Dear Pioneer Nation,
Welcome to the June 2018 issue of #PIONEERUPDATE, the monthly newsletter of the Tusculum Pioneer Club. #PIONEERUPDATE is provided exclusively to Pioneer Club members prior to being posted on our social media platforms, giving you a first look at what’s happening in Tusculum Athletics.
The Pioneer Club is looking for 15 new members to join within the next week (prior to June 30, 2018) to help reach our membership goal of 320 members. If you have not joined the Pioneer Club this year, we respectfully ask that you consider becoming a member to support our student-athletes. The Pioneer Club campaign has generated over $161,000 in cash gifts from 305 members with one week remaining in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. In addition, the Pioneer Club has generated over $97,000 in gift-in-kind donations this fiscal year.
Our biggest facility project continues to be the Tusculum Field of Dreams Project. We have been, and will continue, approaching student-athlete alumni, businesses, foundations, and friends of Tusculum Athletics for financial support of this endeavor. Donors to this project will be recognized as members of our Pioneer Club. For those of you interested in finding out more information on this project, please contact Blake Cantrell at bcantrell@tusculum.edu or 423-636-7331. Renovation of the Roger M. Nichols Tennis Complex began in June and will be complete by the fall semester.
Our success is directly linked to our loyal Pioneer Club members and the great supporters of Tusculum and Pioneer Athletics. With your generous financial commitments, we are able to provide our student-athletes with a first-class experience.
We wish each of you a great, safe summer and Go Pioneers!
Sincerely,
V.P. - Student Success & Athletics Director of Athletic Development
SCROLL DOWN FOR A FULL INSIDE LOOK AT PIONEER ATHLETICS OVER THE LAST MONTH
Future Pioneer Field - Field of Dreams Campaign
Current Pioneer Club Numbers
Loggins selected for NCAA Pathway Program
INDIANAPOLIS --- Tusculum University associate athletic director Randy Loggins has been selected to participate in the NCAA Pathway Program.
Loggins is one of just 23 senior-level college athletic administrators from all three NCAA divisions selected to participate in the yearlong intensive experiential learning opportunity.
For Loggins and his fellow senior-level athletics administrators who participate, the NCAA Pathway Program provides an outstanding opportunity to gain insight into every facet of an athletics department, preparing them to become well-rounded leaders who are equipped with the tools an effective athletics director needs. Each program participant is mentored by a current NCAA athletics director and a current university chancellor or president who have committed to helping the Pathway participants grow during the program and after completing it.
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
Ross Cash named Tusculum golf coach
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Ross Cash has been named the new head men's and women's golf coach at Tusculum University announced Doug Jones, vice president of student success and athletics.
Cash replaces Nick Forsberg, who served as interim golf coach for the final two months of the 2018 spring season.
He comes to Tusculum after serving last season as the head men's golf coach at NCAA Division I Florida Atlantic University. While at the Boca Raton, Florida school, he helped the Owls to a 97 position improvement in the program's Golfstat team rankings.
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
Brandon Steele named Tusculum head baseball coach
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Long-time Tusculum assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator Brandon Steele has been named the new head coach of the Pioneers announced Doug Jones, vice president of student success and athletics. Steele succeeds Jones, who guided the program for the last 21 seasons.
Steele becomes the 25th baseball coach in program history, but only the second Pioneer skipper since Tusculum became a NCAA Division II member in 1998.
Steele served on Jones' staff for 15 successful campaigns where the Pioneers posted a remarkable 545-271-1 overall record which included five South Atlantic Conference championships, four SAC Tournament titles and six trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
Altizer earns SAC Presidents Award
ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum football and track student-athlete Evan Altizer is this year's recipient of the South Atlantic Conference Presidents Award as selected by the league's faculty athletic representatives.
Altizer and Coker tennis player Henrik Hellbe were the male co-recipients of the award while Wingate distance runner Valerie Griesche was the female honoree.
The SAC Presidents Award is the most prestigious honor the conference awards to its student-athletes. It exemplifies the finest combined qualities of excellence in athletics, academics and community leadership. During the year, the league recognizes 20 Scholar Athletes, representing each of the conference-sponsored sports. The top male and female SAC Scholar Athletes from each represented member school are then nominated for the SAC Presidents Award.
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
School-record 196 student-athletes named to SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll
ROCK HILL, S.C. --- A school-record 196 Tusculum student-athletes have been named to the 2017-2018 South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll. The conference had 1,710 student-athletes honored for their achievements in the classroom.
The SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll recognizes those student-athletes who carry at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average and have completed at least one season in the sports of football, women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, and men's and women's track & field.
The 196 SAC Commissioner Honor Roll student-athletes are the most by Tusculum since joining the conference in 1999 surpassing the previous best of 172 set during the 2016-2017 academic year. Tusculum has finished in the top-half of the league in regards to honor roll selections every season in its 19-year association with the conference.
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
Funke becomes three-time Academic All-American
AUSTIN, Texas --- Tusculum women's tennis student-athlete Franziska Funke has been named to the 2018 Google Cloud NCAA Division II Academic All-America® Women's At-Large first team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The Google Cloud Academic All-America® at-large program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, water polo for both men and women; bowling, crew and field hockey for women; volleyball and wrestling for men and women's beach volleyball.
Funke garners first team honors for the first time in her career after being named to the Academic All-America® At-Large second team in each of the previous two seasons. She becomes the first three-time Academic All-America® in the history of Tusculum women's tennis.
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
Martin named to ABCA All-America baseball team
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Tusculum second baseman Daulton Martin has been named to the 2018 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division II All-America Baseball third team.
Martin earns his second All-American honor of the spring after garnering second team honors by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) last month.
Martin, a sophomore from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, led the South Atlantic Conference with his .413 batting average (18th in NCAA II) while his 86 total hits are 17th in the nation and the second most by a DII left-handed hitter. The 2018 All-SAC first team choice is 18th in the country in batting average and his seven triples are a league-best and 10th in the nation. He finished 20th in the land in doubles (20) and 23rd in on-base percentage (.500).
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
Three Pioneers earn Academic All-District honors for track & cross country
AUSTIN, Texas --- Three Tusculum student-athletes have been named to the 2018 Google Cloud NCAA Division II Academic All-District 3 Track/Cross Country first team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Tusculum sprinter Evan Altizer was named to the men's team while distance runners Makenzi Alleyand Nicole McMillen were selected to the women's squad. The Tusculum trio advances to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® national ballot which will be announced later this month.
The Google Cloud Academic All-America® program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the playing field and in the classroom
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
Guervil finishes eighth in 100 meters at NCAA Championship
CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- Tusculum concluded competition Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Johnson C. Smith University at the Irwin Belk Complex.
Freshman Widchard Guervil earned All-America honors for the second time this season after finishing eighth in the 100 meters, while junior Yannick Rosalie competed in the men's triple jump.
Tusculum finished with one point to tie for 68th place in the final team standings out of the 112 teams that had at least one entry in the championship meet.
For the Full Story, CLICK HERE
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