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Ron Oliver Named Director Of Basketball Operations

MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State men's basketball head coach Billy Taylor announced the hiring of Ron Oliver as director of basketball operations Thursday afternoon. Oliver brings 10 years of experience working at the NBA level with the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors. He replaces Mitch Gilfillan who was promoted to assistant coach on Taylor's staff.
            "We are excited to have Ron join our Ball State family," Taylor said "He is a tremendous addition to our staff. He brings a vast professional experience working under great coaches and front office personnel in the NBA the past 10 years. While it will be a significant change from the professional ranks to college, basketball is still basketball and Ron has great basketball mind. He will be a tremendous asset for our student-athletes, adding value to their experiences and assisting in their development throughout our program."
            Oliver, a four-year letterwinner at Michigan, spent the past season as a volunteer assistant coach at Franklin Central High School. He spent two years (2007-09) as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons, working under head coaches Michael Curry and Flip Saunders. He assisted in organizing team practices, scouting reports and game plans as well as designing training routines to improve athletic performance. Also, he was in charge of the Pistons' NBA Pre-Draft workouts.
            "I would like to thank Ball State University, Tom Collins, and Coach Billy Taylor for giving me this tremendous opportunity," Oliver said. "Also, I want to thank Coach Michael Curry, Coach Kevin O'Neill, Coach Rick Carlisle, and Coach Mark James for being part of my hiring process. My family and I are excited to join the Ball State Family and I am equally excited to help mold our student-athletes into professionals and champions."
            Prior to his time in Detroit, Oliver spent three seasons with the Indiana Pacers as their video coordinator/advance scout under head coach Rick Carlisle. He helped the Pacers prepare scouting reports and game plans as well as conduct team practices and shoot-arounds.
            Oliver spent the 2003-04 season with the Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach/video coordinator for coach Kevin O'Neill. He began his coaching career in the NBA with the Pistons as he served as the team's video coordinator from 1999-2003, working for head coaches Alvin Gentry, George Irvin and Carlisle.
            Oliver, a native of Little Rock, Ark., graduated from the University of Michigan in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology and movement science. He was a four-year letterwinner for the Wolverines helping U of M to an 81-51 (.614) record, including a National Invitation Tournament championship in 1997.
            Oliver and his wife Bethany, have one daughter, Malea

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After Five Seasons, Keister Resigns Coaching Post


GOSHEN, Ind. - After five years at the helm of the Maple Leaf Baseball Program, the Goshen College Athletic Department announced the resignation of Head Coach Josh Keister on Tuesday.

Although Keister will be leaving the dugout, he will not be going far. He has accepted another position on the Goshen College campus and will serve as the Director of the Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center. Keister has spent the last three years as Associate Director and Interim Director of the facility alongside his role as baseball coach.

"While we are disappointed to see Josh stepping down, we are excited for him and his family as they take on this new challenge," Demant commented. "Josh has done a great job laying a strong foundation and leaves the program in a position for the next coach to do even greater things."

Under his tenure, the Goshen College baseball program has grown from a minimal average roster size in the mid-teens to nearly 40, including the implementation of the program's first junior varsity program in 2010. During his tenure, Keister has coached five All Mid-Central College Conference selections and nine NAIA-Daktronics All American Scholar-Athletes.

Prior to becoming the head coach, Keister spent one year as an assistant coach after a standout four-year playing career. As a corner infielder, Keister was a two-time All MCC selection and earned NAIA All American Honorable Mention as a junior. He holds the Leafs' single-season records for batting average, hits, doubles, runs and RBI, and is the school's all-time leader in runs scored (133) and doubles (44).

"It has been a pleasure to coach some outstanding student-athletes the past five years and I look forward to continuing to follow their success over the coming years," Keister said Tuesday morning. "It will be tough to leave a program that I have been a part of for so long, but I look forward to these new challenges for me and my family."

A national search has already begun for Keister's replacement with the hopes of finding the ideal candidate quickly. For more information, contact Maple Leaf Athletics at (574) 535-7491 or via email at tdemant@goshen.edu

2010-11 Women's Basketball Schedule Announced
Mastodons will have 10 of 28 games against teams in 2009-10 postseason
Fort Wayne, IN - IPFW, which is coming off of a 13-17 season and a 10-8 conference record, have announced its schedule for the 2010-11 season. Highlighting that schedule is a season-opening game at NCAA second round participant Michigan State University, and a home game against the Louisville Cardinals, who two years ago finished as the NCAA Tournament runner-up.
"We are excited about the upcoming season, as we will once again have a very demanding schedule," said Paul. "Playing national powers such as Michigan State and Louisville, as well as teams from the MAC and the Horizon League will put us in position to be prepared once the Summit League season begins."
Paul, who is 52-86 all-time as a head coach, needs just 12 wins to become the winningest coach in IPFW women's basketball history. He returns four of five starters, the top five scorers, and the top six rebounders from the team last season, which set IPFW Division I records for wins in a season, and conference wins.
After an exhibition game against Manchester College on Tuesday, November 9, the regular season opens on Saturday, November 13 when the Mastodons travel north to face off for the first time in program history against Big Ten foe Michigan State, who fell to Kentucky in the NCAA second round last season. Two days later the Mastodons look to avenge last season's one-point loss at Akron of the Mid American Conference, when the Zips, who fell in the opening round of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI), travel to Fort Wayne for the fourth all-time meeting between the two squads.
The Mastodons then make a trip on November 20 to Youngstown, Ohio to face off against the Penguins of Youngstown State University, before hosting Indiana Tech two days before Thanksgiving on November 23. Six days later 2008-09 NCAA Tournament runner-up Louisville comes to the Gates Center in the second of a six-game homestand for the 'Dons.
The first weekend of December brings along the first conference games, when Southern Utah travels to Fort Wayne on December 4 for Homecoming, before WBI qualifier UMKC arrives two days later for a December 6 game in the Gates Center. Back-to-back home games at the Memorial Coliseum follow when the 'Dons host Valparaiso on December 8, and the Detroit Titans on December 11.
After a week off for semester exams, the team goes on a four-game road trip, with the first two games coming in Virginia, where IPFW will take on 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Hampton on December 19, and then to Farmville, Virginia to face off against Longwood on December 21. A trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma follows on December 29 where the Mastodons will face off against 2009-10 Summit League regular season champion Oral Roberts, whom the 'Dons swept a season ago. Two days later IPFW will play in its first New Years Eve game since 2002-03, when the squad plays in their final game against Centenary, as the Ladies are moving to NCAA Division III next season.
The new calendar year starts with three straight games at home, opening with IUPUI on January 8 in the Memorial Coliseum, before hosting Western Illinois two days later in the Gates Center. Oakland comes to Fort Wayne on January 15, as the Grizzlies and Mastodons each won on their own home courts last season. A mid-January trip to the North and South Dakota sees IPFW face off against two-time reigning Summit League Tournament champion South Dakota State on January 22, before traveling north to Fargo to face off against the Bison on January 24.
A weekend home series with Oral Roberts, a postseason NIT Tournament participant, and Centenary follows on January 29 and 31, setting the stage for trips to Macomb, Illinois on February 5 and Indianapolis on February 7 for the weekend conference series at Western Illinois and at IUPUI. The road trip continues on February 12 when IPFW goes north to play their Summit League travel partner Oakland on February 12. The finale of the road swing comes against the Mastodons' final non-conference game of the season, when the team heads south to Edwardsville, Illinois to take on SIU Edwardsville on February 16.
On February 19 the Mastodons will host North Dakota State in their fourth annual Pink Out game, in which funds, and awareness, is raised for breast cancer, and the research for the cure of the disease. Two days later the Mastodons host the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State at the Gates Center on Senior Day, which will honor the three seniors on the 2010-11 squad, Sarah Haluska, Jordan Zuppe, and Chelsey Jackson.
A regular season finale road trip follows, as the team heads west to face off against the Kangaroos of UMKC on February 26, and then to Cedar City, Utah, to face off against the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University on February 28.
From March 5 until the 8^th, the top eight teams in the regular Summit League season will compete in the Summit League Championships, hosted in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with the tournament winner earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament

South Bend, IN- Congratulations to Head Coach Steve Bruce and the women's basketball team for being a recipient of the 2009-10 NAIA Scholar Team Award. On Tuesday the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced this prestigious award with a record total 857 teams receiving this honor.
The Titans had a solid showing during the 2009-10 campaign both on and off the court. The women's basketball team finished with an impressive overall record of 19-11 and earned a 3.20 GPA in the classroom.
For a team to be considered for the NAIA Scholar Team award, it must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) as defined by the institution. The team grade point average must include all varsity student-athletes certified as eligible