Bob Ford Named Interim Director of Athletics
Bob Ford, head football coach for nearly three decades, has been chosen the University�s Interim Director of Athletics as announced by Vice President for Student Affairs James P. Doellefeld.
Ford takes over for Dr. Milton E. Richards, who tendered his resignation on October 9. He will manage the Department of Athletics and Recreation until a national search for a director of athletics has been completed.
Ford, who is in his 26th varsity season as Albany�s head football coach, and resurrected the program in 1970 at the club level, is no stranger to the role of athletics director. He served in that position for five years, beginning in 1977, and administrated a program which sponsored 25 varsity sports for men and women.
"I am delighted Coach Ford has accepted the interim position," Doellefeld said. "As a citizen of the University, he has stepped forward to provide leadership for the intercollegiate athletics program during this transition period. Dr. Ford is highly regarded by his peers as a future president of the American Football Coaches Association. In addition, Dr. Gail Cummings-Danson will remain the department�s senior women�s administrator, as one aspect of her interim assistant vice president for student affairs portfolio. The University has a vision of excellence in athletics, and remains fully committed to its NCAA Division I upgrade. We hope to have a director of athletics in place by Labor Day 1999."
"We will advance our Division I direction during this transition," Ford said. "Our athletic administrators, coaches and student-athletes have a common purpose, and we will work together to further Albany�s athletics tradition."
Ford, 61, was appointed as head football coach on April 27, 1970, and directed the program through three club seasons prior to his first varsity campaign in the fall of 1973. He currently has a 154-100 record as the Great Dane mentor, and his 163 career victories rank among the top 10 active Division II head coaches. In 1997, Ford led Albany to the Eastern Football Conference championship, an EFC Atlantic Division title, and an 11-1 record. For his efforts, he was named the Football Gazette Division II non-scholarship national Coach of the Year. He is a member of the AFCA�s Board of Trustees as third vice-president, and is secretary of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame�s Capital District Chapter.
Ford has a doctorate and B.S. in physical education from Springfield College, and earned his master�s degree in educational administration from St. Lawrence University.
Athletic Hall of Fame Welcomes Four
Four former athletes will enter the University at Albany Athletic Hall of Fame this Saturday at the 15th annual HOF Brunch and Induction Ceremony. The event will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Recreation and Convocation Center�s Athletic Hall of Fame Room.
The new inductees are: Nick Ascienzo �73, baseball; Frank Sarcone �88, football; Frank Selca �79, soccer; and David Theleman �86, baseball. With this year�s class, there are 78 former athletes, coaches and administrators inducted into Albany�s Hall of Fame.
Ascienzo was one of the top pitchers in the baseball program�s history. He earned All-SUNY Athletic Conference and All-Capital District recognition. In 1972, he posted a 4-0 record with a 0.84 earned run average, and pitched 23 consecutive scoreless innings. After an arm injury, Ascienzo became an all-conference first baseman, and led the Great Danes to the 1973 SUNYAC title.
Sarcone played inside linebacker during the mid 1980s, and is Albany�s all-time tackles leader with 344. He led the Danes to the 1985 ECAC-North championship and a 9-2 record. Sarcone, who had 20 or more hits in three different games, recorded 100-plus tackles in back-to-back seasons as a junior and senior.
An all-state and all-conference player, Selca was a key figure in the Albany soccer program�s resurgence during the 1970s. He established the school�s single-season scoring record with 19 goals and 10 assists in 1975, when the Danes reached the NCAA tournament, and was All- State, All-SUNYAC, and honorable mention All-American.
Theleman was an All-ECAC and all-conference shortstop, a first-team All-SUNYAC selection three consecutive years, and better than a .300 hitter in each season. Theleman led Albany to a 17-9 record in 1986, when he batted .363 as a senior. A top-rated defensive player, he posted a .950 fielding percentage in four years as a starter.
Football Danes Win at Homecoming Before 4,513
Eric Williams passed for 168 yards and one touchdown, and defensive tackle Scotty DeBellis scored on a 37-yard fumble return to lead Albany to a 35-0 Eastern Football Conference victory over Massachusetts-Lowell before 4,513 fans on Homecoming and Family Weekend at University Field.
Combined with its 42-16 win the week before at Stony Brook, Albany (6-1, EFC 4-1) moved into a virtual tie for first place in the EFC�s Atlantic Division standings with Southern Connecticut State and C.W. Post. Each team has one loss in conference play.
The Great Danes struggled through the first quarter, survived two long drives by Mass.-Lowell, and then got its offense in gear. Williams, who connected on 10-of-18 passes, fired a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Steve Checksfield with 9:23 left in the second stanza, a long-distance march highlighted by a 52-yard completion to Checksfield. The Danes then took a 13-0 halftime lead on running back Ben Kelcey�s 7-yard run.
In the third quarter, Albany used a 10-play drive to increase its advantage to 21-0. Junior tailback Greg Garrett, who ran 10 times for 86 yards, scored his first rushing TD this season on a 14-yard jaunt through the middle and thencaught a two-point conversion. Great Danes� defensive end Matt Caliandro then drilled quarterback Scot Ruggles in the UML backfield on an option play. DeBellis, a junior, picked up the fumbled ball, and raced 37 yards down the right sideline for a 28-0 lead with 1:21 left in the period.
Albany has won 17 of its last 18 contests, and is off to a 6-1 start for the third consecutive season.
Albany Champs of NECC Cross Country
Andrea Viger won the women�s individual title, while Brendan Howell�s third-place finish helped host Albany capture its second straight men�s crown at the New England Collegiate Conference cross country championships last Saturday.
Viger, a junior who placed fourth and tenth in her previous two NECC championship appearances, covered the 5,000-meter course in 18:52.2, and was more than seven seconds better than Lauren Saul of Southern Connecticut State, which won the team title with Albany fourth. "My training peaked at the right time," said Viger, whose twin sister, Erica, placed 33rd overall.
"From the start, I was thinking this was my race. When I got to the two-mile mark, I felt good and was able to push to the finish."
The Great Danes claimed the men�s team title by grabbing third through sixth place. Brendan Howell led the pack with a time of 25:36.8 over the 8,000-meter layout, while freshman Jamie Rodriguez was fourth. Ben Wright, last year�s champion, and Mike Kiernan followed in order. Albany finished with 30 points, while runner-up Mass.-Lowell scored 36.
"We were challenged and we responded," said Albany�s Kevin Williams, who was selected as NECC men�s coach of the year. "Mass.-Lowell was tougher than expected, and we were losing at the 3.5-mile point. Brendan Howell and Todd Weiss (12th) came up with their best races to step up for the other team members."
Mass.-Lowell�s James Johnson, who was ninth at last year�s NECC championship, surprised the 152-runner field with a 24:59.9 clocking for individual honors.
Bliss Captures NECC Singles Title
Julie Bliss captured her third consecutive Flight I singles title to earned the tournament�s most outstanding player award, but Binghamton still edged out Albany for the team trophy at the NECC women�s tennis championships on Oct. 16-18.
Despite three singles winners and one doubles champion, Albany failed in its bid for a fourth straight NECC title to Binghamton, 34-32. Stony Brook (28) was third. Julie Klein and Heather Binen, of Binghamton, won a third-set tiebreaker over Albany�s Bliss and Samantha Kramer in the the tournament�s decisive Flight I doubles final. The Colonial duo won 6-7 (7-1), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
Bliss, a junior, defeated Binghamton�s Klein, 7-5 and 6-4, in the conference Flight I final. Albany�s Kramer and Ilissa Strolovitz each posted straight-set victories to win the Flight II and Flight IV singles crowns, respectively. Erinn Langford and Jennifer Hahn, a pair of Capital Region high school products, teamed to record a 6-3, 6-3 triumph in the Flight III doubles championship.
Albany�s Darcie Trapasso was chosen as the NECC coach of the year for the second time in the last three years.