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The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Marissa Young, Head Softball Coach at Duke University. Former Big Ten Player-of-the-Year Young is the first head softball coach at Duke University, as announced by Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Kevin White on July 29, 2015. Young spent the previous two years as an assistant coach at the University of North Carolina.

Young was a three-time All-America selection as a pitcher at the University of Michigan and was named the 2002 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and 2003 Big Ten Player of the Year. At North Carolina, her primary responsibilities included coaching the pitchers and catchers.

In the spring of 2015, Young helped the Tar Heels to a 37-16 overall record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament after the squad won 24 contests the prior season. Young’s pitchers posted a 3.30 earned run average with 234 strikeouts in 335.1 innings pitched.

Young spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan, where she served as the compliance liaison, recruiting coordinator and managed team travel and the operational budget, among other duties. She helped coach five Academic All-America picks and five player of the week selections during her tenure at Eastern Michigan.

Young graduated from Michigan in 2003 as the all-time strikeout leader (927) and her 88 career wins became the second highest in program history. She also matched the then-program single-season home run record with 13 in 2003.

Young played two years of professional softball, one overseas in Italy and the second year with the Texas Thunder of the National Pro Fastpitch.

The Blue Devils are in their first season of varsity play.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

5/6/18 – “Night Out With the Bulls”
5/16/18 – Special Guest Speaker
5/30/18 – David Cutcliffe, Head Football Coach, Duke
6/6/18 – Scholar-Athlete Awards Night (5:30pm)

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Larry Fedora, Head Football Coach at the University of North Carolina. Fedora will be entering his 6th season at UNC. Fedora is UNC’s 34th full-time head coach. He promised to implement an aggressive, attacking philosophy on both sides of the ball, with the same wide-open spread offense he used at Southern Miss and a blitz-heavy defense. His philosophy is based on a a quote from George S. Patton—”Instead of waiting to see what might develop, attack constantly, vigorously and viciously. Never let up, never stop, always attack.” He has vowed that Tar Heel football would be known for “playing smart, playing fast, and playing physical. Over the last five seasons, the Tar Heels have set records in bunches, electrified fans with their special teams, play, produced numerous professional prospects and finished first in the Coastal Division on two occasions.

Fedora, who already ranks fifth all-time at UNC with 40 victories, signed a new contract extension in May to keep him in Chapel Hill through the 2022 season.

“I enjoy coaching at the University of North Carolina and I appreciate the trust Chancellor Folt and Bubba Cunningham have shown in the leadership of our program,” Fedora said. “Our staff and players have worked diligently over the last five years to build a program that encompasses all aspects of the student-athlete experience, while simultaneously achieving success on the field.”

Carolina has won 19 games in the last two years, including 13 of 16 ACC regular season contests. The 19 wins are the most in back-to-back seasons since winning 21 in 1996 (10) and 1997 (11). Fedora’s .813 winning percentage in ACC games (13-3) over the past two seasons ranks in the top six nationally among Power 5 schools.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

5/2/18 – Marissa Young, Head Softball Coach at Duke and “Bob Bickell Lacrosse Award” Presentation
5/6/18 – “Night Out With the Bulls”
5/16/18 – Special Guest Speaker
5/30/18 – David Cutcliffe, Head Football Coach, Duke

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Kathryn Brown, Reporter/Anchor for WRAL-TV. Kathryn covered the past Winter Olympics for WRAL, and will talk to us about her experiences in Pyeongchang.

As a General Assignment reporter, Kathryn has worked around the country covering everything from presidential elections and inaugurations, to hurricanes along the Outer Banks and Gulf Coast, to the Occupy Wall Street movement, mine disasters and building explosions. With her colleagues at WRAL, she’s covered the historic 2016 Presidential Election, the Carolina Panthers 2016 Super Bowl run, and Hurricane Matthew, to name a few.

In 2008, Brown won an Emmy Award for Continuing Coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre (WJZ-TV) as well as an Associated Press Award for Continuing Coverage of the Virginia Tech massacre (WJZ-TV). In 2005, she was nominated for an Emmy for General Assignment Reporting with WCBS-TV and an Emmy nomination for Continuing Coverage with WRAL-TV.

Since August 2014, Brown has been an Anchor/Reporter from WRAL-TV; From February 2009 to August 2014, a reporter with WCBS-TV, New York; From June 2008 to December 2010: National Correspondent, CBS Newspath; June 2005 to June 2008: Reporter, WJZ-TV, Baltimore; August 2002 to June 2005: Anchor/Reporter, WSET-TV, Roanoke, Va.

Kathryn is married and has one son and twin daughters.

Thank you, WRAL.COM, for the info!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

4/18/18 – Larry Fedora, Head Football Coach, UNC
5/2/18 – Special Guest Speaker and “Bob Bickell Lacrosse Award” Presentation
5/6/18 – “Night Out With the Bulls”
5/16/18 – Special Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Dave Odom,  former Head Basketball Coach at Wake Forest and the University of South Carolina, and college basketball expert.

Odom began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Wake Forest University in 1976 under head coach Carl Tacy. After three years at Wake Forest (1976–1979), Odom became the head coach at East Carolina University, where his squad compiled a 16-11 record, the university’s best since 1965. Odom stayed with the program until 1982, when he was offered a chance to return to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) as an assistant at the University of Virginia.

As an assistant at Virginia (1982–1989) under head coach Terry Holland, Odom participated in some of the university’s most successful seasons, including five National Collegiate Athletic Association berths and a trip to the Final Four in 1984. During this time, Odom coached future No. 1 NBA draft pick Ralph Sampson, who graduated in 1983. Odom served as acting head coach when Holland missed several games due to illness in the 1988-1989 season. Odom left Virginia in 1989 to return to Winston-Salem as the head coach of Wake Forest University.

Odom was named ACC coach of the year in 1991, 1994 and 1995. He led his team to consecutive ACC Championships in 1995 and 1996. Much of the success during these two years is attributed to star center Tim Duncan, whom he recruited as a player in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1994. In 1995, led by Duncan, the team put up a 26-6 overall record, including winning the ACC Tournament by defeating North Carolina by the score of 82-80, with the victory coming from a last second shot by point guard Randolph Childress. In 1996, the team successfully defended its title with a record of 26-6 by defeating Georgia Tech by a score of 75-74.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

4/3/19 – J J Cooper, Executive Editor, Baseball America
4/17/19 – Paul Haagan, Duke Law Professor and Head of The Center for Sports Law a
5/1/19 – Tim Brewster, Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Coach, UNC

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Dr. Frank Bonner, President of Gardner-Webb University and a Director on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. Bonner joined Gardner-Webb in 1987 as vice president for Academic Affairs. His role later evolved into vice president for Academic and Student Affairs and then provost and senior vice president. In May, 2005, he was named president and took office on July 1. Prior to GWU, he was a faculty member and associate dean for Special Programs at Anderson College in Anderson, S.C. A 1969 graduate of Furman University in Greenville, S.C., with a bachelor’s degree in English, Bonner earned his master’s degree from the University of Georgia in 1971 and his doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977.

President Bonner has been heavily involved in intercollegiate athletics. In 2017, he was appointed to the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, which includes 24 presidents and chancellors. He also serves on the NCAA Board of Directors and the Division I Committee on Academics. In addition, Bonner is a member of the Executive Committee of the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU). He is also a past president of the Big South Conference and a past chair of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Baptist Colleges and Universities.

Bonner is married to Florence (Flossie) Black of Chester, South Carolina, also a Furman graduate. She is a retired high school mathematics teacher. They have two daughters, Alison Bonner Dalton of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Florence Bonner Crawford of Fort Myers, Florida. The Bonners have six grandchildren.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

3/21/18 – Dave Odom, NCAA Basketball Guru
4/4/18 – Special Guest Speaker!!!!!
4/18/18 – Larry Fedora, Head Football Coach, UNC

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Jim Koerner, Head Baseball Coach at North Carolina Central University. Koerner came to NCCU in 2011 from the University at Buffalo, where he was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

During the 2015 season the Eagles were once again in the hunt for a division title, and featured one of the best pitching staffs in NCCU’s modern era. The team kept the second-lowest earned run average (4.55) and second-lowest opposing batting average (.286) in the program’s modern history.

In 2014, Koerner and the Eagles were right in the thick of the MEAC’s Southern Division race throughout the entire season, putting together one of the best season’s offensively since the program restarted. NCCU recorded 454 hits, the second-most since 2007, and ripped a Division I high 22 home runs, along with the most doubles in the modern era of the program (75). New standards were set in the 2013 campaign for Koerner and his program as the Eagles set a new modern era record with 27 wins overtaking the 21 victories collected in the 2007 season, the only year NCCU played at the NCAA Division II level. Despite finishing third in the Southern Division and dropping its opening round matchup against Norfolk State in the 2013 MEAC Baseball Championships, the Eagles recovered to win two of the next three to advance all the way to semifinals as one of the four remaining teams left in the tournament, going 2-2 during the week.

He received his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1997 from St. John Fisher College (N.Y.), and a master’s degree in athletic administration from Marshall University. Koerner and his wife, Kylie, have two children, Sam and Elizabeth.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

3/7/18 – Dr. Frank Bonner, President, Gardner-Webb University and NCAA D-I Director
3/21/18 – Dave Odom, NCAA Basketball Guru
4/4/18 – Special Guest Speaker!!!!!

The guest speaker for our next meeting will be Jones Angell, the play-by-play voice of North Carolina Tar Heels football and men’s basketball.  Angell graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001 and immediately joined the Tar Heel Sports Network.  In 2003, he became the voice of Tar Heel baseball, and called the Tar Heels’ appearances in the finals of the 2006 and 2007 College World Series. In 2005, after Mick Mixon became the play-by-play man for the Carolina Panthers, Angell succeeded him as longtime announcer Woody Durham’s partner, and was on hand for two Final Fours and the Tar Heels’ most recent national championship, in 2009.  Durham announced his retirement after the 2010-11 basketball season, and Angell was named his successor on June 27, 2011.

Additionally, Angell is assistant director of new media at UNC, and has produced many features that have been shown on the video boards at Kenan Stadium and the Dean Smith Center
Angell’s best-known call to date came with Gio Bernard’s game-winning 73-yard punt return over North Carolina State, which clinched the Tar Heels’ first win over State in six years.

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Mark Your Calendar

2/21/18 – Jim Koerner, Head Baseball Coach, NC Central University
3/7/18 – Dr. Frank Bonner, NCAA Division I Board of Directors & President, Gardner Webb University
3/21/18 – Dave Odom, NCAA Basketball Wizard

Our guest speaker for this meeting will be Elliott Avent, Head Baseball Coach at North Carolina State University. Beginning his 20th season as head baseball coach at NC State, Elliott Avent has molded the Wolfpack into one of the nation’s best and most consistent programs. Starting with his hiring in 1996, Avent has taken the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in 14 of the last 19 seasons, and 11 of the last 13. Avent captured both ACC and National Coach of the Year honors in 2003.

Avent’s 2015 campaign knocked on the door of a surprise Super Regional berth, taking national fourth-seed TCU to the brink on their home turf. A nucleus of senior leadership piloted the Wolfpack through a 32-20 regular season. In the ACC Tournament, Preston Palmeiro’s walk-off homer pushed NC State to its first title game since 2010.

The 2014 NC State baseball squad saw seven players taken in the MLB First-Year Player Draft, tied for the third-most all-time at NC State. Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner became the Wolfpack’s first-ever three-time All-Americans and gave State a pair of first round picks for the first time in program history. Andrew Knizner earned Freshman All-America honors and a spot on the All-ACC third team. Brett Austin joined Turner and Rodon on the All-ACC first team.

In 2013, the Wolfpack returned to Omaha for the first time since 1968. Avent was named the 2013 ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for his efforts.  In his NC State career, Avent has 717 career victories, produced 21 All-Americans, and six of the eight first-team All-Americans in NC State’s 108-year baseball tradition.

Thanks, www.gopack.com

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Mark Your Calendar

2/7/18 – Jones Angell, Radio Play-by-Play, UNC
2/21/18 – Jim Koerner, Head Baseball Coach, NC Central University
3/7/18 – Dr. Frank Bonner, NCAA Division I Board of Directors & President, Gardner Webb University

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Miles Wolff, Commissioner of the Can-Am Baseball League and former Owner of the Durham Bulls. Wolff entered baseball in 1971. His first job was general manager of the Atlanta Braves Double-A team in Savannah, Ga., where he was named The Sporting News Class AA Executive of the Year. Later he was general manager for teams in Anderson, SC., and Jacksonville, Fla. He has also served as the play-by-play announcer for the Triple-A Richmond Braves for one year.

In 1980, Wolff turned his attention to ownership. He purchased a Carolina League franchise and re-started the Durham Bulls. The team enjoyed tremendous local success initially. Ten years and one Hollywood film later, the Bulls became a national phenomenon.

Wolff has owned other professional baseball teams in Butte, MT, Asheville, NC, Utica, NY, Quebec City, QC and Pulaski, VA. He currently operates the Kansas City Royals Appalachian League affiliate in Burlington, NC. He also once owned the Raleigh Icecaps hockey team. For 18 years he was president and publisher of Baseball America, the trade publication of professional baseball.

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Mark Your Calendar

12/20/17 – Durham Sports Club “Christmas Party”, Luke DeCock, guest Speaker
1/3/18 – NO MEETING
1/17/18 – Elliot Avent, Head Baseball Coach, NC State

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Donna J. Papa, the NFCA Hall of Fame head softball coach at North Carolina since 1986. Papa has helped build Carolina Softball into one of the top programs in the country. She has led Carolina to the NCAA Tournament in 14 of the last 17 years, five regular-season ACC titles and the 2001 ACC Tournament crown. UNC has posted a winning record in 29 of her 32 seasons, with 14 40-win seasons, including a 50-12-1 campaign in 2008, which included an ACC regular-season title at 18-2.

In her remarkable 34-year head coaching career, she has compiled a 1,227-677-5 record, including a 1,198-662-5 mark in 32 years as head coach at Carolina. Papa ranks 11th all time in NCAA victories, eighth in Division I wins and fifth among active DI coaches.

In 2017, Papa guided a team of 12 freshmen and just seven returning letterwinners to one of the best campaigns in program history, reaching both the ACC Championship game and the NCAA Regional Final in the same season for the first time. The Heels captured four wins over ranked opponents, third-most in school history. Among those was a three-game sweep of No. 21 Pittsburgh, which included Papa’s 1,200th career victory on March 3, 2017 – the 11th coach in NCAA history to reach the milestone.

Thanks, goheels.com

Mark Your Calendar

12/6/17 – Miles Wolfe, Baseball/Durham Bulls Legend
12/20/17 – Durham Sports Club “Christmas Party”, Luke DeCock, guest Speaker
1/3/18 – NO MEETING
1/17/18 – Elliot Avent, Head Baseball Coach, NC State