SPORTS
- Inside the Huddle
- Volleyball recruit brings noise to court Holli Welch
- Swimming and diving team competes in new conference Lori Bero
- New chief of staff puts off retirement Ryan Clarke
- Golf signee proves he can compete Kaelena Incinelli
- Ospreys reconstruct for a new year Kaelena Incinelli
Inside the Huddle
 Brett Morgan Assistant Sports Editor |
 Ace Stryker Copy Editor |
 Matt Coleman Editor in Chief |
 Jacque Strappe Baguette Fencing Aficionado |
| Question 1: Will Michael Vick ever play in the National Football League again? | |||
| Absolutely. Regardless of how dispicable his act was, talent always supersedes character in sports. If he is out of prison and reinstated by his early 30s, there will be interest. | If he can still play after undergoing the same treatment he inflicted on his fighting dogs - hanging and drowning, specifically - then sure, let him play. | As long as he can still pass and run, he'll play. Pesky felony convictions won't keep good players out for long. | The only teammates he will be ass slapping with is the other disgusting Americans in prison. |
| Question 2: NBA referee Tim Donaghy - who pleaded guilty to felony gambling charges - claims up to 20 other NBA referees are also involved in gambling. If true, are the ethics of how NBA games are officiated compromised? | |||
| David Stern has trust to rebuild, and his pompous approach does not help. Calling Donaghy a "rogue" ignores obvious red flags, but they've been ignored for years. | Yes. If that's the case, fire them all like Reagan did with the air traffic controllers and start again. | The only ethics Donaghy considered was how much to tip his bookie. I'm thinking his testimony might be a little suspect. | The only ethical thing about the NBA is Tony Parker. |
| Question 3: Considering that he has never started a collegiate game, are expectations for University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow too high? | |||
| Tebow walks on water, right? Of course they are. Tebow was only used in situations conducive to his skills, and his jump pass set back QB mechanics 50 years. He needs time. | Nope, he's proven plenty of times he's a playmaker. The team dynamics will definitely be different, but maybe that's what Florida needs to stay on top. | They're the defending champs. Expectations are always going to be too high. I hope for his sake he's improved his passing game. | Any expectations for an American are too high. |
| Question 4: With injuries to Jacksonville Jaguar starters Reggie Nelson, Chris Naole and Clint Ingram, along with other key injuries around the league, is it time for the NFL to shorten its preseason? | |||
| Football is a physical game, so injuries are inevitable. The modern day landscape rewards teams that manage their cap and balance their cap space for roster depth. I like that. | Nah. It's one of my favorite parts of the game. The injuries just spice up the season and cut its predictability, which is always a good thing. | They should have cut this down years ago. The preseason has just been a way to artificially inflate the length of the actual season. | The injuries are because American athletes are soft. They will never be as durable as great European athletes like David Beckham. |
Volleyball recruit brings noise to court
Freshman chooses blocking the net over blocking the hoop
She's tall, she's competitive, she's determined to win, and even more - she's loud.
Upcoming freshman blocker Marshay Greenlee joined the University of North Florida volleyball team in May after graduating from Gainesville High School, where she learned that yelling went hand-in-hand with volleyball.
"Every time we needed momentum we would start screaming," Greenlee said. "It didn't matter if we were up or down 15 points, we would just start yelling as a team."
The 5-foot-10-inch blocker said she plans to continue that enthusiastic attitude with her new team as well, determined to never give up. And as the season is gearing up, head coach Kevin Campbell said that this is exactly what she has seen in Greenlee.
"Marshay has a great attitude and perspective on the game," Campbell said. "She has great energy and I expect her to hold her teammates accountable to perform the same way."
For Greenlee, the upbeat and loud atmosphere was the deciding factor to pursue volleyball. As a freshman in high school, she was active in both volleyball and basketball and planned to focus on the latter. At that point volleyball was just a fun way to stay in shape, Greenlee said, but that soon changed.
"It became obvious that I should get serious with volleyball my sophomore and junior years since I was improving in it," Greenlee said. "Plus, basketball was way too serious and there was no time to cheer about scoring a point. I like cheering."
Greenlee and her high school teammates had a lot to cheer about, finishing with a 25-4 record her senior year as well as claiming the city and district championship titles.
The icing on the cake, according to Greenlee, was beating their rival school during the season.
"I understand the hype about beating JU [Jacksonville University]," Greenlee said. "In high school we were determined to claim the city title and show that we were motivated, even though we were the underdogs."
Greenlee said the entire season led up to the rival game. The local newspaper wrote a story favoring the rival school so the team made a copy and placed it where they could see it every day to get motivated, she said.
This competitive drive is a dominant quality in Greenlee, Campbell said.
"All athletes should learn competitiveness, not just technique," she said. "The fact that Marshay played two sports makes her very competitive. She has been trained very well."
Greenlee said she's excited about competing as an Osprey and focusing on the No. 1 reason
she's here.
"I am nervous to be a part of a team that represents such a big school," Greenlee said. "I want to play hard and win matches and make my
team proud."
Contact Holli Welch at managing@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Swimming and diving team competes in new conference
Beginning in 2007, the University of North Florida women's swimming and diving team will officially join
the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association, according to UNF Athletic Director Dr.
Richard Gropper.
The newly established CCSA was created to provide a conference home for schools that did not have a workable conference solution because swimming
was not sponsored in their all-sports conference.
"[Atlantic Sun Conference Commissioner] Ted Gumbart has done an outstanding job in leading an effort to provide a conference home for the limited number of Atlantic Sun schools which currently sponsor swimming and diving programs," Gropper said.
"The cooperative effort will blend the talents of four conferences in the Southeastern U.S. and provide an outstanding competitive opportunity for our team that did not previously exist."
Only four schools in the Atlantic Sun have swimming and diving teams, which is not enough for a conference championship. The CCSA is comprised of 12 members from four conferences including the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Big South Conference, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southern Conference. The inaugural conference championship for the CCSA will be Feb.
21-23, 2008.
"The Atlantic Sun Conference and our university administrators had great vision and worked extremely hard to make this conference a reality," said UNF swimming head coach Beth Harrell. "It will be a strong and well-organized league, and it is the perfect home for our student-athletes."
During the past two seasons, UNF has gained experience by competing in the Pacific Coast Swim Conference. They have endured both long travels and unfamiliar territory, which should help prepare them for the new level of competition they will face in the CCSA.
"We swim a pretty tough schedule every year and we have swum in very fast conferences," Harrell said. "I think the experience we have gained by challenging ourselves in the past will help our team in this conference."
The CCSA has been approved by the NCAA as an official Division I conference. Through the CCSA, UNF will be competing against the region's best to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA
regionals.
"We have not had a conference home that our university or local supporters could really relate to in the past," Harrell said. "This new conference adds an identity that will help us become recognized. As we work towards a conference championship, I think the energy around our swimming program will help our swimmers rise to the occasion."
The CCSA has become home to 11 other schools on the
East coast.
"We have competed regularly against many of the 11 women's teams in the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Conference, so we are familiar with those programs," Harrell said. "That familiarity and desire to win against teams we see all the time will make our team much hungrier, and for a coach, that is a great thing."
Contact Lori Bero at sports@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
New chief of staff puts off retirement
Athletics veteran plans to bring success to the Ospreys
For 12 years, Dr. Richard Gropper has overseen the everyday comings and goings of University of North Florida Athletics from his office that sits less than 20 feet from the basketball court in the UNF Arena. But that's all about to change.
With the Athletics Department planning a face lift of their own, dubbed "The UNF Sports Complex," which entails not just improvements to existing facilities but construction of new ones as well, Gropper is handing off his day-to-day portfolio and moving upstairs so he can focus on raising the money and resources to fund these ambitious goals.
So who will be taking up Gropper's old digs? Enter Dean Billick.
The former athletic director at Lamar University and the No. 2 man at both the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Cincinnati, Billick brings more than 40 years of intercollegiate athletic experience to the table as the Athletic Department's newly minted chief of staff.
No stranger to success, Billick administrated a football team that made 12 bowl appearances while posting 16 winning seasons and a basketball team that made eight trips to the NCAA Tournament and four to the National Invitational Tournament during his tenure at Pittsburgh.
"We were lucky," Billick said, "but we were successful because we recruited great student athletes, we had really good coaches and we had good leadership."
Most recently, Billick helped the University of Cincinnati make a successful transition into the Big East Conference by aiding in the designing and funding of the Varsity Village, a new $105 million project that is a colossus of swimming, basketball, baseball and football facilities.
Billick has also helped bring success to schools with smaller budgets and fewer
resources.
While serving as the athletic director for Lamar University, Billick brought unprecedented success to the small Southland Conference member as four sports, including men's basketball and baseball, captured conference titles.
Men's basketball also earned an NCAA postseason berth for the first time in
17 years.
In addition, he directed more resources be put in place for a successful golf program, and the Cardinals ranked as high as second in the country.
Financially, Billick's tenure saw men's basketball attendance more than double any school in the Southland Conference, assisting the Cardinals to a budget surplus for the first time in 15 years.
After Cincinnati, Billick planned on retiring to Jacksonville.
"I wanted to come down here and enjoy the sun and the sand, and kick up and enjoy life," Billick said.
But Gropper lured him into helping UNF become a more efficient and competitive program. For the past year, Billick has served as a part-time consultant to the university on a wide range of athletics issues. Now, the experience he's gleaned from over four decades of involvement in the NCAA will be put to work full-time.
"I decided to do it because I wanted to help them," Billick said. "We've got to reach a different level of potential [at the Division I level] and we haven't reached that yet [...] If we get it harnessed and get it set in the right direction, two years from now, hopefully, with the university approved for Division I, we'll have a program, a staff and a department that's ready to right off the bat go to war."
As ambitious as the long-range goals may be, Billick is also realistic about the success the university will enjoy in the short term.
"We're not going to go to the NCAA tournament right away in all these sports," he said. "Anyone who thinks that has their head in the sand. They don't know intercollegiate athletics."
For the time being, Billick said he wants to focus on providing coaches with the resources they need to compete while in the transition.
But chief among his long-term priorities is perhaps the simplest: to win.
"Down the road, the goal ought to be not just to go the NCAA tournaments, but win some games in the NCAA tournaments," Billick said. "My expectation is that we get good in some sports here in the course of the next two, three, or four years here. We'll do it with class, dignity, but we'll also win. We need to win here."
Billick is quick to clarify that his promotion does not make him the most important member of the Athletics Department citing Dr. Gropper's responsibility to fund raise for the Osprey Sports Complex.
"The facilities improvement project that's about to kick off is essential for this program [...] so his role is much more important than mine," Billick said.
Contact Ryan Clarke at sports@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Golf signee proves he can compete
University of North Florida golf's freshman signee Chris Kennedy advanced to the finals at the 16th Florida State Amateur Match Play Championship Aug. 12 at the Sawgrass
Country Club.
Sunday's final round saw Kennedy fall to the University of South Florida's Raj Nahal after bogeying the 15th and 16th holes.
Kennedy matched Nahal's second-hole birdie with one of his own on the 11th. He also came out of a bunker on the 17th hole to earn a par and
avoid elimination.
Kennedy chipped the ball on hole 15, out of the bunker and to within a foot of the hole.
"I didn't play that well all week, but I just hit the right shots at the right time," Kennedy said. "It turned out to be a good week for me, and hopefully it will get me ready for the U.S. Amateur."
Kennedy joins senior Michael O'Neal and sophomore J.C. Horne in qualifying for the 107th U.S. Amateur at Olympic Club.
Both Horne and sophomore Gavin Cambre remained alive after the opening round and moved on to the second round of play with their
first-day victories.
Kennedy was the only Osprey to continue to the
final day.
Kennedy beat Tyson Alexander 2-to-1 in the semifinals. In stroke play, Kennedy tied for third and then won two matches to bring him to the next round.
The next stop for Kennedy is the U.S. Amateur Aug. 20.
Contact Kaelena Incinelli at sports@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Ospreys reconstruct for a new year
As the University of North Florida continues to transition into Division I, the Athletic Department is working to aid athletes by raising money for better facilities.
Within the past year, UNF has seen many improvements to their existing facilities. The UNF Arena, which supports the men's and women's basketball teams as well as volleyball, was resurfaced over the summer. New lettering on the end zones and sidelines accompany a painted UNF logo at mid-court as the new face of the Arena floor. The lobby has also been remodeled to include the UNF Athletics Hall of Fame that inducted its first members in February.
The tennis complex also
received court resurfacing this summer. The next step in renovating the tennis facility is setting
up new fences around the
resurfaced courts.
"All facility improvements will have a positive impact as we continue our transition process to full NCAA D-I status," said Dr. Richard Gropper, director of UNF Athletics.
Still in the works is the construction of Hodges Stadium. Funded by a $2 million gift from George and Kernan Hodges, the stadium is under construction and will provide about 9,300 stadium seats, a press box and TV-quality track and field lighting.
Gropper believes all the construction will have a positive impact on the university.
"All of these improvements will be completed by mid-September," Gropper said.
A nine-lane Olympic-quality track will be built around the field in Hodges Stadium starting in late fall and should be completed by
late spring.
The men's and women's soccer teams will continue to have access to the fields during construction.
Although improvements are taking place, Gropper said this is only the beginning of a plan to complete the "Osprey Sports Complex."
The Osprey Sports complex is an ambitious renovation plan which will change the face of UNF Athletics,
he said.
The UNF Athletics' Marketing and Development Office is planning a fund-raising effort that will last for the next five to seven years in the hopes of finding support from private and corporate donors to continue improving the athletic facilities, Gropper said.
Additional construction, the plans for which are being finalized, will begin as soon as funding allows. These additions are meant to improve both intercollegiate athletics and campus recreation. The specifics of the plans will be forthcoming.
Contact Kaelena Incinelli and Brett Morgan at uspinnak@unf.edu -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE