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Archives For May 2012

Coastal Carolina Chosen as Big South Championship Site

May 31, 2012 — Leave a comment

The Big South Conference’s basketball tournament will be held at Coastal Carolina’s new 3,600 seat Convocation Center in 2013 through the 2015 season. Coastal beat out bids from Winthrop, UNC Asheville, and the city of Winston-Salem, NC. Here was Kyle Kallander’s comments on choosing Coastal (via WPDE):

“We received four excellent bids to host our Basketball Championships. This was not an easy decision for the CEOs.  Ultimately they chose the bid from Myrtle Beach/Coastal Carolina, and we are looking forward to taking our marquee event to the Grand Strand for the next three years.  We are also very appreciative of all the bids and interest we received.”

Could this be a last ditch effort for the Big South to keep the Chanticleers from bolting to the Colonial Athletic Association or the Southern Conference?

Coastal Carolina is about 5 and a half hours from Farmville.

In Big South , , ,
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Winthrop Now in the Lead for the Tourney?

May 31, 2012 — Leave a comment

According to Keith Jarrett of the Citzen-Times (Asheville), Winthrop may be in the lead to grab the three year contract for the Big South Conference basketball tournaments. League meetings are being conducted in Hilton Head, SC today and the announcement of the site, as well as official divisions are expected to be announced today or tomorrow. Jarrett sites that Asheville made a $30,000 guarantee to the Big South, but that Wintrhop and Coastal Carolina has offered more guaranteed money. Another hurdle for Asheville is their contract for hosting the Southern Conference women’s tournament which could cause scheduling conflicts.

Jarrett’s logic is as follows:

- Asheville eliminated because of their contract with the Southern Conference and less guaranteed money
- Coastal eliminated due to their ongoing exploration to move to the Colonial or Southern Conference
- Winston-Salem eliminated simply because its too big.

Winner: Winthrop

Winthrop is located just south of Charlotte in Rock Hill, SC. The 6,100 seat arena would be a four and a half hour drive for Lancer fans traveling from Farmville, add an hour from Richmond and two hours from the Virginia Beach area.

 

Photo via Winthrop.edu

In Big South , , ,
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Winston-Salem the Frontrunner for the Big South Tourney?

May 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

The finalist for the Big South basketball tournament have been set and the only neutral site seems to be that of Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem. The other finalist are Coastal Carolina, Winthrop, and Asheville. So with the Big South, seemingly, striving for a neutral site then Winston-Salem has to be looked upon as the frontrunner.

LJVM Coliseum holds just over 14,600 spectators for basketball and has been home to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons since 1989. The “Joel” has also hosted the CIAA and MEAC conference tournament, as well as the NCAA first and second rounds four times. A bus load of Lancers made the pilgrimage to Winston-Salem in 2005 when the Lancers took on Chris Paul and the Demon Deacons. I was on that trip and LJVM Coliseum can is a nice, large arena but can also be made intimate for a tournament like the Big South. If the tournament was to be held in Winston-Salem it would be just 3 hours from Farmville and 4 hours from Richmond.

Although Winston-Salem would seem to be ideal, the campus sits cannot be ignored. Asheville has a beautiful, new 3,200 seat arena which just hosted both Big South and Southern Conference tournaments this past March. Coastal Carolina is opening a 3,600 seat facility, which will open this year. I recently had the opportunity to tour the Chanticleers new home and it featured mostly bleacher style seating and some impressive luxury boxes. Winthrop’s 30 year old arena is the oldest of the four choices and hosted the Big South tournament three times between 1988 and 1990.  The Winthrop Coliseum can hold over 6,000 fans and is 4 and a half hours from Farmville.

The Big South is supposed to make announcement on the tournament site after the conference meetings conclude this week. Hopefully we’ll know soon where the Lancers can begin their postseason charge.

 

In Big South ,
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What VCU’s Move Means for the Big South

May 17, 2012 — Leave a comment

VCU is moving on to greener pastures in the Atlantic 10 Conference (or at least they like to think they are) and with that movement other dominoes will continue to fall throughout the college landscape. VCU is not the only school to be leaving the Colonial Athletic Association, Georgia State is set to join the Sun Belt Conference and play FBS football and Old Dominion will announce today that they are also moving to a FBS conference by transitioning into a member of Conference USA. These moves leave the CAA with nine all-sport members and eight football members (Rhode Island will move to the NEC in 2013 for football).

So how will the CAA replace its losses at this point? The first calls will likely be to Coastal Carolina and Stony Brook (a Big South football member). Getting both of those schools will help the CAA to sustain its football product that is the best on the FCS level. Both schools are also improving their athletics across the board and Coastal is set to open a 3,600 seat basketball facility this year. On Monday Liberty officially announced their aspirations to play FBS football but they are having trouble finding a home in the Sun Belt, Conference USA, or MAC conferences. If all three schools bolt the Big South then the league is left with only four football members and ten all-sport members. The CAA can also look to the Southern Conference and bring in non-football schools Davidson and Charleston (Davidson does play non-scholarship football in the Pioneer League).

Seemingly the Southern Conference has been immune to conference realignment at this point, but what happens when it comes knocking on their door? Would the four Big South football schools be content in playing in a extremely small, non-auto bid conference or would they look to the Southern Conference or Patriot League? How will the Big South fight back? Will they try to replace their losses and continue football with schools like Kennesaw State, Delaware State, or even North Alabama? Or do they reach beyond football and re-stabilize by poaching an Atlantic Sun school like East Tennessee State or USC Upstate?

The future is not clear right now, but it will be interesting to see how things shake out. Commissioner Kallendar has his work cut out for him and hopefully basketball is stabilized in the Big South to a point where the SoCon will not steal teams away.

Other Articles

Charleston Post & Courier

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New Scoreboards Being Installed

May 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

As we’ve stated before, Longwood is upgrading all of their scoreboards over the summer including video boards for basketball, baseball, and softball. The first of the basketball scoreboards was installed today with the video board going up next.  I’m curious if the “Won Game Won” points to volleyball in the future?

Thanks to Elwood for posting this on the Facebook page!

In General News
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President Finnegan Will be Missed

May 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

I’m sure by now you’ve heard the news that our president, Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan, has opted to  resign his post as University President due to health reasons. While former president Patricia Cormier built the physical nature of what the campus is today, Finnegan added an infectious Lancer spirit into the school, it’s students, staff, and alumni over his brief tenure. Finnegan was certainly a friend to athletics and he could be found at good bit of not only the basketball games but other events around campus. He was also incredibly approachable and open about the university and the athletic department as a whole.  While president Cormier came to about a game a year (usually at UVa) Finnegan could be found wearing face paint and leading student cheers.

Finnegan will undoubtedly be most remembered for Longwood’s admittance into the Big South Conference. Where Cormier failed due to a historic rift with the Winthrop and Big South president, Finnegan thrived and quickly helped to raise the profile of the university and it’s athletic programs.

I’m sure Finnegan will remain a member of the Longwood community and a Lancer forever, but he will certainly be missed. The next president, whoever it may be, certainly has some mighty large shoes to fill.

In General News
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Softball Ends Another Winning Season

May 7, 2012 — Leave a comment

Head Coach Kathy Riley knew she had an uphill battle coming off 37-13 campaign in 2011 which should have resulted in an NCAA tournament birth. The 2012 version of the Lancers featured seven freshman, three sophomores, and just seven upperclassmen. Also, star pitcher Briana Wells had graduated, a huge part of the Lancers in ’11.

Riley’s squad played well right out of the gate this year, winning the Georgia State First Pitch Classic and starting the season by winning seven of their first eight. The Lancers also started the year winning their first ten home games before finally falling to Binghampton 2-0 on March 11. All in all the team posted a 29-26 record, including a 19-5 home mark. After a good run in mid-March the Lancers ran into one of the country’s best teams in Alabama. The beginning of the Alabama tournament marked a 22 game stretch where the Lancers would fall 16 times and win just 6 times.

The Lancers did finish strong though as they march into the Big South in 2013, winning three out of their last four games including a victory over future Big South opponent Liberty. Longwood should be one of the strongest programs and an instant contender in the Big South next year.

Individually the Lancers flexed some impressive power numbers, the team as a whole had 41 home runs with Megan Baltzell, Brooke Short, and Jordan Cox accounting for 27 of those home runs. Those three Lancers also tied for the team lead in RBI with 35 each. Baltzell lead the squad in batting average by hitting .344. The best news is all three players will likely be returning next year.

On the mound both Short (6-3) and Ashley Cornell (10-9) posted winning records. Cornell posted a team low ERA of 3.26, while Libby Morris led the team in strikeouts with 77. The full pitching staff is also set to return in 2013.

A winning record isn’t bad for a “rebuilding” squad and the future is very bright for the Lancers as they venture into the Big South.

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Lancers Add Anthony Banks to 2012 Recruiting Class

May 4, 2012 — Leave a comment

Head Coach Mike Gillian has add another high quality addition to the 2012 Recruiting Class for Lancers. Anthony Banks, a 6’7 forward, will be joining the squad after prepping two years at Monroe College in New Rochelle, NY.  Banks is originally from the Roanoke area where he was a two-time all-state player at North Cross High School. At North Cross he averaged 20 points, 13 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 blocks per game. He also was named the state defensive player of the year, was the fastest to ever score 1,000 points at his high school, and is the North Cross’ all-time leader in blocks.

Banks originally was supposed to go to UT-Chattanooga out of high school but chose to prep instead. He had some injury woes at Monroe but managed to average 8 points and 6 rebounds this past season. His numbers went up greatly when he was healthy enough to contribute in the national tournament. Monroe went 33-4 this past year.

Banks chose Longwood over UNC-Greensboro, Georgia State and Southern University. He said the chance to play in the Big South played a key role according to Doug Doughty of The Roanoke Times:

“When Longwood first recruited me, [the Lancers] were independent, I wasn’t going to go there if they weren’t in a conference. When they got in the Big South that was big. It will make it easier for my family see me play. That was the turning point.”

Banks, originally a two-star recruit in high school, joins an already talented incoming class for Mike Gillian which includes Karl Ziegler, Nik Brown, Lucas Woodhouse, Frank Holloway, and Kirk Staine. Look for Lancers to add one more player before the 2012-13 season. By all accounts Banks is a workhorse who should add some experience and an immediate impact for the Lancers.

photo via: newrochelletalk

 

In Men's Basketball , , , ,
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Lancers Add Duke to the Schedule

May 4, 2012 — Leave a comment

This will be first time an ACC school has ever played at Longwood for a baseball matchup. The 22-18 Lancers will take on the 16-29 Blue Devils at 2PM on Sunday.

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Checking in with Mark Montgomery

May 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

Pitcher Mark Montgomery was Longwood’s lone baseball draft pick last season when he went to the Yankees. Montgomery immediately made an impact when he was first assigned to the Staten Island Yankees early last summer. In Staten Island Mark only appeared in four games for the low-A team before being called up. In those four games he posted one save, a 2.25 ERA and ten strikeouts. Montgomery went on to Charleston where he played for the RiverDogs of the South Atlantic league. As a member of the RiverDogs he posted 14 saves, a 1.85 ERA, and 41 strikeouts in 22 relief appearances.

Thus far Montgomery has picked up where he left off last year. He is now playing high-A ball for the Tampa Yankees. In Tampa Mark already has eight early season relief appearances and has posted two wins, one loss, and three saves. He also has an ERA of 2.19, has struck out 19 batters, and has a .186 batters average against him.

The next logical step in Mark’s career would be the Yankees AA affiliate the Trenton Thunder. Unfortunately Trenton’s only series against the Richmond Flying Squirrels is May 25-28, so it is unlikely Montgomery will be promoted in time for a homecoming of sorts.

In Baseball , , , ,
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