PITT-GREENSBURG NAMES SEAN STRICKLAND AS MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH
9/2/10

Sean Strickland has been named head men’s basketball and assistant athletic director at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.  Strickland comes to Pitt-Greensburg from Baldwin Wallace College where he served as the top assistant coach for the women’s program for the last two seasons. During his two year tenure he helped lead BW to an average of 20 wins each season including a conference championship appearance and an NCAA Tournament appearance. He previously served as the Slippery Rock High School’s boys varsity coach and in 2008 was named a finalist for the 2008 Butler County Coach of the Year Award.  Strickland is a 1993 graduate of Penn State University and earned his master’s degree from Slipper Rock University in Sports Management.

FOUR AMCC SCHOOLS JOIN UVC IN MEN'S VOLLEYBALL FOR 2011-12
8/31/10

Four AMCC member schools have joined eight other men's volleyball programs in New York and New Jersey to form the United Volleyball Conference (UVC). 

The UVC consists of Bard College (NY), D’Youville College (NY), Elmira College (NY), Hilbert College (NY), Medaille College (NY), Nazareth College (NY), New York University (NY), Penn State Behrend (PA), Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ), SUNY IT (NY), SUNY New Paltz (NY), and Vassar College (NY).  Play will commence in 2010-11 with 10 members.  Behrend, which recently added the sport, will begin its first varsity season in 2011-12. NYU is completing its final season with the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.

The UVC has already been recognized by the NCAA as an officially sanctioned single sport conference, an important move as the Division III membership prepares to adopt men’s volleyball as an NCAA Division III Championship sport this January at the annual convention. Approval by the membership would give Division III men’s volleyball an NCAA Tournament effective 2011-12.

ANGELA CHURCHILL NAMED AS DYC SOFTBALL COACH, ASSISTANT AD
8/30/10

D'Youville College welcomes Angela Churchill to the position of assistant athletic director and head softball coach.  Churchill comes to D'Youville after working as an assistant softball coach at the University at Buffalo from 2005-10 and as a graduate softball assistant at Ohio University (2004-05).  Originally hailing from Mokena Illinois, Churchill played four seasons of softball at the University of Michigan (2001-04) and during her career the Wolverines captured three Big 10 championships and made three appearances in the NCAA College World Series.

HILBERT HIRES RICE TO LEAD GOLF PROGRAM
8/25/10

Kevin Rice, who has more than 10 years' experience coaching and instructing golf at area high schools and country clubs, has been named head coach at Hilbert College.  Rice most recently served as the Section IV Coordinator for boys high school golf the last three years. Prior to that, he was the varsity coach at Silver Creek (1997-2007) where his teams won three league titles and three league championships. During his decade of coaching, Rice also held an assistant golf professional position at the Lancaster Country Club before serving as the head golf pro at Tri-County Country Club.

BEHREND TO HOST BILL COWHER IN SPEAKER SERIES NEXT MONTH
8/19/10

Super Bowl-winning former Steelers head coach Bill Cowher will share his “Blueprint for a Winning Team” when he kicks off the 2010-11 Speaker Series at Penn State Behrend.  Cowher will speak in the college’s Junker Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 23. The event is free and open to the public. No ticket is required and seating will be offered on a first-come basis.

Cowher, who in 2005 led the Steelers to its first Super Bowl title in 26 years, was the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL before stepping down following the 2006 season. His 15 years with the Steelers ranks ninth in NFL history for longest head-coach service with one team.  He now works as a game analyst for CBS Sports’ “The NFL Today.”

Cowher’s Penn State Behrend Speaker Series presentation is supported by the Student Activity Fee, the Division of Student Affairs and the Harriet Behrend Ninow Memorial Lecture Series Fund. For more information about Penn State Behrend’s annual Speaker Series, phone the Office of Student Activities at 814-898-6171.

MEDAILLE MEN'S SOCCER RANKS IN NATIONAL PRE-SEASON TOP 25
8/13/10

The Medaille College men’s soccer team had a breakthrough season in 2009 in which they earned their first NCAA tournament victory and finished in the Top 25 of the national rankings. That momentum has carried over to 2010, which was proven when the NSCAA preseason rankings came out earlier this week and the Mavs were tabbed as the 25th ranked team in Division III. Medaille finished 2009 with an 18-3-2 overall record and earned their fourth bid in five years to the NCAA tournament.

PENN STATE ALTOONA GOLFER HONORED FOR SPORTSMANSHIP BY NCAA
8/11/10

The NCAA has named Penn St. Altoona sophomore Chris Perry (Altoona, PA/
Altoona) the Division III Male Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Award winner for 2009-10.  He is the first AMCC student-athlete ever to win this honor.  Perry was recognized for his honesty in self-reporting a scoring error at last season's conference championship, after being notified of the mistake by PSA head coach Tom Koehle.  Since Perry had already signed and turned in his card, his action disqualified him from the tournament and prevented the Lions from defending their AMCC title.

BEHREND SWEEPS PRESEASON POLL PREDICTIONS IN SOCCER AND VOLLEYBALL
8/5/10

Penn State Behrend has been selected to take AMCC titles in men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball in the Fall 2010 season.  The Blue and White will be attempting to add to their collection of championships which currently stands at four in men's soccer, six in women's soccer, and two in volleyball.

Preseason Player of the Year honors were spread among 5 different schools.  Franciscan University senior forward Steve Duran and Medaille College junior forward  Alexander Rouse share the men's soccer honor.  Penn St. Altoona junior midfielder Elizabeth Watt and Hilbert College junior midfielder Alyssa Hulbert also split the vote in women's soccer, while Pitt-Bradford senior outside hitter Jackie Podrasky got the nod in women's volleyball.

Click below for the complete preseason coaches' poll in each sport and players to watch from each team:

Men's Soccer               Women's Soccer               Women's Volleyball