Notables

Cornell men's basketball coach Mike DeGeorge, who led the Rams to the 2009 NCAA Division III Tournament, announced his resignation Monday, July 20, after five seasons on the Hilltop.

DeGeorge accepted a position as a reserve field manager for Farmers Insurance and will work in the Denver, Colo., area for the next two years. His new job is part of a training program to be a district manager where he will recruit, train and lead a group of 25-30 insurance agents in a district.

"This was not a decision I came to easily or was it a decision I had planned," DeGeorge said. "Over the last several years, it was becoming clear that the long hours on nights and weekends and college coaching demands were going to make it even more challenging for me to be a good father and husband as my kids get older.

"Quite frankly, I am not ready to be done with coaching, but I want to create a permanent home for the kids before they reach middle school age. This will be difficult in the short term, but I believe it is best for me and my family in the long term."

DeGeorge and his wife Christi have four children: son Max, 7, and daughters Maya, 6, Morgan, 4, and Madison, 1.

DeGeorge rebuilt a struggling Cornell program into a conference champion and national qualifier in his final season. The Rams claimed the Iowa Conference Tournament title -- only Cornell's second conference team championship in any sport in 11 years as a member in the IIAC -- and earned their first berth to the NCAA Tournament since 1994.

The Rams improved their win total in each of DeGeorge's final three seasons. Last year's squad achieved the program's first winning season since 2002-03. DeGeorge compiled a 47-82 career record.

Cochrane said a national search for DeGeorge's replacement will begin immediately.

Looking to build on the first conference championship game appearance in program history in 2008-09, Lauren Thomer has been named the new women’s basketball coach at Manhattanville, athletic director Keith Levinthal announced this afternoon.

“We are very excited about the future of our women's basketball program,” Levinthal said. “Lauren did an outstanding job at Army, and we believe that those same skills and professionalism that made her successful at Army will serve her well at Manhattanville.”

Thomer, who has spent the last three years working with the women’s basketball program at the U.S. Military Academy under coach Dave Magarity, replaces Candice Brown, who left after three seasons to take the head coaching position at Vassar.

“I would like to thank Keith and the search committee for giving me this great opportunity,” Thomer said. “It is a huge challenge for me, but I am ready to embrace it and bring the Manhattanville women’s basketball team to new heights this season.”

Thomer served as an assistant coach with the Army women’s basketball team for each of the last two seasons, helping the team to a 37-24 record over that span. She involved herself heavily in recruiting, scheduling and player development for the Army program, including working closely with the Black Knight guards and perimeter players.

Prior to that stint, Thomer served as head girls’ coach of the U.S. Military Academy Prep School for one season. She was responsible for all aspects of the program, while on the court she posted the program’s first-ever 4-0 record against the other service academy prep schools.

Thomer takes over a Manhattanville program that has been on the rise in recent years, culminating with an 18-11 (12-4 MAC Freedom) season and a berth in the conference title game in 2008-09. The 18 wins were the most by the squad in 25 years and marked the fifth-highest single-season win total in program history.

“A 20-win season is definitely one of my goals for the upcoming season,” Thomer said. “And after getting to the conference title game last year, winning a Freedom Conference championship and reaching the NCAA Tournament is a major goal for this program this year.”

Thomer graduated from Rider in 2004, playing the point for three seasons. The point guard was a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection and received the team’s Academic Excellence award as a senior. She also earned a master’s degree from Virginia in 2006 while serving as the head coach for the school’s club basketball team, leading the squad to a 46-6 record and the 2005 East Coast Women’s Club Championship over two seasons.

Thomer begins her duties immediately and will spend the coming months preparing for the beginning of the 2009-10 season, her first as a collegiate head coach.

“Anytime you start with a new program there are challenges asked of you,” Thomer said. “My biggest challenge will be to get the returning players and our seven new recruits on the same page and looking toward the future. We have a great chance for success due to the great support of the school and its administration.”

Thomer and the Valiants will begin the 2009-10 season on Nov. 17, when the team travels to William Paterson for a 7 p.m. non-conference tip-off.

Dickinson found its new men’s basketball coach a couple hours to the west, picking Penn State-Altoona coach Alan Seretti to fill the vacancy. Seretti replaces Dennis Csensits who left the College to take a development position at his alma mater, DeSales.

Seretti went 45-59 in four seasons with the Lions and led them to the last three AMCC tournaments. Prior to his arrival, Penn State-Altoona's all-time record was 40-131 with no winning seasons. The Lions finished above .500 for the first time ever under Seretti in 2007-2008 (14-13) followed by this year's 14-12 mark.

“Coach Seretti has taken our basketball program to new heights during his four-year tenure, and we are thankful for his many contributions to our program and the university,” said Penn State-Altoona Athletic Director Ferdina M. Ingold in a statement on the team's website. “His tireless efforts have yielded positive results not only on the basketball court but also in the classroom and throughout the community. All of us at Penn State Altoona wish him the best of luck and have no doubt he will find success in his future endeavors.”

Seretti takes over a Dickinson program that finished 12-12 last year, ninth of ten teams in the Centennial Conference. The Red Devils have had just one winning season since 2002-2003. Seretti replaces Dennis Csensits who went 60-115 in seven seasons at Dickinson.

Prior to Penn State-Altoona, Seretti was the assistant coach at Washington and Jefferson for three seasons. He was a three year letter winner at Allegheny and made two NCAA tournament appearances with the Gators before graduating in 1999. He is also a 2002 graduate of the Duquesne University School of Law.

Penn State-Altoona has begun a search process to fill its vacancy.

Crown athletic director Jim Hunter announced the hiring of Bill Adamson as assistant director of athletics and head women’s basketball coach beginning July 1. 

"After an exhaustive search we believe we have hired a coach who is committed to the process of rebuilding a women's basketball program that has been searching for stability over the past several years," Hunter said. "Bill has demonstrated over the course of his career and the interview process that he truly wants to coach and mentor young adults in a Christian environment and has a proven track record of stability in his coaching roles throughout his career.  We are blessed to have someone of Bill's experience joining our athletic staff."

Adamson takes over a team that went 2-20 last season, 2-0 against North Central (Minn.) and 0-20 against everyone else. The Storm haven't won a UMAC game since beating Northland 48-42 on Feb. 11, 2006, a streak of 43 games.

Adamson comes to Crown after spending the past six years at Itasca Community College coaching men’s basketball with the last two years as head coach.  Prior to coaching at Itasca, Adamson was the head girls basketball coach at Grand Rapids High School for five years where he also has taught mathematics in the Grand Rapids school district since 1999. 

He was a former standout basketball player at Greenway High School before attending Itasca Community College for two years and served as team captain.  He then transferred to St. Scholastica where he again was named team captain while obtaining his mathematics teaching degree and finishing out his playing career. 

During the interview process Adamson said, “I will always be a coach who will focus on relationship-building and positive reinforcement and deeply caring about the student-athletes on and off the basketball court.”  Adamson will strive to assemble and guide a team of women who possess traits that will challenge and benefit not only their team, but themselves, their community and most importantly, their faith. 

Adamson’s additional duties within the athletic department will be as the compliance coordinator, game day manager for fall and spring sports, and he will direct the intramural programs on campus. 

Bill has been married to his wife Debbie for 22 years and they have a daughter Bethani, 12. 

Texas-Tyler has chosen not to renew the contract of head women's basketball coach and associate athletic director Terri Deike.

"We thank coach Deike for her dedication and service to UT-Tyler, the athletics department, and the women's basketball program," said athletic director James Vilade. "Coach Deike played a major role in helping UT-Tyler move toward NCAA membership and she was involved in many other facets of the athletics department."

Deike was Texas-Tyler's first women's basketball coach and had a 90-61 record over six seasons. Her teams won three ASC East Division Championship and appeared in the American Southwest Conference tournament twice.

Assistant coach Cassi Little will assume the women's basketball coaching duties on an interim basis and a national search for a new head coach will begin immediately. Deike will continue in her role as associate athletics director until Aug. 31.

Holy Cross assistant coach Andrew Sachs has been named the new head men’s basketball coach at Bethany, as announced Monday by athletic director Tim Weaver.

Sachs replaces Mike Summey, who went 17-12 in one season before stepping down in early June to become the director of basketball operations at Miami (Fla.). Weaver believes Sachs’ work at strong academic institutions at the Division I, II and III levels made him a model candidate to take the reins to the Bison, who have earned a postseason bid each of the past five seasons.

"Andy's extensive experience with winning programs, along with his familiarity with our primary recruiting areas, makes him an ideal fit to lead our men's basketball program,” said Weaver. “He has worked with some great coaches in his career and has enjoyed success wherever he's been. Having spent the last five years in an academic environment like Holy Cross will enable him to understand the necessary balance between academics and basketball for our student-athletes.

“We expect Andy to continue the tremendous success we've had in men's basketball over the last few years and think he can take our program to an even higher level. We look forward to welcoming Andy and his family to the Bethany community."

Sachs has served as Ralph Willard’s assistant at Holy Cross for the past five seasons. During that span, the Crusaders appeared in four Patriot League Championship games, averaged over 20 wins per year, won two regular season titles in 2005 and 2007 and won the Patriot League Tournament in 2007 to receive an NCAA Tournament bid. Holy Cross also earned a NIT bid in 2005, where the Crusaders defeated Notre Dame for the first Patriot League post-season victory.

During his five years, Sachs helped develop two Patriot League Players of the Year, five First Team All-Conference selections and five All-Rookie selections, two of which were named Rookie of the Year.

Before arriving at Holy Cross, Sachs was an assistant for Mike Glick at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Md., in the Baltimore Catholic League. The Cavaliers averaged 28 wins in his three seasons there, claiming two MIAA-A conference titles. He also helped develop 16 players that played in college, including Rudy Gay, now with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

Before Spalding, Sachs was the associate head coach at Division II Indiana (Pa.) for Gary Edwards from 1996-2001, where he helped IUP to 98 wins in five seasons and a NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2000. Sachs was also the assistant coach for current University of Texas-Dallas coach Terry Butterfield at Virginia Wesleyan in Norfolk, Va., from 1992-1996 and helped lead the Marlins to their first ODAC Championship and a NCAA appearance in 1993.

Sachs’ first job was at his alma mater, Salisbury State, from 1988-1992, where he was also the top assistant for Ward Lambert and helped build the Sea Gulls into an NCAA Tournament contender. During his time there, the Sea Gulls made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1991 and 1992. In 1992, the Sea Gulls won a school-record 27 games in a row on their way to the best record in program history (28-2), advanced to the Elite Eight and also helped develop National Player of the Year and Division III’s all-time leading scorer Andre Foreman.

For Sachs, the opportunity to take over a successful program like Bethany is a perfect situation for his first head coaching position.

“I’ve been looking for a chance to put roots down with an established winning program and to join an outstanding academic institution like Bethany is a tremendous opportunity,” said Sachs, who is the 25th head coach in Bethany history. “I’ve had the opportunity to work at two outstanding liberal arts colleges, so I am very familiar the academic surroundings and recruiting those types of kids. In addition, getting a chance to work with an administration, led by Dr. (Scott) Miller, which is helping the school prosper in numerous ways, is a blessing.”

Bethany is slated to return four starters, including a pair of All-PAC performers, as well as three other seniors who have played key roles in the Bison’s 53 victories during their careers.

While Sachs hasn’t been able to watch video on his new team, he has had a chance to speak with the current players and likes the attitude from his squad. That is a good start for a team he says will be very focused on executing in every phase to win a basketball game.

“I’ve coached with a Salisbury team that led the nation in scoring and coached at Holy Cross, which led our league in defense four out of the last five years, but regardless of our style, the bottom line is to win basketball games,” said Sachs. “I will say this will be a team that takes great pride in our defense and doing the little things. Blocking out and taking a charge will be reinforced in practice so it becomes natural in games and is more important than looking at the box score.

“I’ve taken a lot from the guys I’ve worked with and one thing I learned from Coach Willard was being very detail-oriented,” said Sachs. “In getting a chance to talk to all the guys, I am impressed with their toughness and I believe we are on the same page. We will do the little things well and be a fun team to watch. Like I said before, the bottom line is winning games and we will not be outworked in reaching our goals.”

A native of Pasadena, Md., Sachs and his wife Paula welcomed their first child, Derek, in December 2008. He received his bachelor's (1990) and master's (1992) from Salisbury State. They plan on moving to Bethany in the near future.

Longtime Lamar (Ark.) High School Girl's Basketball Coach Carl Ramsey is the new Head Women's Basketball Coach at the University of the Ozarks, it was announced by Ozarks' Athletics Director Jimmy Clark.

Ramsey makes the jump to his alma mater after spending the last 29 seasons as head coach at Lamar. Ramsey's senior high teams averaged 22 wins during his career and he has posted a 660-227 (.744) overall record. He led Lamar to eight state tournament appearances during his tenure, including a stretch of four straight years where the Lady Warriors played for the state championship (1987-1991). He won state titles in both 1988 and 1991.

“We are excited about hiring a veteran coach that has won a lot of games during his career,” said Clark. “He is a guy who knows how to win. He has an impressive overall winning percentage, and I believe he will get us back to prominence. He knows how to get the most out of his players. I think he will bring local interest back to the program and he has many ties within the state that can be used for recruiting. I have confidence he can win as a college coach.”

Ramsey, who never had a losing season, guided Lamar to 24 regional tournament appearances. Six of his teams went to the regional championship game, with three of those winning the title. In addition to his coaching career, he has served as the school's athletic director the past 24 years.

“Lamar has been good to me,” said Ramsey. “I felt like I was at a time in my career where I needed a change. I wanted to bring on new challenges. The thought of starting over at something is exciting to me. I am more excited about basketball than I have been in a long time. As coaches, sometimes you get too complacent and you need to get out of your comfort zone. I think this a good opportunity and the timing is right for me. I’ve always had a connection to Ozarks. The thought of coming back where you started your career is enticing. I still have passion for the game.”

Ramsey received his bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Ozarks in 1979. He becomes the fifth head coach in program history and replaces Christina Jost, who took the head coaching job at NAIA Northern New Mexico College after going 15-61 in three seasons at Ozarks.

H. Christopher Rogers was named head men’s basketball coach at Marymount, according to athletic director Bill Finney. Rogers is the fourth coach in the 22 seasons of Marymount men’s basketball. He replaces Scott McClary, who stepped down two months ago to take the head coaching job at Muhlenberg.

Rogers, most recently a head assistant coach at Franklin and Marshall, comes to Marymount with eight years of collegiate basketball experience at the NCAA Division III level.

“We are pleased to have Chris join our coaching staff,” said Finney. “Our search committee was impressed with his dedication and enthusiasm. He has the ability to take our program forward.

“Chris has gained valuable experience at F&M under Glenn Robinson, the winningest coach in NCAA Division III men’s basketball,” Finney continued.

He takes over a team that went 15-13 this past season, advancing to the Capital Athletic Conference championship game. Eleven letterwinners are expected to return.

Rogers was at F&M for five seasons and was involved in all aspects of the basketball program including recruiting and practices for a program that won two regular season Centennial Conference championships and advanced to the 2009 Final Four.

Prior to F&M, Rogers was the head assistant at Lebanon Valley for three seasons. LVC teams won the 2004 ECAC and made the Middle Atlantic Conference playoffs each year. Previously, he was operations assistant for men’s basketball at Villanova and facilities and operations assistant at Pennsylvania.

Rogers is a former Big Ten Conference Scholar Athlete and won Penn State's men’s basketball scholar athlete award and coaches award. He received a bachelor's in kinesiology/health education from Penn State and also has a master's in sport and athletic administration from West Chester.

After seven years at the helm of the Carroll men's basketball program, David Schultz has resigned his position to pursue other opportunities with the Waukesha school district, Pioneers athletic director Kris Jacobsen announced.

"I thoroughly enjoyed my time coaching and working at Carroll. I loved coaching every team and player over the past seven seasons," said Schultz, No. 2 in wins in the program's history at 109-64. "The athletic department and Kris Jacobsen did all they could, but in the end this is a decision that is in the best interest of my family."

Schultz, hired at Carroll prior to the 2002-03 season, took over a Pioneers team that finished 2-21 during the 2001-02 season and built the program into a Midwest Conference contender. The Pioneers reached the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and 2007, making the Sweet 16 two seasons ago after beating Augustana and St. Thomas on their home floors.

"I am very proud of what the program accomplished and I feel I have left the program in better shape than when I arrived," Schultz added. "I am thankful to have been able to build lifelong friendships with players, family and staff at the university."

Schultz has maintained dual part-time employment over the past several years that included coaching at Carroll while also working as a part-time physical education teacher in the Waukesha school district. He resigned from Carroll to accept full-time employment in the Waukesha school district.

Jacobsen said the resignation came as a surprise, saying Carroll was in the process of putting together a full-time employment package. "I am very disappointed that Coach Schultz decided to end his tenure as the Carroll men's basketball coach," she said. "The university has explored full-time employment opportunities for Coach Schultz on numerous occasions and it was our hope that he would become a full-time member of the university."

A national search for Schultz's successor will begin immediately.

Gordon has appointed Tod Murphy as its new men’s basketball coach. Murphy succeeds Mike Schauer, who coached Gordon for the last seven seasons before assuming the head coaching post this month at Wheaton (Ill.).

For the past six years, Murphy has been the lead assistant coach at UC Irvine, his alma mater. Prior to that, he spent two years as an assistant at UC Riverside. At Irvine, Murphy has been the recruiting director, offensive coordinator, and a principal scout. UCI finished tied for third last year in the Big West Conference.

A 6-9 forward, Murphy had a stellar career as a player. At UCI, he was the team MVP for three straight years, and was twice named All-Conference. As a senior he received honorable mention in the voting for All-American status. After graduating from UCI with a degree in economics, Murphy went on to play professional basketball for more than a decade, including five years in the NBA.

Early in his career, he helped lead the Albany Patroons to the Continental Basketball Association title, and was selected the MVP of the playoffs. He then became the starting forward on the first Minnesota Timberwolves club in 1989, winning the team’s defensive player of the year award and leading the NBA in fewest turnovers. During his five years in the NBA he also had stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, and Detroit Pistons. Along with his NBA experience, Tod played for several top international clubs, including teams in Italy, Greece, Spain and Japan.