Athletic Conference Change Update
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The chief executive officers of nine universities in Arkansas and Oklahoma announced on Tuesday, July 13, 2010, that they intend to apply to the National Collegiate Athletic Association for permission to create a new NCAA Division II conference.
The members of the proposed new conference would be the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Arkansas Tech University, East Central (Okla.) University, Harding University, Henderson State University, Ouachita Baptist University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Southern Arkansas University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University.
“The intent of the conference is to group together similar institutions in terms of budgets and goals,” said the presidents, chancellors and directors of athletics from the nine institutions in a joint statement. “Furthermore, the conference is intended to be made up of universities that field an intercollegiate football program. Our most important goals in this new endeavor are to limit time away from class and limit our travel costs.”
The nine member institutions plan to submit a conference strategic plan, a conference constitution and conference by-laws to the NCAA by Dec. 1, 2010.
No decisions have been made regarding the name of the new conference or the location of the conference office.
The pursuit of creating the new conference will not affect athletic schedules for the 2010-11 academic year.
STATEMENT REGARDING POSSIBLE ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHANGE
STATEMENT FROM:
Jack Lassiter, Chancellor, University of Arkansas at Monticello
Robert C. Brown, President, Arkansas Tech University
John Hargrave, President, East Central University
David Burks, President, Harding University
Charles Welch, President, Henderson State University
Rex Horne, President, Ouachita Baptist University
Larry Minks, President, Southeastern Oklahoma State University
David Rankin, President, Southern Arkansas University
Randy Beutler, President, Southwestern Oklahoma State University
The presidents, chancellors and directors of athletics from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Arkansas Tech University, East Central (Okla.) University, Harding University, Henderson State University, Ouachita Baptist University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Southern Arkansas University and Southwestern Oklahoma State University held a meeting in Russellville, Ark., Friday to discuss the possibility of forming a new NCAA Division II conference.
Our ongoing discussion is producing positive results as we analyze the feasibility of creating a new conference that would reduce the amount of missed class time by our student-athletes and reduce our operating costs.
We found during the course of our meeting that we have similar concerns and that we are like-minded in our approach to intercollegiate athletics.
Regardless of the final results of these discussions, our athletic schedules for the 2010-11 academic year will not be affected.
Official SAU Statement on Possible Athletic Conference Changes
It has been noted that discussions have taken place between the Arkansas member institutions of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) and some Oklahoma institutions gauging interest in forming a new athletic conference.
Most of the GSC presidents and chancellors are attending the NCAA Division II President’s and Chancellor’s Summit in Indianapolis this weekend and will be meeting there Friday to further discuss this issue. The GSC presidents and chancellors’ annual summer meeting will be held at the end of next week in Birmingham where more discussion will take place.
“The GSC is a great conference, but the geographic expanse does pose travel length and expense issues,” stated SAU President Dr. David F. Rankin. “No official decision has been made, but discussions are ongoing and advanced.”
Muleriders’ Stuart to Tour with USAAI Basketball Team
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas forward Justin Stuart (6-4, 210, Jr., Hope) has been invited by USA Athletes International (USAAI) to participate in the 2010 Giro de Espana Basketball Tour in Spain this summer.
USAAI is a non-profit organization that was established in 1992 and is dedicated to giving amateur athletes and coaches the opportunity to 
participate in international Olympic-style sporting events throughout the world, while also allowing them to broaden their educational and cultural knowledge of the world through the experience. The organization originally began with traveling baseball teams abroad and now supports a total of 15 different sports that compete in 25 countries throughout the world.
Stuart and his teammates will be traveling and playing across Spain from May 25-June 3. A three-year starter for the Muleriders, Stuart averaged 10.1 points and 4.0 rebounds this past season, while shooting 54 percent from the floor. The junior is a human performance, recreation and community service major.
“The men’s basketball program is extremely proud of Justin and his efforts on and off the basketball court,” stated SAU Coach Eric Bozeman. “This opportunity only enhances his already stellar resumé.”
Southern Arkansas Hosts Annual All-Sports Banquet
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Tennis student-athlete Caitlin Korensek (Ennis, Texas) and baseball standout Cannon Lester (El Dorado) were honored Wednesday with the coveted Auburn Smith Awards at the annual Southern Arkansas University All-Sports banquet in the Grand Hall of the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
Also receiving laurels were volleyball’s Maggie Glover (Waxahachie, Texas) and cross country and track athlete Michaela Krcova (Trnava, Slovakia), and baseball’s Andrew Whittington (Texas City, Texas) and football’s Ben Williams (Texarkana, Texas), all being named as this year’s Scholar-Athlete Award winners. Director of Athletics, Jay Adcox, presented the annual honors.
The Auburn Smith Award, given annually to both a women’s and men’s student-athlete, is the most prestigious honor a student-athlete can receive at SAU. The award is named in memory of Auburn Smith, who served as athletics director, administrator, coach, and instructor at Southern Arkansas. Athletic ability, performance, character, and scholastic achievement are all considerations by a selection committee of head coaches and athletic administrators at the university who select the honorees.
Korensek, a four-year member of the Lady Mulerider tennis team, holds 
a 3.88 GPA in early childhood education, and was honored on the courts this season in being a second team All-Gulf South Conference selection.
Three times Korensek has been named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association scholar-athlete and has twice been selected to the Gulf South Conference All-Academic Team. She is a three-time member of the GSC Academic Honor Roll, a five-time member of the SAU President’s List (4.00 GPA) and a two-time member of the SAU Dean’s List (minimum 3.50 GPA).
A 5-11, 185-pound third baseman on the Mulerider baseball team, Lester is the fourth consecutive baseball student-athlete to win the Auburn Smith honor. A senior, Lester has compiled a 3.06 GPA in physical education, wellness & leisure.
Leading the team in hitting with a .426 batting average, Lester has helped lead Southern Arkansas to a 39-6 record, a school record 24-game winning streak, the national No. 1 ranking, and to its 12th consecutive, and 13th overall, Gulf South Conference tournament 
appearance.
Lester was a first team All-America selection on both the ABCA/Rawlings and Daktronics teams and a second team pick on the NCBWA team in 2009. He was named to the first team on three All-South Region squads, and was a first team All-GSC and GSC All-Tournament honoree. Five times Lester has been named the GSC West Division player of the week, twice this season, and the most in league history. This season he set a new conference record with 69 career doubles, and he currently owns seven SAU career records, one season record and two single-game records.
In the classroom, Lester is a three-time member of the GSC academic honor roll, and has been named to the SAU Dean’s List.
The esteemed Scholar-Athlete Award is also given to both a female and male student-athlete. The nominee must have a minimum of a 3.00 GPA, have completed at least 56 semester hours, with at least one semester at SAU. Selection of the honorees is done by a committee considering GPA, athletic accomplishments, and citizenship.
The SAU scholar-athlete honors are normally awarded to only one female and male student-athlete, but a tie in the voting provided four winners this year.
Glover, a junior with the Lady Mulerider volleyball team, carries an impressive 3.73 cumulative GPA in psychology, with a minor in sociology.
Glover was named this past fall to the conference all-academic team. She is a four-time member of the conference academic honor roll, a three-time member of the Southern Arkansas President’s List, and is a two-time member of the school’s Dean’s List.
On the court, she was named a second team All-Gulf South Conference selection for the second consecutive year, and led the squad this season with a .242 attack percentage, 77 blocks and 316.5 points scored, and added 237 kills.
A senior, Krcova sports a perfect 4.00 GPA in business administration-finance. She has twice been honored as first team on the prestigious ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 6 team and selected twice to the GSC all-academic team. She is a three-time member of the GSC academic honor roll and a seven-time member of the Southern Arkansas President’s List with all “A’s” in her seven semesters.
In competition, Michaela placed 15th at this year’s GSC cross country championship, earning second team All-GSC accolades.
A 6-0, 200-pound shortstop, Whittington has a 3.93 GPA in physical education, wellness and leisure. He is a past member of the conference academic honor roll, a two-time member of the SAU President’s list, and has also been named to the Dean’s List.
On the field this season, Whittington set a new Gulf South Conference record by hitting safely in 37 consecutive games. Last year, he was honored as a NCBWA third team All-America selection and was named first team on both the NCBWA and ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region teams. Whittington was also a first team All-GSC pick and has twice been named the GSC West Division player of the week. He currently holds one SAU school career record, two season records and shares one single-game mark.
Williams graduated Cum Laude this past December with a 3.58 GPA in Chemistry-Science. The 6-1, 218-pound linebacker was a four-year letterman and started the past two seasons for the Muleriders.
Last year Williams received a nuclear and radiochemistry fellowship from the American Chemical Society and did his studies in California over the summer. He was voted three times to the GSC all-academic team, is a four-time member of the honor roll, a member of the SAU President’s list, and a four-time member of the Dean’s List.
In other honors, outstanding athletes were named in their respective fields by their head coaches or sponsors. Maggee Becker (Glenwood, Colo.) received the accolade for women’s golf, Peyton Mitchell (Quitman, La.) in men’s golf, Hannah Thomas (Waycross, Ga.) for women’s rodeo, Korensek and Krcova in tennis and women’s cross country, respectively, Kevin Perez (Cabot) for men’s cross country, Heather Rochelle (Texarkana, Texas) in women’s track, Colton Connelly (Comfort, Texas) for men’s track, Lester in baseball, Katie Lenderman (Plano, Texas) for softball, Elizabeth Myrick (Hot Springs) in cheerleading, Sanchez Dade (El Dorado) for men’s basketball, Lynzi Williams (Martin’s Mill, Texas) in women’s basketball, Glover for volleyball, Cedric Thornton (Star City) in football and Jessica McKenzie (Camden) received the student athletic training honor.
Dan Gregory, with KVMA/KVMZ radio served as emcee for the evening’s event.
Williams Named to GSC’s 2009-10 Winter All-Academic Team
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Gulf South Conference has released the 2009-10 Winter All-Academic Teams, and Academic Honor Roll that includes 12 Southern Arkansas student-athletes, with the Lady Muleriders’ Lynzi Williams (Martin’s Mill, Texas) being named to the league’s all-academic team. A total of 21 student-athletes across the conference were named to the winter all-academic team, which consists only of men’s and women’s basketball members.
The league’s all-academic teams are nominated by the conference sports information directors (SIDs), and selected by the SIDs and faculty athletic representatives in a joint vote. Nominees must have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.20 or better on a 4.00 scale for their entire academic career and may not be a freshman or first-year participant.
Members of the GSC academic honor roll must post a minimum of a cumulative 3.00 GPA and have competed during their respective season. All student-athletes, including freshmen and first-year participants, are eligible for the honor roll.
A total of 10 players were named to the women’s all-academic team, 
with Williams being one of five selected from the West Division. A 5-6 guard, Williams is a physical education, wellness and leisure major and sports a 3.67 GPA. The honor is Williams’ first selection to the all-academic team. She has twice been named to the conference academic honor roll, and is a member of both the SAU President’s and Dean’s List.
A transfer from Paris (Texas) Junior College a year ago, Williams just completed her senior year for Southern Arkansas. A two-year starter, she missed the first 10 games of this season due to an injury, but played in the final 16, averaging 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
Harding led the GSC with the most student-athletes on the conference academic honor roll, placing 13. Southern Arkansas, Alabama-Huntsville and Arkansas Tech had 12 members each represented.
A total of five other Lady Muleriders joined Williams on the women’s academic honor roll, including freshman Samantha Canizaro (Hernando, Miss) with a 3.35 in pre-physical therapy; junior Keysha Hill (Hot Springs) with a 3.03 in physical education, wellness and leisure; freshman Raven Jones (Fordyce) with a 3.57 in physical education, wellness and leisure; junior Cha’Kia Lee (Springhill, La.) with a 3.35 in human performance, recreation and community service; and junior Kristy Shinn (Lonoke) with a 3.12 in exercise science.
Six members of the Mulerider basketball team were honored on the academic honor roll, all sophomores. They include Damion Atkins (El Dorado), an undecided major with a 3.40; Casey Cheshier (Frisco, Texas) with a 3.15 in physical education, wellness and leisure; Cory Clark (Alba, Texas) with a 3.39 in physical education, wellness and leisure; Reggie Rasmus (Missouri City, Texas) with a 3.41 in accounting; Courtney Rhodes (Hope) with a 3.10 in physical education, wellness and leisure; and Chase Spruiell (Princeton, Texas) with a 3.00 in mass communications-digital media.
Southern Arkansas Loses Season Finale to UAM
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Arkansas-Monticello led from start to finish in handing Southern Arkansas a 71-55 setback in their season finale Saturday at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center. The win gave the Boll Weevils (14-10, 9-5 GSC) a split of the regular season series as the Muleriders (9-18, 4-10 GSC) claimed a 54-51 victory earlier in Monticello.
UAM simply out-shot SAU, knocking down 27 of 50 from the floor for 54 percent, while Southern Arkansas managed just 18 of 54 (33.3).
Arkansas-Monticello jumped out to an 18-8 margin on Jarrell Turner’s jumper at 12:06 and they eventually extended that to a 33-15 game with four minutes left in the first half. The Boll Weevils led 36-21 at the break.
Chris Paige’s dunk lifted UAM to its largest margin of 43-24 at 18:04 in the second. The Muleriders were never able to trim it to single-digits, coming only as close as 45-34 on a dunk from senior guard Sanchez Dade (El Dorado) at 13:23. Arkansas-Monticello stretched it back to a 71-53 game with seconds left, before junior forward Justin Stuart’s (Hope) lay-up set the final score.
The Boll Weevils hit four three-pointers in the contest to SAU’s two. Southern Arkansas did overcome a season nemesis, connecting on 17 of 20 (85.0) free throws, while UAM was 13 of 21 (61.9).
Stuart posted a game-high 19 points and had six rebounds to lead the Muleriders. Dade finished with 11 points and had four steals in his final game for SAU. Senior guard Tony James (Bossier City, La.) was also playing in his final game and dished out a game-high five assists.
Nick Carey paced Arkansas-Monticello with 18 points, and Turner recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
