ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2015
CONTENTS • AD Address/Letter • Academic Integrity • Rules Compliance • Facility Enhancements • Events Hosted • Financial Prudence Budget Purple Circle Corporate Gifts • Significant Accomplishments • Student-Athlete Well-Being/Success Life Skills Diversity Gender Community Support
Dear Bear Nation, The 2014-15 academic year was again an outstanding year for UCA Athletics. Our 9th year of DI competition was a banner year. UCA has transitioned to DI with as much success as any program in the country. The success is measured in academics, service, and athletics competition. The fact that UCA achieved such success in our infant stage is remarkable and a tribute to our fine student-athletes and coaches. At UCA, we embrace the NCAA DI principles of Academic Integrity, Rules and Governance, Financial Prudence, and Student-Athlete Well-Being. These characteristics shape our program as we excel at providing a great place to live, learn, and compete. UCA is a total package program. We succeed in academics, socially, and life skills; while winning championships. Our goal is to provide a wonderful educational experience for our student-athletes which is further enhanced through athletics success. The fondest memories come from our great teams and programs. We want all to have that experience. Our image is very important to our success. Through our branding, facilities, and media; our image is impacted. We will ensure our image elicits a perception of a first-class program. We have been successful due to our re-branding of our logos and trademarks. We have been successful due to our abundant facility improvements over the last six years. We have been successful due to our forethought in social media and communications. We have been successful due to our staff creativity and innovation. UCA Athletics is committed to providing a rewarding student-athlete experience, an enjoyable fan/donor experience, and a professional and classy image. We will do this while contributing to the university’s educational experiences. UCA Athletics cherishes the role it plays on this great educational campus of UCA. We are also dedicated to Academic Vitality, Integrity, and Diversity (AVID), furthering the values and mission of the University of Central Arkansas.
Go Bears!
Brad Teague, Ph. D. Director of Athletics
At the beginning of the 2013-14 academic year, the athletics department administrative staff engaged in a dialogue to focus on our mission. From the session, our staff developed core values and guiding principles for the department. These values and principles truly describe our work and our plan to be the best Division I program. Our decisions are scripted by these and we strive to do what is right and true for all.
CORE VALUES 1. Student-Athlete Success 2. Excellence 3. Accountability 4. Innovation 5. Collegiality GUIDING PRINCIPLES 1. Student-Athlete Experience 2. Fan/Donor Experience 3. Image
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Athletics programs utilize several metrics to evaluate the success of their student-athletes in academics. Grade Point Average (GPA), Graduation Success Rate (GSR), Federal Graduation Rate (FGR), Academic Progress Rate (APR) and Completed Athletics Eligibility Grad Rate (CEGR) are all part of the evaluation system. As detailed below, UCA has improved significantly in most categories below. UCA student-athletes saw a major jump in FGR in 2015, and are 20 percentage points ahead of the general student body. GPA
2007 Women 3.02 Men 2.74 Total 2.77
2008 3.03 2.75 2.85
2009 3.11 2.73 2.87
2010 3.17 2.78 2.92
2011 3.16 2.79 2.94
2012 3.18 2.82 2.98
2013 2014 2015
GSR
Women 76% Men 48% Total 55%
77% 49% 57%
79% 52% 61%
90% 62% 73%
86% 68% 74%
95% 82% 83% 73% 75% 67% 66% 69% 81% 73% 72% 74%
FGR
Women 58% Men 35% Total 48% All UCA 45%
56% 50% 54% 43%
60% 39% 49% 41%
61% 41% 51% 41%
55% 50% 53% 42%
58% 43% 50% 41%
50% 43% 47% 41%
49% 42% 46% 41%
66% 65% 65% 45%
APR
Women 929 Men 902 Total 914
956 919 933
947 938 941
979 955 966
960 957 959
986 955 969
973 944 956
978 949 961
974 972 973
CEGR Total
93% 89% 96% 99% 84%
3.19 2.88 3.02
3.28 3.28 2.87 2.88 3.04 3.04
COMPLIANCE & FACILITIES
COMPLIANCE 1. The most important part of Compliance is that all individuals associated with UCA Athletics promote and support the interest of the athletic department to ensure full compliance with NCAA, Southland Conference and University Rules. 2. Increased rules education and updates to coaches, staff, boosters, and student-athletes. These updates occur in a variety of ways from face to face, email blasts, website notices, and individual meetings with coaches or student athletes. 3. Conversion to e-filing system for all student-athlete records. 4. Financial Aid will enter student-athlete data without the assistance of athletics staff. 5. Implementation of JumpForward to make tracking many aspects of Compliance simpler for coaches as well as the compliance office. This year will add the component of all the preseason NCAA paperwork to JumpForward which will help make the beginning-of-year meetings with Student-Athletes more productive. 6. Reorganizing departmental manuals over the summer to make them complete and more user friendly. 7. Compliance Committee will be active for in the Fall 2013 and beyond. 8. Compliance staff and general counsel will continue semi-annual meetings.
FACILITY ENHANCEMENTS
ON-CAMPUS EVENTS HOSTING
1. Basketball practice facility construction underway,
1. Southland Conference Soccer Tournament, Fall ’15
with completion set for January 2016 2. Additional office space in Estes Stadium for coaching staff completed in April 2015 3. Bathroom/concession area for softball/track/soccer complex & fencing around softball complex to be completed in Fall 2015 4. Tennis Court resurfacing completed August 2014 5. Expansion of Estes Stadium training room completed August 2014 6. Addition of outfield deck at Bear Stadium completed October 2014 7. New mobile game/ticket operations unit
2. Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament, Fall ’15 3. Arkansas Activities Association All-Star Week (includes All-Star games for football, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, cheer & dance, and coaches conventions)
FINANCIAL PRUDENCE
PURPLE CIRCLE ANNUAL FUND UCA Athletics has a strong fundraising arm in the Purple Circle. During the move to Division I, the fund grew over 400%. Membership is strong at 350 members and over $300,000 annually is contributed to the fund.
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS Through the arrangement with Peak Sports MGMT/UCA Sports Marketing, corporate partnerships have continued to rise as the Central Arkansas brand has maintained a steady rate of growth and visibility throughout the region, and corporate partners have realized an increase in value in their relationship with Central Arkansas Athletics.
BUDGET UCA and UCA Athletics is committed to reducing the amount of state funding for Athletics while increasing the amount of external funding from ticket sales, fundraising, corporate sponsorships, and NCAA Revenue. This trend is demonstrated below.
Revenue Student Fees Auxiliaries E&G External Funds Federal Total
FY16
FY15
FY14
FY13
FY12
$ 5,000,000 43% $ 2,800,000 24% $ 1,000,000 9% $ 2,700,000 23% $ 126,000 1% $ 11,626,000 100%
$ 5,000,000 44% $ 2,675,777 23% $ 1,000,000 9% $ 2,600,000 23% $ 126,000 1% $ 11,401,777 100%
$ 4,838,092 43% $ 2,783,324 25% $ 1,000,000 9% $ 2,507,764 22% $ 113,877 1% $ 11,243,057 100%
$ 4,913,412 48% $ 1,563,989 15% $ 1,069,387 10% $ 2,595,295 25% $ 98,830 1% $ 10,240,913 100%
$ 4,973,184 53% $ 1,462,407 15% $ 1,154,142 12% $ 1,755,490 19% $ 92,466 1% $ 9,437,689 100%
Expenses Salaries & Fringes Scholarships Travel M&O Debt Service Medical Federal Facilities Other Total
$ 3,650,007 31% $ 3,555,493 31% $ 1,454,500 13% $ 1,160,000 10% $ 600,000 5% $ 200,000 2% $ 126,000 1% $ 550,000 5% $ 330,000 3% $ 11,626,000 100%
$ 3,600,000 32% $ 3,485,777 31% $ 1,410,000 12% $ 1,100,000 10% $ 600,000 5% $ 200,000 2% $ 126,000 1% $ 550,000 5% $ 330,000 3% $ 11,401,777 100%
$ 3,520,742
$ 2,984,717 29% $ 3,185,815 31% $ 1,399,948 14% $ 935,785 9% $ 406,235 4% $ 153,408 1% $ 98,830 1% $ 600,785 6% $ 475,391 5% $ 10,240,914 100%
$ 2,933,003 31% $ 2,850,844 30% $ 1,311,588 14% $ 899,972 10% $ 374,455 4% $ 125,966 1% $ 92,466 1% $ 389,990 4% $ 459,405 5% $ 9,437,689 100%
$ 3,351,709
$ 1,409,150 $ 1,100,300 $ 628,604 $ 245,461 $ 113,877 $ 544,740 $ 328,474 $ 11,243,057
31% 30% 13% 10% 6% 2% 1% 5% 3% 100%
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
ACADEMICS
The football Bears were once again recognized for their APR (Academic Progress Rate), marking the program’s 5th consecutive year to do so. The Bears increased their PAR score to 953, bringing their 4-year average up to 951. For the year, 189 Bears & Sugar Bears were named to the honor roll (which requires a minimum GPA of 3.0), with 32 holding perfect 4.0 GPAs. The program’s Federal Graduation Rate made a significant increase, going from 50 to 65 percent in the latest 6-year cohort, the first for UCA to include exclusively student-athletes signed under Division I academic standards. In all, 13 of the department’s 17 teams have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, and the cumulative GPA for all student-athletes is 3.05, up from 2.77 at the beginning of the transition to Division I athletics.
NCAA REVENUE UCA Athletics received the third annual installment of NCAA Revenue Sharing. The majority of the share is based on total number of sports and the total number of scholarships awarded to Student-Athletes. An additional amount is provided for student-athlete well-being and for academic success. Last year UCA received $892,716, which was 2nd among Southland schools, and this year UCA received $894,111.
SOFTBALL
After finishing the regular season 3rd in the Southland Conference standings, went on to win four straight games at the Southland Conference tournament – including a victory over defending champion and top-seeded host Northwestern State to claim the program’s first-ever championship and NCAA Tournament berth. In the conference tournament, senior pitcher Kylee Studioso was named Tournament MVP after picking up three wins, including a 13-inning shutout over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the opening round. For the tournament, Studioso threw 29 innings with a 0.48 ERA and 20 strikeouts, throwing three complete games with a pair of shutouts. Studioso, junior 3B Sam Forrest, junior 2B Sarah Bigej, junior C Jessie Taylor and sophomore OF Briana Whisenhunt were all named to the all-tournament team. That same group of five were also All-Southland Conference selections for the season, with Bigej on the 1st team; Forrest, Studioso and Whisenhunt on the 2nd team; and Taylor the 3rd team. After winning the Southland Tournament, the Bears were sent to Norman, Okla. for their NCAA Regional, being paired up with Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Winthrop. During the Southland tournament, head coach David Kuhn eclipsed Natalie Shock as the program’s all-time winningest head coach, getting to 209 in his career at Central Arkansas and 577 for his career overall. The season also marked the 20th season of Central Arkansas softball, and a reunion was held the final weekend of the regular season for all softball alumni. Shock, who was the program’s first coach and is currently the UCA Senior Woman Administrator, served her first year on the NCAA Softball Championship selection comittee.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
BASEBALL
Continued the program’s run of postseason success by making it to the bracket finals in the Southland Conference tournament, losing to eventual champion Houston Baptist. Over the last three years, the Bears have the Southland’s highest postseason win total with 13, more than Stephen F. Austin, McNeese State, Lamar, Northwestern State and Nicholls combined. Since 2013, the Bears are 13-6 (.684) overall in postseason play. Ty Tice was named to the All-Tournament team, and outfielders Wesley Hoover and Tyler Langley – both Conway natives – were named to the Southland All-Conference teams. Hoover was also a Southland All-Academic selection, holding a 3.28 GPA while finishing 2nd in the Southland with a .365 batting average.
VOLLEYBALL
For the 2nd year in a row and 5th time in 7 years, the Sugar Bears had the Southland Conference Player of the Year, this time in junior outside hitter Heather Schnars, who also received All-America Honorable Mention accolades. Senior Shelbee Berringer was named the league’s Libero of the Year, giving the Sugar Bears their 24th individual award – Coach, Player, Student-Athlete, Setter, Libero and Freshman of the Year – since joining the league in 2006. During that same period, the rest of the league has combined for 30. The Sugar Bears made the championship match of the Southland Conference Tournament for the 3rd straight season, but came up short against Northwestern State and missed qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011. Following the season, David McFatrich and his staff took over the program at Mississippi State, becoming the 2nd consecutive ex-Sugar Bear Volleyball head coach to lead an SEC program, joining Steven McRoberts who, after 3 years at Tulsa, took over at Ole Miss in 2014. Jeni Jones was hired in January to succeed McFatrich, coming to UCA from Missouri State where she spent 13 seasons, the last 10 as associate head coach, and went to 7 NCAA Tournaments and had 20-win seasons in 12 of those 13 years. As a player at Florida, she helped lead the Gators to 3 straight Final Four appearances and 4 straight SEC championships.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Freshman guard Jordan Howard was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year after turning in one of the best debut campaigns in school history. Howard averaged 15.7 points per game, which ranked 5th in the Southland, and scored in double figures in 28 of the Bears’ 29 games. He led the league with 77 3-pointers, the most ever by a UCA freshman and the 4th-highest total in program history. He ranked 4th in the league in 3-point percentage at 38.9, and scored a season-high 27 points in a 110-108 loss to Northwestern State.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The Sugar Bears made their 5th straight Southland Conference tournament appearance, one of just four teams to qualify for each of the last five league tournaments. Sophomore guards Brianna Mullins and Maggie Proffitt were named to the All-Southland Conference teams following the season, with Proffitt landing on the 2nd team and Mullins the 3rd. Proffitt averaged 13.7 points per game, 9th in the Southland, and was 2nd in the league with 68 3-pointers made. Her 3-point percentage of 35.1 was good for 4th in the league. Mullins was one of just three players in the Southland to average at least 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game, finishing the season at 11.2, 5.4 and 3.1 in those respective categories. Mullins also recorded the league’s only triple-double of the season with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists in a win over Southeastern Louisiana – the highest combined points/rebounds/assists total in a triple double in Southland history. Mullins and Proffitt were also both selected to the Southland All-Academic team, as Central Arkansas was one of just three programs to place two players on the All-Academic teams. Mullins, a Nursing major, had a 3.43 cumulative GPA while Proffitt, an Exercise Science major, had a 3.26. Mullins and Proffitt join Megan Herbert as the only Sugar Bears ever to be named All-Southland and Southland All-Academic in the same season.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
MEN’S SOCCER
FOOTBALL
Harrison Veith and William Woody were named to the MVC All-Freshman team. Woody was named the MVC Freshman of the Year by College Sports Madness, which also listed Montal and Jordan Bates on its All-MVC teams.
Senior offensive lineman Cole Caruthers was selected as a First Team All-American and the Southland Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year, and after the season earned an invitation to the Green Bay Packers rookie camp.
Senior Logan Miller and junor Manuel Montal received Honorable Mention accolades for the All-Missouri Valley Conference teams. Miller ranked 8th in the MVC with four goals, finishing 6th in goals per game. Montal led the Bears and was 2nd in the MVC with seven assists, the most for a Central Arkansas player in its Division I history.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Seniors Vanessa Randall and Cassie Lange were named to the Southland All-Academic team, with Randall landing on the 1st team with a 3.94 GPA in Nursing to go along with her 4 goals and 4 assists, while Lange was voted onto the 2nd team with a 3.86 GPA in Physics and 4 assists to tie Randall for the team lead. Brooke Ballard, who finished her Central Arkansas career with 12 goals and 6 assists, joined the professional ranks in 2015 as she signed on with P18 IK in Sweden.
TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY
The Central Arkansas men’s track & field team had 7 participants qualify for the NCAA West Regional, including Chance Tanner (400m), Daniel Spickes (pole vault), Eric Moore (high jump), Anthony Farris King (long jump) and Tanner, Kelton Ray, Jeremiah Watson and Trevon Boyd in the 4x400 relay. Moore also won the high jump at the Southland Indoor Championships and went on to compete at the USATF National Indoor Championships. Spickes was named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year after winning the pole vault at the Southland Outdoor Championships. Tanner also took 1st in the 400m, and Eric Moore was 2nd in the high jump. Brigette Caruthers was 2nd in the 10,000m at the meet. Caruthers, Tanner, Jonathan Burgess and Al Maeder were selected to the Southland All-Academic teams.
In the first season under head coach Steve Campbell, the Bears engineered one of the finest offensive outputs in school history by averaging 40.7 points per game, including 47.2 points per game on The Stripes, highlighted by a 70-0 shutout of Houston Baptist.
Junior defensive end Jonathan Woodard also received All-American honors, being selected to the Associated Press 3rd team, in addition to being named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Senior wide receiver Dezmin Lewis became the 4th Central Arkansas player taken in the NFL Draft since the move to Division I, being selected in the 7th round by the Buffalo Bills after an offseason that consisted of an appearance at the NFL Combine and a solid showing in the Senior Bowl, where he finished as the game’s leading receiver. He joins Nathan Brown as the only Bears to be selected to participate in the Senior Bowl. Caruthers, Lewis and Woodard were joined by sophomore kick returner Jatavious Wilson on the All-Southland 1st team, while senior offensive lineman CJ Simon was a 2nd team selection. Simon earned an invite to the Atlanta Falcons rookie camp following the season. Woodard and Wilson were two of four Bears voted to the Southland All-Academic team, joined by wide receiver Desmond Smith and offensive lineman Kyle Stouffer. Smith finished the fall semester with a cumulative GPA of 3.30 while majoring in Biology; Stouffer had a 3.22 in Finance; Wilson, who is Undeclared, a 3.29; and Woodard a 3.00 in Health Service Administration. Jestin Love, who finished his Central Arkansas career in 2013, was signed this offseason by the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
MEN’S GOLF
Pep Angles wrapped up his outstanding career at Central Arkansas by earning his third consecutive Southland Conference Men’s Golfer of the Year award. Angles just missed pulling a double 3-peat, as he was named 1st team Southland All-Academic but was denied his third straight Student-Athlete of the Year honor. Angles finished the year with nine Top 10 finishes in 11 tournament, and had six Top 3 finishes, including an individual victory at the UMKC Bill Ross Intercollegiate in October and a runner-up finish at the Southland Championship. He was once again selected to the 10-member European team for the Palmer Cup, an international competition against a team from the United States. Angles was the captain’s pick of European captain Jean Van de Velde of France.
WOMEN’S GOLF
Coach Natasha Vincent was named the Southland Conference Women’s Golf Coach of the Year, while Fernanda Lira was named 1st team All-Southland and was selected as the league’s Freshman of the Year. Senior Malin Senneryd was voted 2nd team All-Southland. Vincent’s team was runner-up at the Southland Championship, and had a pair of wins over the course of the season at the Islander Classic and the UALR/ASU Classic. Sophomore Brenda Gonzalez was an All-Southland Honorable Mention and finished 3rd at the Southland Championship.
TENNIS
In their first season under coach Casey Wharton, the Sugar Bears put together their 2nd consecutive winning season and qualified for the Southland Conference Tournament for the 3rd straight year. They began the year with a 5-match winning streak en route to a 7-1 start. Among those victories was a 6-1 win over Arkansas State, the Sugar Bears’ first victory against the Red Wolves. Nataly Yoo was named 2nd team All-Southland, becoming the program’s first player to earn All-Southland honors. Yoo was 9-4 in No. 1 singles during the season, the best season for a Central Arkansas No. 1 in the program’s Division I history.
CHEER
A year after the Central Arkansas Large Co-Ed team won its first Division I national championship, they followed it up with a runnerup finish in 2015, coming on the heels of three straight years where a UCA cheer squad has won a national title after the Small Co-Ed team won back-to-back in 2012 and 2013.
ATHLETIC TRAINING
Steve Hornor was inducted into the Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in April. Hornor has had a 38-year career, the last 19 in Arkansas at Central Arkansas and Arkansas Tech. He has served as Public Relations Chair and sat on the Executive Board as Parliamentarian for the AATA.
STUDENT-ATHLETE WELL-BEING AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
STUDENT-ATHLETE ADVISORY COUNCIL ACTIVITIES
COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS
• Collected can tabs for Ronald McDonald House; collected 258 lbs, a 50% increase over previous year. • Participated in Operation Christmas Child – providing Christmas presents to children all over the world. • Pancake Breakfast raised over $4,000 to benefit Samaritan’s Feet. LIFE SKILLS
Throughout the year, our teams volunteer at numerous com-
AREAS RECOMMENDED BY NCAA
• • • • • • • • •
Alcohol and drug guidelines Personal development Leadership Sexual orientation Diversity Nutrition Personal counseling Gambling Career counseling AREAS COVERED THIS YEAR • Career Counseling • Personal Development
munity events, school programs, youth & elderly programs and charity functions, in addition to on-campus events and organizing and volunteering for fundraisers for a variety of charities. Some of the projects UCA student-athletes & staff were involved in over the past year are:
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Conway Optimist Club Youth Football Clinic Staffed Conway Kids Triathlon Reading programs at local Elementary schools & Pre-K programs Outreach programs with local retirement centers Hazing Awareness Walk Staffed Conway EcoFest Helped with programs at First Tee of Arkansas 5K Walk for Diabetes Staffed Kidz Club play area at UCA football games Helped with dedication ceremony for new Braves Field for Conway Miracle League Baseball Operation Christmas Child Volunteered at Boys & Girls Club of Conway Staffed local elementary school Fun Day Volunteered at TOP Soccer youth program Assisted with Tacos4Life Mobile Pack program to provide food to underdeveloped nations Worked UCA “Brake For Bears” safe driving/pedestrian awareness event