our new head men’s basketball coach,” said Griffin. “He brings with him a great deal of experience and knowledge in the sport of basketball that will take our program to another level. He is a first-class individual and Alma College is happy that Ed and his family will be apart of the college and community.”

Kohtala, a native of Vienna, Maine, graduated from Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, Maine. He later went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Maine in 1981.

Bechler takes over at LeTourneau
Jamy Bechler, at 27 years, three months, 19 days, became one of the youngest head basketball coaches in the NCAA when it was announced on April 15, 2001, that he would take the reins of the LeTourneau LadyJackets. Bechler, the assistant men's coach at Anderson the last three years, succeeds Mary Ann Otwell, who began the LadyJackets program and won 128 games and a pair of NCCAA National Championships.

"While Jamy has some tough shoes to fill, we are confident that he can maintain the level of excellence that coach Otwell has built with the women's basketball program," said LeTourneau Athletic Director Bernie Balikian. "Basketball is one of our flagship women's athletic programs and it was important for us to find the right fit. Coach Otwell did a masterful job transitioning the program from NAIA to NCAA Division III and we believe Jamy is the right person to take it even higher at the Division III level."

During Bechler's tenure with the Ravens, they were ranked in the top-25 nationally on numerous occasions. He also helped lead the program to three consecutive winning seasons, something that had not been done in more than 20 years. During the 1998-1999 season, the Ravens were 5th in Division III in free throw percentage, as well as field goal percentage.

Learning from head coach Denny Lehnus, a member of the National Junior College Hall of Fame with more than 800 victories to his credit, his duties as the full-time assistant coach included coaching the junior varsity, working with post players on offense, scouting, recruiting coordinator, marketing, academics and scheduling. The Ravens were 48-28 (.631) during Bechler’s three years.

"This is a dream come true, said Bechler, "Since I was in eighth grade, I have wanted to be the head basketball coach at a small college. It has been my good fortune to work with and work under great people, who have taught me much in the way of basketball and life. Leading young women and having an influence in their life is a great responsibility and I feel truly blessed to have this opportunity."

Prior to his days at Anderson, Bechler served as an assistant men’s coach at Kent State. He was on that Division I staff for two years. As an assistant to Gary Waters, he helped the Golden Flashes to the Mid-American Conference Final Four during the 1997-1998 season. He helped recruit many of the players that made NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2001 (beating Indiana in the first round), as well as a quarterfinal appearance in the NIT in 2000.

A graduate of Hiram, where Bechler earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. He received varsity letters in Basketball, Football and Track. After Hiram, he received his Master of Arts degree in Athletic Administration from Kent State.

Bechler is aware of the LadyJackets' and Otwell's success. "I am thrilled and honored to be given an opportunity to follow in coach Mary Ann Otwell's footsteps. It is my desire to one day be as respected and experience as much success as coach Otwell.

"The LadyJackets have experienced a tremendous amount of success the last five years. I look forward to building upon this success and continuing the national championship caliber tradition that LeTourneau is used to experiencing," said Bechler.

Oliver named women's coach at CUW
Concordia University Wisconsin has named Chuck Oliver its new head women's basketball coach, CUW President Patrick Ferry announced.

Oliver, a native of Grand Island, Neb., attended Grand Island Senior High School from 1983-1986 where he was a three-year letter winner and honorable mention all-state. He received his bachelor's degree in Secondary Education with an emphasis in Theology and History in 1990 from Concordia University Wisconsin. He is in the process of working toward his master's and doctorate degree in Educational Administration.

A standout athlete at Concordia University Wisconsin from 1986-1990, Oliver is on the Falcons' Top 10 career scoring, assists and steals list as well as being a member of two Lake Michigan Conference championship basketball teams. He was selected all-conference three times at CUW and was also awarded Most Valuable Player and Most Inspirational player.

Oliver had a very successful coaching career at Valley Lutheran High School in Phoenix from 1991 to 1999 before returning to Concordia to be the men's basketball assistant coach in 2000. Oliver takes over a program that had an overall record of 7-11 and a 3-9 record in the Lake Michigan Conference.

Coach Oliver said, "I'm excited about the opportunity that is before me and my goal is to take Concordia University Wisconsin back to the top of the Lake Michigan Conference and back to the NCAA Division III Tournament."

Notables 2003-pres.

2003 Notables
February 15-28
February 1-14
January 16-31
January 1-15

2002 Notables
December 16-31
December 1-15
November
October-early Nov.
September-October
June-August
May
March-April
February 22-28
February 15-21
February 8-14
February 1-7
January 22-31
January 15-21
January 8-14
January 1-7

2001 Notables
December 16-31
December 1-15
October-November
July-September
June
May
April
March

Notables 1998-2001

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