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College Board Releases New College Cost Numbers

November 3, 2011 By Head Coach Leave a Comment

Every October, the College Board releases its Trends in College Pricing report that highlights college cost increases for the current academic year and trends in the world of higher education. While costs can vary significantly by region and individual college, the College Board publishes average cost figures, which are based on its survey of 3,500 colleges across the country.

To read the Trends in College Pricing 2011 report, visit www.collegeboard.com/trends.

Note that the "total average cost" figure includes tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and a small amount for miscellaneous expenses. This figure is often referred to as the "cost of attendance."

Public colleges (in-state students)

· Tuition and fees increased an average of 8.3% from last year to $8,244

· Room-and-board costs increased an average of 4.0% to $8,887

· Total average cost for 2011/2012 is $21,447

Public colleges (out-of-state students)

· Tuition and fees increased an average of 5.7% from last year to $20,770

· Room-and-board costs increased an average 4.0% to $8,887

· Total average cost for 2011/2012 is $33,973

Division I Toolkit–NCAA Eligibility

September 29, 2011 By Head Coach Leave a Comment

Academic Eligibility

To participate in Division I athletics or receive an athletics scholarship during the first year of college, a student-athlete must:

Complete the 16 core-course requirement in eight semesters:
- 4 years of English
- 3 years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
- 2 years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if offered by the high school)
- 1 extra year of English, math or natural or physical science
- 2 years of social science
- 4 years of extra core courses (from any category above, or foreign language, nondoctrinal religion or philosophy)
Earn a minimum required grade-point average in core courses
Earn a combined SAT or ACT sum score that matches the core course grade-point average and test-score sliding scale. (For example, a 3.000 core-course grade-point average needs at least a 620 SAT).

Amateurism Eligibility

All incoming student-athletes must be certified as an amateur student-athlete. With global recruiting becoming more common, determining the amateur status of college-bound student-athletes can be challenging. All college-bound student-athletes, including international students, need to adhere to NCAA amateurism requirements in order to preserve their eligibility for NCAA intercollegiate athletics.

Williams College–Forbes #1 College

August 3, 2011 By Head Coach Leave a Comment

Established in 1793 with funds bequeathed by Colonel Ephraim Williams, the college is private, residential, and liberal arts, with graduate programs in the history of art and in development economics. The undergraduate enrollment is approximately 2,000 students.

Williams admits U.S. students without regard to their ability to pay, and offers a generous financial aid program for international students. The College commits to meeting 100 percent of every admitted student’s demonstrated financial need for four years.

There are three academic divisions (humanities, sciences, social sciences), 25 departments, 36 majors, plus concentrations and special programs. The student:faculty ratio is 7:1. The academic year consists of two four-course semesters plus a one-course January term.

Fraternities were phased out beginning in 1962. Coeducation was adopted in 1970. The school color is purple. The mascot is the Purple Cow. Sports teams are called “Ephs.”

Williamstown is located in the Berkshires in northwestern Massachusetts, 135 miles from Boston and 165 miles from New York City.

Faculty

Voting membership of the faculty: 323
Tenured faculty as a percentage of voting membership: 64%
Percent of the faculty hold doctorates or other terminal degrees: 97%

Research and Teaching

Williams is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges and its faculty noted for the quality of their undergraduate teaching.

Faculty are distinguished by the number of prizes won, including MacArthur Fellowship, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teachers, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Professor of the Year, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Princeton University’s 250th Anniversary Visiting Professorship for Distinguished Teaching, American Astrophysical Society Award, Elliot Rudwick Prize, American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence, Lannan Literary Prize, National Book Award, National Poetry Services Manuscript Competition, Kurt Weill Award, Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award, and the Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Distinguished Teaching Award of the Mathematical Association of America.

Virtually all faculty members engage in research activities that complement their commitment to teaching and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in research.

Faculty are successful in winning support for research from many sources, including the federal and state governments, corporations, foundations, nonprofit agencies, individuals, and the college. Recently, these have included the American Chemical Society, Andy Warhol Foundation, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Cinereach, Dreyfus Foundation, Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, Essel Foundation, Ford Foundation (Leveraging Investments in Creativity), Fulbright Foundation, Gardner Family Charitable Foundation, Getty Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, Hellman Family Foundation, Holloman-Price Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.M. Keck Foundation, Mapplethorpe Foundation, Maryland Film Festival, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, NASA, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Geographic Society, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards & Technology, Research Corp., Space Telescope Science Institute, Spencer Foundation, Starr Foundation, Teagle Foundation, Terra Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, LilaWallace Foundation, and Whiting Foundation. Grants and awards in support of faculty research between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010 totaled $4.3 million.

Williams College Mission and Purposes

Williams seeks to provide the finest possible liberal arts education by nurturing in students the academic and civic virtues, and their related traits of character. Academic virtues include the capacities to explore widely and deeply, think critically, reason empirically, express clearly, and connect ideas creatively. Civic virtues include commitment to engage both the broad public realm and community life, and the skills to do so effectively. These virtues, in turn, have associated traits of character. For example, free inquiry requires open-mindedness, and commitment to community draws on concern for others.

We are committed to our central endeavor of academic excellence in a community of learning that comprises students, faculty, and staff, and draws on the engagement of alumni and parents. We recruit students from among the most able in the country and abroad and select them for the academic and personal attributes they can contribute to the educational enterprise, inside and outside the classroom. Our faculty is a highly talented group of teachers, scholars, and artists committed deeply to the education of our students and to involving them in their efforts to expand human knowledge and understanding through original research, thought, and artistic expression. Dedicated staff enable this teaching and learning to take place at the highest possible level, as do the involvement and support of our extraordinarily loyal parents and alumni.

No one can pretend to more than guess at what students now entering college will be called upon to comprehend in the decades ahead. No training in fixed techniques, no finite knowledge now at hand, no rigid formula can solve problems whose shape we cannot yet define. The most versatile, the most durable, in an ultimate sense, the most practical knowledge and intellectual resources that we can offer students are the openness, creativity, flexibility, and power of education in the liberal arts.

Toward that end we extend a curriculum that offers wide opportunities for learning, ensures close attention of faculty to students but also encourages students to learn independently, and reflects the complexity and diversity of the world. We seek to do this in an atmosphere that nurtures the simple joy of learning as a lifelong habit and commitment.

We place great emphasis on the learning that takes place in the creation of a functioning community: life in the residence halls, expression through the arts, debates on political issues, leadership in campus governance, exploration of personal identity, pursuit of spiritual and religious impulses, the challenge of athletics, and direct engagement with human needs, nearby and far away.

To serve well our students and the world, Williams embraces core values such as welcoming and supporting in the College community people from all segments of our increasingly diverse society and ensuring that College operations are environmentally sustainable.

From this holistic immersion students learn more than they will ever know. Such is the testimony of countless graduates — that their Williams experience has equipped them to live fuller, more effective lives. Ultimately, the College’s greatest mark on the world consists of this: the contributions our alumni make in their professions, their communities, and their personal lives.

Therefore, we ask all our students to understand that an education at Williams should not be regarded as a privilege destined to create further privilege, but as a privilege that creates opportunities to serve society at large, and imposes the responsibility to do so.

At the same time, being itself privileged by its history and circumstances, Williams understands its own responsibility to contribute by thought and example to the world of higher education.

New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)

Founded in 1971, NESCAC is a group of eleven highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities that share a similar philosophy for intercollegiate athletics. The Conference was created out of a concern for the direction of intercollegiate athletic programs, and remains committed to keeping a proper perspective on the role of sport in higher education.

The formation of NESCAC originated with an agreement among Amherst College, Bowdoin College, Wesleyan University and Williams College first drafted in 1955. Along with these four institutions, Bates College, Colby College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Trinity College and Tufts University are sustaining charter members. Connecticut College joined in 1982, bringing the Conference’s membership to its current total of 11 institutions.
NESCAC members believe intercollegiate athletic programs should operate in harmony with the educational mission of each institution. The Conference is committed to establishing common boundaries to keep athletics strong but in proportion to the overall academic mission of the member institutions. In pursuit of this mission, the Presidents of each NESCAC institution control intercollegiate athletic policy. Conference tenets are usually more restrictive than those of the NCAA Division III with regard to season length, number of contests and post-season competition.
NESCAC institutions also believe athletic teams should be representative of the entire student body. Thus, admissions and financial policies are consistent with the NCAA Division III policies that prohibit athletic scholarships and award financial aid solely on the basis of need.

In 1999, the NESCAC formally became a playing conference and now sponsors 26 conference championship sports (13 for men and 13 for women). Member schools offer extensive and broad based intercollegiate as well as club and intramural opportunities for both men and women. With member institutions sponsoring an average of nearly 30 varsity programs, NESCAC provides more than 7,500 opportunities for participation in intercollegiate competition at the Division III level. Teams and individuals have achieved great success on both a regional and national level.

In 2010-11 Williams again won a conference leading 9 NESCAC titles.
The Ephs lead all NESCAC members in NESCAC team titles won with an all-time total of 162.

See the complete list of NESCAC past champions HERE.

Source: Williams College

Filed Under: College, Education, Top Colleges Tagged With: America's Best Colleges 2011, Forbes Best Colleges, Williams college athletics

Delta State University–One of Mississippi’s Best

July 31, 2011 By Head Coach Leave a Comment

Delta State University is a public institution providing a comprehensive undergraduate curriculum to over 4,000 students representing 34 states and 20 countries. Delta State University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor, master, educational specialist, and doctorate degrees. It offers 12 baccalaureate degrees in 38 majors and seeks to meet the need for advanced training in certain fields by providing programs of study for nine master’s degrees, the Educational Specialist degree and the Doctor of Education degree.

Acknowledging its beginnings as a teacher’s college, the University sustains excellence in teacher education while continuing to expand offerings in traditional as well as unique programs of study. From the core disciplines such as arts, humanities, and sciences, to unique programs such as Commercial Aviation, the Delta Music Institute, and the nationally-recognized Geospatial Interdisciplinary Technology program, the University is committed to meeting the evolving needs of the students it serves.
Delta State competes in 13 intercollegiate sports as a member of the Gulf South Conference and is the only university in the state with a swimming and diving program. The Statesmen and Lady Statesmen boast nine national championships, 56 regional crowns and 48 conference titles. Delta State athletes have collected 45 Academic All-American honors to rank tenth all time in NCAA Division II history. While the Statesmen and Lady Statesmen are the official mascot, the student-adopted Fighting Okra is a unique mascot that is also present at athletic and other university events.
Serving as the cultural and educational center of the region, Delta State University is located in Cleveland, MS, which was named to Norman Crampton’s “100 Best Small Towns in America.” The Mississippi Delta, a 20-county, northwestern region of the state, rich in various ethnic and cultural groups, provides almost 75 percent of the University’s enrollment. The University identifies the Delta as its primary public service region, while acknowledging the importance of research and service that also benefits the state and nation.

Guiding Principles

COMMITMENT TO QUALITY IN ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Acknowledging its beginnings as a teacher’s college, the University sustains excellence in teacher education while also continuing to expand offerings in traditional as well as new areas of study. From the core disciplines such as arts, humanities, and sciences to unique programs such as commercial aviation and community development, the University is committed to meeting the ever-changing and evolving needs of the students it serves. It sustains quality in those programs by maintaining accreditation of all programs for which an accrediting agency exists.
COMMITMENT TO LEARNING, SCHOLARSHIP, & STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Delta State provides programs that cultivate intellectual curiosity and promote scholarship among its students. Through a state-of-the-art library supplemented by a campus network of computer labs, students have access to a full range of information resources in support of learning. The University also acknowledges the importance of student engagement as central to successful learning. Toward that end the University has dedicated its quality enhancement plan as required for regional accreditation to increased student engagement. In support of community engagement and service learning experiences for students, the University has created an office and a faculty role to sustain those efforts.
SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS
Delta State recognizes the need for a vibrant creative and performing arts program for its students and the region. The renovation of Jobe Hall provides a state-of-the-art theatre facility for student productions. Through the Bologna Performing Arts Center, the Delta Music Institute, the Janice Wyatt Summer Arts Institute, and a partnership with the Delta Arts Alliance, the University ensures the preservation and enhancement of the arts throughout the region.
ENCOURAGEMENT OF INNOVATION & EXPERIMENTATION
Delta State endorses the principles of innovation and experimentation, and makes them a part of its institutional culture. The University acknowledges the importance of an environment where students and faculty can undertake risks and experiment with new ideas.
RESPECT FOR PEOPLE & IDEAS
Delta State promotes mutual respect, teamwork, fairness, and integrity. The University is diligent in working to create a climate where students, employees, and constituents are valued and nurtured. Through an ongoing re-engineering project the University converts these principles into action.

COMMITMENT TO A STUDENTCENTERED CAMPUS
Delta State promotes a campus culture that fosters student development. From an array of student services to a nationally recognized athletic program, the University is dedicated to ensuring that the full range of student needs and interests are met.
COMMITMENT TO INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Delta State acknowledges its role as a public institution funded largely by the citizens of Mississippi. In recognition of that public trust, the University is committed to high standards of excellence with appropriate emphasis on effectiveness and productivity.
COMMITMENT TO REGIONAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Delta State, in partnership with various organizations, will advance community and economic development in the Delta region to improve the quality of life and raise the educational level of its citizens. Special attention is given to collaboration with our educational partners: Mississippi Valley State University, Coahoma Community College, Mississippi Delta Community College, the Mississippi Department of Education, and the K-12 schools of the Delta. Moreover, the Delta Center for Culture and Learning, the Capps Archives, the Center for Business Research, and the Center for Community and Economic Development provide a structure to ensure University participation in promoting and celebrating the unique heritage of the Delta while also addressing the longstanding social, economic, and cultural challenges that inhibit advancement.
COMMITMENT TO HEALTH
Delta State acknowledges the importance of physical health for its students and the region and extends its resources in support of that goal. Through undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing and preprofessional programs in the sciences, the University provides health care practitioners to serve the State. The University works as the leading partner in the Delta Health Alliance, a collaborative effort with other Delta stakeholders that conducts research and provides education on the health care needs of the region.
COMMITMENT TO TEACHING & FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
The quality of Delta State’s academic programs is central to its educational mission. That quality is affirmed through a dedicated faculty with credentials appropriate to their discipline. The University supports high standards of quality among its faculty and maintains those standards through the Technology Learning Center, a modern faculty development office dedicated to the application of technology to teaching, and through the Kent and Janice Wyatt Faculty Development Program, a University Foundation initiative that provides resources for faculty growth.

COMMITMENT TO LEADERSHIP
Delta State is actively involved in providing programs that train leaders for the twenty-first century. Through partnerships with the Kellogg Foundation, Delta Council, the Delta Regional Authority, and other Delta organizations committed to advancement in the region, the University is confident it can make a difference in the quality and training of the leaders who will serve on behalf of future generations.

Spirit & Traditions

Delta State University’s

spirit exists in the words and music of our alma mater and fight song. It exists in the chants and cheers of our fans, cheerleaders, and mascots who root the green-and-white on to victory. More importantly, our spirit lives in the hearts of the Statesmen and Lady Statesmen faithful across the country and the globe.
The goal of Delta State University’s Spirit & Traditions squads are to lead the DSU community at each home game, while promoting engagement between the teams, fans, and community. Through our D-State Cheer, "Pride of the Delta" Marching Band, "The World’s Most Annoying" Pep Band, Mr. Statesmen, and Fight Okra Mascots Statesmen and Lady Statesmen fans enjoy a lively atmosphere at every athletic event on and off campus.
For our programs to be successful, we need your involvement and support! We can’t wait to see you at our next event!
For more information on our Spirit & Traditions organizations, please click on the links below.
– Delta State University Cheerleading
– "Pride of the Delta" Marching Band & Delta State University Band Programs
– DSU Diamond Girls
– Delta State Football Gridiron Girls

DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY’S MASCOTS
Despite some rowdy student objections, athletic programs at Delta State University do not use the student-chosen sub-mascot, Fighting Okra. The Fighting Okra, the most vicious of all vegetables, was created by a band of students at DSU in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. While some on campus embrace the scary veggie, DSU Athletics does not. Our programs have always been, and will continue to be the Statesmen and Lady Statesmen. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the vegetable in the corner with boxing gloves. He understands…

Percussion Section

DSU Percussion Section

DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY ALMA MATER

Oh Delta State we cling to the memory
Of happy days we’ve spent
Of standards high and of friendships dear
Making our life there something to treasure
We have come to sing the praises
Of the old school we love best,
Oh, hail to you, to our dear Alma Mater
Oh, hail to Old Delta State.

DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY FIGHT SONG
Hail to our Delta State in all her glory.
We sing her praises loud and tell her story.
Fight, fight with all your might.
Fight for the green (and the green) & the white
We pledge to the our loyalty & a Delta State victory.

Ferriss Museum

Inning-by-Inning, A Life in Baseball

Matt Jones

Ferriss Field Monument

Dave "Boo" Ferriss Museum

As the main entrance and exit point for all Statesman baseball games at Dave “Boo” Ferriss Field, the Robert L. Crawford Center has allowed for expanded restroom and concession areas, an umpire’s locker room and a merchandising stand. Most significant, though, the Crawford Center houses the Dave “Boo” Ferriss Museum.

“Inning by Inning: A Life in Baseball, The Dave “Boo” Ferriss Museum” chronicles the former long-time Statesmen head coach’s illustrious career – including photos and personal memorabilia from his early days at Shaw High School, to a young man at Mississippi State, to the height of his career with the Boston Red Sox, to his days at the helm of his beloved Delta State program.

Five large, glass-enclosed display cases will feature much of Ferriss’ vast memorabilia collection, including a wool uniform, gloves and an official Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinal World Series pennant.

University archivist, Emily Weaver has designed the museum space, including case layouts, floor plan and traffic flow. She partnered with University Relations’ graphic designer, Laura Fleeman to design the panels that will hang behind each case.

“We wanted to be very mindful of flow in our designs,” Weaver explained. “We knew this space would attract a lot of attention from several different audiences, and we worked very hard to be sure traffic will flow smoothly without much congestion.

“The cases, themselves, will run in chronological order – inning by inning, if you will,” she continued. “We document Coach’s career just as it happened in real time.”

Not be lost though, current Delta State head baseball coach Mike Kinnison cautions, the facility, itself, would not be possible, if not for his former teammate.

“Without the support of the Crawford family, The Dave “Boo” Ferriss Museum would not be possible. Their generosity will ensure the continuation of this baseball program’s legacy of success for years to come. It is a great facility that will surely enhance the whole baseball operation. More than just baseball fans will want to see Coach’s memorabilia, and we want everyone to know they’re invited to tour the facility…especially on game days.

“The entire facility just makes it a better day at the ball park for our fans. Not many, if any, programs in the nation will be able to claim the facilities we have, and that’s huge for our program – that distinction separates us,” Kinnison concluded.

Crawford’s former head coach, Ferriss offered, “I am so blessed and thankful to have coached John. He was one of the finest guys to ever wear a Delta State baseball uniform, a top player and strong competitor. The Crawfords have been tremendous supporters of our program for years. They have supported us like few others and I am excited this facility bears their name.

“I am honored and humbled by the decision to have a special section in the Crawford Center, and you can bet that there will be a lot of DSU memorabilia in there,” Ferriss promised. “I am glad I have some things of interest to our community, the University family and alumni and baseball fans everywhere. I have been truly blessed with my association with Delta State and the Red Sox, and I am indeed grateful to the Yawkey Foundation/Boston Red Sox for its substantial gift in funding this project.”

A four-year letterman and two-time All-American selection, Crawford was a member of the Statesmen program from 1975-1978. Arguably as modest and humble as his former coach, Crawford stressed, “This gift to Delta State University is from the entire Crawford family. My father was an avid supporter and fan of Delta State baseball, while my mother was a baseball fan of her son.”

Source: Delta State University

Filed Under: College, Division II College, Division II Sports Tagged With: Delta State Athletics, Delta State University, Gulf South Conference

NCAA DII–Partial-Scholarship Model

June 10, 2011 By Head Coach Leave a Comment

Division II relies on a partial-scholarship model to administer athletics-based financial aid. Most Division II student-athletes finance their education through a combination of scholarship money, grants, student loans and employment earnings.

In 2008, Division II commissioned the consulting firm of Hardwick-Day to assess the benefits of the partial-scholarship model unique to Division II. The Hardwick-Day study concluded that the partial-scholarship model has a direct impact on net tuition revenue and helps build cultural diversity and gender balance by attracting prospective students via competitive athletics programs.

Wendy’s High School Heisman Program

June 7, 2011 By Head Coach Leave a Comment

The Wendy’s High School Heisman program recognizes the nation’s most esteemed high school senior men and women for excellence in academics, athletics & leadership.

ABOUT THE WENDY’S HIGH SCHOOL HEISMAN

The Heisman name has signified excellence, determination, and prestige among college football’s elite for eight generations. In 1994, the next level of outstanding achievers ensconced their names into the Heisman lore when the Wendy’s High School Heisman (WHSH) was created.
The WHSH program has set the standard for high school student-athletes, and gained tremendous prestige in its own right as the program combines the best of high school athlete and academic awards. Each fall, the WHSH recognizes the nation’s most esteemed high school senior men and women for excellence in academics, athletics, and community/school leadership. Students from across the country become in involved in the WHSH program because these prestigious student recognition awards highlight their accomplishments and the winning students are showcased on a national level.
To date more than 198,000 high school students have represented their schools and have been touched by the Heisman mystique. Of them, 193 have progressed to national Finalist level, with 32 earning the designation of Wendy’s High School Heisman National Award Winners.

ELIGIBILITY AND JUDGING INFORMATION