Fom the desk of the Director of the Director of Athletics...
 

Happy New Year Wildcats!

Our Winter season has been an exciting one! Our men's basketball program has garnered a lot of national attention, including a consistent presence in the top-25 rankings and even being featured in an NCAA.com article. Our women's basketball program has emerged over the last several weeks, and thanks to the longest winning streak of their Division II era, coach Jen Banker's squad is starting to receive votes for the regional poll. Both indoor track and field teams shot out of the blocks to start 2019 with record-setting performances from the likes of Rodney Corbin and Katja Meyer in their first two meets under the direction of interim head coach Judy Arlington.

January also became a historic month for Daemen Athletics as we introduced Daemen College and our surrounding communities to Division II Men's Volleyball. Our program, led by Don Gleason, secured their first win in the program's first-ever match, a 3-2 thriller vs. Alderson Broaddus on January 11. There was also a big crowd on hand when we hosted our very first home match on January 23 vs. Brock. It was great to see so many in our community supporting this brand new team.

January also took me off campus to attend the annual NCAA Convention. This was my first convention as a Division II delegate. I attended workshops that discussed timely topics or shared best practices for current issues facing campuses and student-athletes. I also attended business meetings and voted on a total of seven legislative items that positively affect our Daemen Wildcats. The items vary;  while one piece of new legislation provides some flexibility with workout hours which will assist with weather and scheduling obstacles, another piece opens up new camp and clinic opportunities for Daemen Athletics during the school year. Other newly adopted legislation will allow athletic trainers to provide medical care for our student-athletes when competing unattached from Daemen Athletics while a new student-athlete health and safety survey will be administered by all member institutions to help identify potential mental health initiatives needed on campus.

Some additional non-controversial legislation that was passed included adopting pre-enrollment academic misconduct legislation which places DII institutions in line with DI and DIII counterparts on this matter.  While another piece provides our international student-athletes with the same flexibility as our domestic student-athletes when it comes to preserving their years of eligibility if they engage in organized competition while serving in their respective armed forces or official religious missions.  

Lastly, instead of our coaches taking an annual recruiting exam to ensure they are up to date with NCAA rules and regulations, all DII college coaches will be required to complete a series of interactive educational modules throughout the year.  This will allow for more meaningful educational development of our coaches.

In a rare Association-wide vote, schools and conferences from all three divisions, agreed to include outside voices on the NCAA Board of Governors.  This is the highest governing body in the NCAA. Of note, our own President, Dr. Gary A. Olson, has a seat on the Board of Governors. In addition to his seat on the Board of Governors, Dr. Olson will begin his term as Chair of the Division II President's Council.  This Council  helps set policy and the strategic direction for Division II college and university athletics programs nationwide.  During the Division II business meeting, Dr. Olson addressed the audience of Presidents, Conference Commissioners, and Athletic Directors. He was well received and we all look forward to his leadership on the council.  

This convention provided me with opportunities to meet and visit with other Division II Athletic Directors.  I took advantage of this time to get to know our Conference and Regional institutions better, making for deeper resources for idea sharing and scheduling.  Hope to see you at our upcoming basketball and men's volleyball games!

Go Wildcats!!

Traci Murphy
Director of Athletics