JONQUEL JONES in action.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#AFTER a stellar junior campaign, expectations loom high for Bahamian basketball player Jonquel Jones, and she spent the offseason with world famous company as she rises on 2016 WNBA draft boards.

#Jones was one of several players from George Washington Colonials women’s basketball programme invited to the White House last week to witness President Barack Obama’s recognition of the WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury.

#Seven student-athletes and three coaches attended the ceremony in the East Room of the White House as President Obama praised the WNBA champs for their success on the court and their service off it.

#“Being able to walk the halls of the White House was a once in a lifetime experience and something I will never forget,” Jones said in a press release issued on the school’s athletic website. “Though the media covers numerous events that take place there, nothing will compare to seeing the President walk into the room, hearing the instantaneous halt of various conversations while also absorbing the rich atmosphere of the White House.”

#The WNBA title is annually decided in September, however, President Obama re-scheduled the visit to coincide with a celebration of Women’s Equality Day, celebrating the 95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.

#Jones is coming off a season filled with accolades, highlighted when she was named an honourable mention All-American by The Associated Press. She has appeared recently on several WNBA mock draft projections including www.draftsite.com and www.wnbadraft.net which both have her going at number four to the Seattle Storm.

#The Atlantic 10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year – just the fourth player in conference history to win both awards in the same season – Jones was also one of 52 finalists for the 2015 WBCA Coaches’ All-America Team and was one of 30 midseason candidates for the prestigious Naismith Trophy, which recognises the national player of the year.

#Jones was the only player in the A-10 to average a double-double this season. The Freeport, Bahamas, native led the league and ranked sixth nationally in rebounding (12.5 rpg) and was sixth in the conference in scoring (15.3 ppg), fourth in blocked shots (1.9 bpg) and 10th in field goal percentage (.478).

#A seven-time A-10 Player of the Week this season, matching the second-most weekly awards in conference history, Jones posted a league-best 20 double-doubles, 10th-most in the NCAA. She set a school record with 375 rebounds on the year, shattering the previous mark of 346 which stood for more than two decades.

#Jones will enter her senior year ranked ninth all-time at GW with 102 blocks and 15th with 625 boards in two seasons wearing the Buff and Blue.

#Jones was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Atlantic 10 Championship after leading No. 19 GW (29-4, 15-1 A-10) to their first A-10 title since 2003 and fifth overall.

#Jones, the 21-year-old six-foot, four-inch criminal justice major, is the daughter of Ettamae and Preston Jones of Grand Bahama.

JONQUEL JONES in action.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

#GEORGE Washington senior forward Jonquel Jones was selected as one of 52 All-Region nominees for the 2016 WBCA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced yesterday.

#Jones, who earns All-Region honours for the second year in a row, was one of 15 nominees from Region I, joining Duquesne’s April Robinson, as well as three players from Notre Dame and Florida State, two from Louisville and one each from Albany, Army, Duke, Georgia Tech and Miami (Fla.).

#Jones is the nation’s leading rebounder (14.6 rpg) and ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (16.2 ppg), making her the only player in the conference averaging a double-double for the third straight season.

#The Freeport, Bahamas, native, who was tabbed to the A-10 All-Conference Second Team and All-Defensive Team, registered 18 double-doubles in 23 games played and also ranked second in the A-10 in blocked shots (3.3 bpg).

#The 6-6 forward’s 336 rebounds on the year are the third-highest single-season total in programme history after she set the Colonials’ record with 375 last season.

#After missing 10 games with an injury, Jones returned for the A-10 Championship and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team after averaging 10.7 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks over the three games as the Colonials won their second straight Atlantic 10 title. She then posted her 54th career double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds plus six blocks against Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

#A finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, Jones has also been named to the Wade Trophy Watch List, as well as midseason watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, and she was a preseason candidate for the John R Wooden Award.

#The 2015- A-10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year and an honourable mention All-American, Jones is a three-time all-conference selection and two-time all-defensive team honouree. She is the third Colonial ever with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 100 blocks and concludes her outstanding career ranking third all-time at GW in rebounds (961), fourth in scoring (15.4 ppg), fifth in blocks (177) and 23rd in points (1,171).

#Including her time at Clemson as a freshman before she transferred, Jones is one of 18 active Division I players with at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career (1,249 and 1,041).

#The 2016 WBCA Division I Coaches’ All-America Team will be announced on Saturday (April 2) during the NCAA Women’s Final Four Super Saturday festivities at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

#GEORGE Washington Colonials women’s basketball senior forward Jonquel Jones was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for the second week in a row and the fifth time this season, the league announced yesterday. The award covers games played January 11-17.

#A national player of the year candidate, Jones led GW to wins over La Salle and No. 25 Duquesne last week with 18.5 points, 17.0 rebounds and 5.5 blocks per game. She tallied 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks in the Colonials’ 83-59 win over La Salle on Wednesday, then followed with another monster double-double — her NCAA-best 15th of the season — with 24 points, 17 boards and seven blocked shots at Duquesne, setting a Palumbo Center record for rejections as the Colonials downed the Dukes 70-52 to snap their 15-game winning streak.

#The nation’s leading rebounder with 15.4 boards per game, Jones also ranks second in the A-10 in scoring (17.4 ppg) and blocked shots (3.0 bpg).

#The Player of the Week award is the 13th of Jones’ career, leaving her two shy of the A-10 record of 15, which was set by Saint Joseph’s Dale Hodges from 1987-90. After garnering seven honours last season, she has been recognised five times this season, including three weeks in a row November 23 to December 7, as well as last Monday, when she was also named USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week.

#Jones and the Colonials return to action 7pm Wednesday when they host A-10 rival Massachusetts at the Charles E Smith Center.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Jonquel Jones

#GEORGE Washington women’s basketball senior forward Jonquel Jones, of Grand Bahama, has been named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week for the week ending November 22, the league announced yesterday.

#Jones was dominant at No. 15/10 Stanford on Saturday, posting a monstrous double-double of 27 points and 17 rebounds.

#A preseason Wooden Award candidate, Jones connected on 11-of-18 from the floor in the game, including a career-high 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and added three blocks and an assist. She scored 15 points with three treys in the opening quarter and had a double-double of 20 points and 11 boards by halftime.

#Earlier in the week, Jones tallied 14 points and seven rebounds in GW’s 78-48 rout of American at the Charles E Smith Center.

#The Freeport, Bahamas native averaged team bests of 20.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in two games last week, shooting 51.7 per cent (15-of-29) from the floor and 58.3 per cent (7-of-12) from long distance.

#Jones ranks 14th all-time at GW with 659 rebounds as a Colonial, while her 107 blocks as a member of the Buff and Blue rank seventh on GW’s all-time list. Through three games this season, she is averaging 15.7 points and 11.3 rebounds, ranking ninth and second in the A-10, respectively. She is also fourth in the league in 3-pointers per game (2.7), fifth in blocked shots (1.7) and sixth in 3-point percentage (.533).

#The Player of the Week award is the first of the season for Jones and the ninth of her career, matching GW Athletic Hall of Famer Cathy Joens’ programme record set from 1999-2004.

#Jones was honoured seven times last season en route to garnering A-10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year and was also recognised once as a sophomore in 2012-13.

#In addition, with junior Caira Washington’s recognition last week, it marks the first time a pair of Colonials have been named Player of the Week in the same season since Megabn Nipe and Danni Jackson in the 2013-14 campaign. It is also the first time GW players have been honoured for the first two weeks of the season since Debbie Hemery received the first two awards in 1994-95.

JONQUEL JONES in action.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

#GEORGE Washington Colonials women’s basketball senior Jonquel Jones was named to the All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Second Team, the organisation announced yesterday.

#It marks the second year in a row Jones has been honoured by the ECAC.

#A three-time Atlantic 10 all-conference selection and two-time all-defensive team honouree, Jones finished her career ranking third all-time at GW in rebounds (961), fourth in scoring (15.4 ppg), fifth in blocks (177) and 23rd in points (1,171).

#Counting her time at Clemson as a freshman, she is one of 17 active players in Division I with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career (1,249 points, 1041 rebounds).

#In addition, her career 12.4 rebounds per game rank third among active placers and her 54 career double-doubles rank fourth.

#This season, Jones led the nation with 14.6 rebounds per game and ranked fourth in the A-10 with 16.2 points and 3.3 blocks per contest.

#The 6-6 forward from Freeport, Bahamas, was on pace to shatter her own single-season rebounding record at GW before she was sidelined by a shoulder injury, but despite missing 10 games she still finished third on the list with 336 boards on the year.

#A five-time A-10 Player of the Week, Jones recorded a league-high 18 double-doubles in 2015-16, her final one coming in the NCAA Tournament first round, when she had 20 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots.

#Jones’ list of accolades this season includes watch lists for the Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy, Wooden Award and USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, as well as all-tournament team honours at the A-10 Championship after leading the Colonials to back-to-back league titles.

#In addition, she is one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Jonquel Jones

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#DESPITE a lingering shoulder injury which has kept her out of the last eight games, Jonquel Jones remains in contention for many of the NCAA’s top awards and on pace to be a WNBA Draft Lottery Pick.

#Jones has missed the last eight games for the George Washington Colonials as they struggle without her through the latter part of the A-10 schedule, but she is still highly touted as one of the best prospects in the NCAA to enter the this year’s draft.

#Jones is listed by several reputed draft sites as a high first rounder. Both Draftsite.com and WNBAdraft.net project her to go at

#No.4 to the Connecticut Sun while Excellesports.com projescts her to go at No.8 to the Phoenix Mercury.

#WNBA Draft 2016 presented by State Farm will be held on Thursday, April 14 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

#ESPN2 will provide coverage and analysis of the first round beginning at 7pm and ESPNU will air coverage of the second and third rounds starting at 8pm. The draft comes one month before tip-off of the WNBA’s historic 20th season, which opens on Saturday, May 14.

#The 2015 Atlantic 10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year and an honourable mention All-American, Jones is a candidate for several national player of the year honours in 2016, including the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and the Naismith Trophy. The Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama native, who has posted 15 double-doubles in 19 games played this season, was the nation’s leading rebounder (14.8 rpg) and ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (16.9 ppg) and blocked shots (3.0 bpg) before suffering an injury in mid-January which has sidelined her ever since. That injury has not shied coaches and general managers away from the potential.

#Jones has also been chosen as one of 10 women’s basketball finalists for the SeniorCelebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School (CLASS) Award.

#The Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their athletic platforms to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be NCAA Division I seniors and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

#Jones is the third Colonial ever with 1,000 points, 800 rebounds and 100 blocked shots, and she ranks third all-time at GW with 906 rebounds and sixth with 159 blocks as a Colonial.

#For her career, which includes eight games at Clemson as a freshman, she has compiled 1,197 points, 986 rebounds and 176 blocked shots. In addition, the 6-6 forward’s 281 rebounds in 2015-16 rank eighth on GW’s single-season list after she set the programme record with 375 a year ago.

#In the classroom, Jones owns a 3.04 grade-point average as a criminal justice major. She was recognised on the GW Athletics Academic Dean’s List for the Fall 2014 semester and on the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for Fall 2013.

#Jones, the 21-year-old six-foot, four-inch criminal justice major, is the daughter of Ettamae and Preston Jones of Grand Bahama.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

#GEORGE Washington Colonials senior Jonquel Jones was named one of 30 women’s basketball candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.

#An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

#To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

#The 2015 Atlantic 10 Player and Defensive Player of the Year and an honourable mention All-American, Jones is a candidate for several national player of the year honours in 2016, including the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and the Naismith Trophy.

#The Freeport, Bahamas, native currently leads the NCAA in rebounding (15.4 rpg) and double-doubles (15), and she ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring (17.4 ppg) and blocked shots (3.0 bpg).

#Jones ranks third all-time at GW with 902 rebounds as a Colonial and sixth with 156 blocked shots, and her 982 career rebounds (including 80 at Clemson) rank eighth among active Division I players.

#In addition, the 6-6 forward’s 277 rebounds this season rank as the ninth-highest single-season total ever by a Colonial. Jones has been named A-10 Player of the Week five times this season and 13 times in her career.

#In the classroom, Jones boasts a 3.04 grade-point average as a criminal justice major. She was recognised on the GW Athletics Academic Dean’s List for the Fall 2014 semester and on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honour Roll for Fall 2013.

#Jones is a Legacy Leader in GW Athletics’ Leadership Academy. In addition, while the women’s basketball team does not pick captains, she is a member of the team’s leadership council, which performs responsibilities normally handled by captains.

#Finally, Jones is one of the most popular figures not just within GW’s Department of Athletics and Recreation but across campus. She can be seen at most home sporting events supporting her fellow Colonials.

#Along with her teammates, Jones has visited a number of local elementary schools to talk to the students about what it takes to be a Division I student-athlete. She also participated in a canned food drive and helped deliver the collection to the food bank, and she helped prepare meals at a homeless shelter.

#Moreover, she and her teammates hosted a youth clinic for the children in her hometown of Freeport, Grand Bahama, during their trip to the Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam last fall.

#Jones is the second Colonial in as many years to be named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award after Chakecia Miller was selected last season, and she is the only candidate from the Atlantic 10 Conference.

#The class of 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists in February, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot, which will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Women’s Final Four.

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

VALERIE Nesbitt

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#VALERIE Nesbitt continues to be the model student athlete since she has reacclimated herself to the Ole Miss Rebels’ women’s basketball programme.

#Nesbitt, a general business major, was recently named to the SEC First Year Academic Honour Roll and was also an M-Club Student of the Month for July.

#The senior guard was one of five women’s basketball players and 67 Ole Miss student-athletes on the 2019-20 First-Year SEC Academic Honour Roll.

#Each month the FedEx Student-Athlete Success Center staff selects five student-athletes for the M-Club Student-Athlete of the Month Award. Students are nominated by staff based on observed effort that goes above and beyond normal expectations and results in personal or academic achievement.

#In April, Nesbitt addressed the issues surrounding her dismissal from the programme last season alongside head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin.

#McPhee-McCuin hosted a series of conversations on social media and Nesbitt was one of her guests, discussing changes in her behaviour since the surprising announcement last January, just 15 games into her tenure with the team.

#Nesbitt once again appears on the team’s official roster for the upcoming 2020-21 season.

#“Where I went wrong was not being able to understand my flaws and weaknesses. I wasn’t open enough to people that wanted to help me. I just knew within myself, I just wanted to do it my way and discipline is important, especially at this level and you need that structure. I didn’t allow the people that were trying to help me to better myself, I was like trying to do it on my own so that’s where I went wrong,” Nesbitt said. “I was just comfortable in mediocrity, I just wanted to be comfortable all the time so when I got removed from the team I was in a bad place and I just wanted everything to change. I was tired of the same results all the time.

#“I always used to blame my coaches and I never saw I was the problem so I had to do a lot of self check. Self checking, that helped a lot so now that I know where I go wrong and where I went wrong I’m able to change it and allow people to help me.”

#She was in the midst of making what appeared to be a seamless transition to NCAA Division I basketball following two years at the JuCo level. She led the Southeastern Conference in steals at 3.2 takeaways per game and had six games this season with at least four. She was the Rebels’ second-leading scorer at 11.3 points a game and was also second in minutes played at 24.3 per game.

#At the time of January’s announcement, McPhee-McCuin called it one of the toughest decisions she has made in her career.

#Nesbitt was the first Bahamian player signed by McPhee-McCuin in her tenure as the head coach of the Rebels. She has successfully recruited Bahamians to her programmes in the past – Jonquel Jones to Clemson and Shalonda Neely to Jacksonville.

#The Rebels will have the No.1 recruiting class in the SEC and No.13 class in the nation for the 2020-2021 season.

Thursday, July 5, 2018

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#BAHAMIAN track and field coach Rolando Lonnie Greene has accepted a new post at another elite Division I programme.

#Greene was introduced as the new track and field/cross country head coach at the University of Kentucky by Wildcats athletic director Mitch Barnhart earlier this week.

#Greene joins the Wildcats in the SEC after a successful six-year stint with the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big 10.

#At his introductory press conference, Greene – a graduate of Murray State in Murray, Kentucky – said his return to the Commonwealth would be a welcome opportunity for the next stop of his coaching career.

#“I became a man in the state of Kentucky, this place has a special place in my heart, I’m excited about this opportunity to lead this programme. I think we can continue to do some great things.”

#“I came to the state of Kentucky in the fall of 1984 as a freshman attending Murray State University. Just to give you a quick bit of how I got there, I was at the Junior Pan-Am Games in The Bahamas.

#“Jay Flanagan at the time, I had just gotten done running the 400m hurdles, he walked up to me and he said, ‘hey young man, where are you going to college?’

#“About three weeks later, I was on a plane headed to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend school,” he said.

#Greene immediately noted that his ultimate goal is to bring a national championship to the programme.

#“I like to win, I’m very competitive. I try to remain as humble as I can, but for me, humility is just strength under control. I believe in being aggressive and trying to win at this level.

#“My ultimate goal is to win the National Championship. That’s one of my career goals. As long as I’ll be here, that is going to be the objective of this programme.” He said: “We’re going to do it the right way, we’re going to graduate young men and women. They’re going to have the complete college experience. I believe you can do both. You know, sometimes you have the experience where a young man or woman is a great student and then you have those great athletes, and they struggle with the balance in between. I believe you can do both.”

#At Purdue he recruited several Bahamian standouts during his tenure including reigning Big 10 Track athlete of the year Deyvnne Charlton, Carmeisha Cox, Keannu Pennerman and Kinard Rolle.

#The Wildcats will already have Bahamian talent on the track this fall with incoming freshman sprinter Devine Parker on the roster. “I think in the Southeastern Conference, it’s got to be an international team. You’ve got to find the best kids in the United States, and then you got to go find the best kids around the world if you want to be competitive. The NCAA is the international NCAA.

#“The NCAA of today is not the NCAA of old in the 1980s when I was competing in college. So if you want to be competitive, you have to spread your wings a little bit. I have those connections. I have those connections around the world, the Caribbean, where you can go out and find the best kids,” Green said.

#“My objective is to go out and find the best student-athlete who can handle the rigours academically here at Kentucky and who can handle it athletically in the SEC at the national level. That’s my objective. But yes, recruiting will be all-encompassing.”

#Greene’s tenure at Purdue was marked by some of the best seasons in programme history, culminating in an eighth-place finish by the women’s track and field team at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships last month.

#Under Greene’s leadership, the women’s team also won the team title at the 2017 Big Ten Outdoor Championships for the first time since 1999 and finished 14th at each of the last two NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

#The men’s team is just two years removed from a 2016 season in which the Boilermakers finished 15th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – best since 1972 – and 13th at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships – second best in school history. “I had an opportunity to watch the team from Purdue and their coaching staff, and specifically Lonnie and the way he interacted with his team,” Barnhart said.

#“It was maybe the best interview I’ve ever done without ever talking to anybody. To watch how he – the energy coming from their tent and the camaraderie in their team. Just the enjoyment of participating in a National Championship from his student athletes, the coaching staff, and the way they interacted was incredible. I walked away from the meet not knowing if that would be something we need to look at later on down the road.”

#“He was the first one we talked to, he took the lead and never gave it up,” Barnhart said.

#Greene has coached standouts across the board, with 21 different Boilermakers earning 60 First-Team All-America honours across 24 events in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field over his six seasons. Greene’s Purdue teams have also been named USTFCCCA Academic All-America.

#Greene came to Purdue from the University of Arkansas where he worked with the women’s programme for 16 seasons. Most recently, he was the associate head coach in charge of sprints, hurdles, horizontal jumps and multi-events. He was named the USTFCCCA South Central Region assistant coach of the year in 2011 and 2012.

#Prior to his stint at Arkansas, Greene was an assistant coach with the University of Minnesota women’s programme in 1995-96. He was a men’s and women’s assistant, at what is now Missouri State University, from 1991 to 1995. Born in Nassau, Greene is married to former Razorback LaTayna Stewart. The couple have a daughter, Charisse, three sons – Cameron, Isaiah and Jacob – and two grandchildren, Tylan and Caleb.

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Jermaine Rolle

#By RENALDO DORSETT

#Tribune Sports Reporter

#rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

#Bahamian administrator Jermaine Rolle has been appointed to a major post at an NCAA Division I programme.

#Rolle was named the Deputy Director of Athletics for the University of Wisconsin Green Bay Phoenix, with responsibilities for “compliance and student-athlete service.”

#The Phoenix compete in the Horizon League and fields six men’s teams, eight women’s teams, and one coed NCAA sanctioned sport (cross-country skiing).

#“I am thrilled to be joining the Phoenix. I’d like to thank Chancellor Mike [Alexander], AD [Charles] Guthrie and the search panel for providing me this opportunity and having the confidence that I’ll be an asset to Green Bay athletics. I was highly impressed with the search panels’ enlightenment on the culture and supportive environment at Green Bay. I look forward to hitting the ground running and serving the student-athletes, coaches and University community to the best of my abilities.”

#According to the Phoenix Athletic Department, Rolle will head all aspects of D-I and Horizon League rules and regulations. He will also work alongside the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and sports oversight in cross country, golf, nordic ski and swimming and diving.

#Rolle previously served as assistant director of athletics for compliance for the Holy Family University Tigers which featured 14 D-II teams. He then moved to the Minot State Beavers, also a D-II programme, where he served as the associate director of athletics for Compliance and Student Life.

#“Green Bay Athletics is pleased to welcome Jermaine to the Phoenix family as Deputy AD,” said Guthrie.

#“Jermaine is highly regarded as being proficient in NCAA compliance and is well-known across the country for his integrity and valour in providing an exceptional student-athlete experience.

#“While Jermaine’s focal point will be on the compliance and student service operations of the department, he will be a key member of our small but mighty leadership team and will be counted on to make many of the day-to-day decisions.”

#The Phoenix has been widely recognised for the success of their women’s basketball programme. From 2008-2013 season, the Phoenix had the third highest winning-percentage in the NCAA Division I with a 175-21 mark, trailing only Connecticut and Stanford. The Phoenix has the fifth-most wins in Division I during that same stretch.

#The Phoenix entered the 2017–18 season on a string of 40 consecutive winning seasons, with only Tennessee having a longer such streak in women’s college basketball. They have also won or tied for the Horizon League regular-season championship since 2000, the longest active streak in Division I NCAA women’s basketball. They have been to the NCAA tournament 18 times, advancing to the second round five times and to the Sweet 16 once. The men’s basketball programme reached the NCAA Tournament in 2016.