NCAA Adds Mountain East Conference As Newest Division II League

The Mountain East Conference (MEC) announced today that its application for membership has been approved by the NCAA Division II Membership Committee. The MEC will officially become the 25th NCAA Division II conference on September 01, 2013 and immediately assumes active status.

“This is a very exciting time for the Mountain East Conference and our 12 charter institutions,” MEC Commissioner Reid Amos said. “Every one of our schools has great history, great tradition and now a great future as an MEC member. It has been an exhilarating experience to be a part of the formation of a group of like-minded institutions that has laid a strong foundation for a long and successful association.”

The 12 charter members of the nation’s newest NCAA Division II regional all-sports league include nine West Virginia institutions:

•  Concord University
•  Fairmont State University
•  Glenville State College
•  Shepherd University
•  The University of Charleston
•  West Liberty University
•  West Virginia State University
•  Wheeling Jesuit University
•  West Virginia Wesleyan College

along with:

•  Notre Dame College
•  Urbana University

from Ohio and the

•  University of Virginia’s College at Wise

The formal application process was extremely detailed – the final application document totaled nearly 200 pages when it was filed in December 2012 – but Amos said all that hard work proved to be a blessing in disguise.

“The NCAA Division II membership process was very valuable to us in a number of ways,” he said. “It almost served as a step-by-step guide to organizing a model NCAA Division II conference and really helped our presidents and athletic directors crystallize a strategic plan – a vision – for our collective future. I’m very grateful to our presidents and athletic directors for their great input throughout the process and I’d also like to express my appreciation for the guidance provided by Oliver and Lindemenn Consulting.”

The MEC expects to crown conference champions in 16 sports during its first season of operation:

•  Men’s and Women’s Basketball
•  Baseball
•  Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
•  Football
•  Men’s and Women’s Golf
•  Men’s and Women’s Soccer
•  Softball
•  Men’s and Women’s Tennis
•  Men’s and Women’s Track and Field
•  Volleyball

As a new conference, the MEC’s conference champions won’t be able to receive automatic NCAA Tournament bids during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years but the eligibility of all MEC institutions for at-large bids to NCAA championship play will be unaffected throughout the period.

“A highly-competitive conference supports the high-quality experience that we are committed to creating for every one of our student-athletes,” Amos said. “Ultimately, we expect our new affiliation will create increased opportunities for NCAA Tournament participation in every one of our 16 NCAA Championship sports.”

Gilmer County 4H: Soccer Clinic - 08.23.12 - Today

WVIAC Out—- Mountain East Conference In

The presidents of twelve universities, nine in West Virginia, two in Ohio, and one in Virginia, jointly announce the formation of a new all-sports collegiate athletic conference to be named the Mountain East Conference.

The new twelve team league’s charter membership will include:

•  Concord University (WV)

•  Fairmont State University (WV)

•  Glenville State College (WV)

•  Notre Dame College (OH)

•  Shepherd University (WV)

•  The University of Charleston (WV)

•  The University of Virginia’s College at Wise (VA)

•  Urbana University (OH)

•  West Liberty University (WV)

•  West Virginia State University (WV)

•  Wheeling Jesuit University (WV)

•  West Virginia Wesleyan College (WV)

“We are extremely pleased to announce the formation of the Mountain East Conference,” stated spokesperson Reid Amos on behalf of the twelve presidents of the new alliance. “The goal of this effort has been to align like-minded institutions with similar budgets and goals across a regional footprint. We strongly believe that our charter membership creates a solid foundation that provides mutual benefit and secures the athletic future for our institutions. We will collectively make every effort to provide a high-quality experience for our student-athletes in Mountain East competition.”

The Mountain East Conference intends to commence competition for the 2013-14 academic year, but will remain active with their current conference affiliations until such time that they would be able to compete as a conference within the NCAA. The move will not affect any athletic schedules for 2012-13.

With current sports sponsorship, the Mountain East Conference will meet the NCAA requirement for a conference championship in sixteen sports, including:

•  Basketball (Men’s and Women’s)

•  Baseball

•  Cross Country (Men’s and Women’s)

•  Football

•  Golf (Men’s and Women’s)

•  Soccer (Men’s and Women’s)

•  Softball

•  Tennis (Men’s and Women’s)

•  Track (Men’s and Women’s)

•  Volleyball

The West Virginia institutions are currently members of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC), UVa-Wise and Urbana were slated to compete in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) beginning in 2013, and Notre Dame is an NCAA Division II Independent competing in five of its twenty-two sports as an affiliate member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). UVa-Wise has been accepted into the NCAA membership process and will compete within NCAA Division II in 2013 while pursuing full membership; the other eleven schools are all NCAA Division II members.

Court Ruling Strikes Down WVSSAC Rule

Public and private schools should be treated equally.

That was the reasoning behind Mon County Circuit Court Judge Russell Clawges ruling striking down a WVSSAC transfer rule that required students transferring from public to private schools to sit out a year of athletics while transfers to public schools could play immediately.

Robert Konchesky challenged the rule when his daughter was declared ineligible after transferring from University High School to Trinity Christian School.

Clawges told the WVSSAC it had two options, it could rule all transfer students ineligible for grant temporary eligibility to Konchesky’s daughter.

Clawges did not set a date for when the WVSSAC must make a decision.

Come Kick It with 4-H Soccer on Friday, September 02, 2011

2010-2011 High School State Champs

CLASS A

Baseball: Wheeling Central

Softball: Buffalo

Boy’s Basketball: Madonna

Girl’s Basketball: St. Joseph

Football: Wheeling Central

Cheerleading: Clay-Battelle

Golf: Madonna

Boy’s Soccer: Charleston Catholic

Girl’s Soccer: Charleston Catholic

Boy’s Tennis: Charleston Catholic

Girl’s Tennis: Charleston Catholic

Boy’s Track: Doddridge County

Girl’s Track: Williamstown

Volleyball: Charleston Catholic

Schools Winning Championships: 8

Schools With Multiple Titles: Charleston Catholic (5), Wheeling Central (2), Madonna (2)

CLASS AA

Baseball: Chapmanville

Softball: Ritchie County

Boy’s Basketball: Oak Hill

Girl’s Basketball: Summers County

Football: Magnolia

Cheerleading: Liberty (H)

Boy’s Cross Country: Grafton

Girl’s Cross Country: Philip Barbour

Golf: Ritchie County

Boy’s Track: Magnolia

Girl’s Track: Berkeley Springs

Volleyball: Summers County

Wrestling: Point Pleasant

Schools Winning Championships: 10

Schools With Multiple Titles: Ritchie County (2), Summers County (2), Magnolia (2)

CLASS AAA

Baseball: Jefferson

Softball: Lincoln County

Boy’s Basketball: George Washington

Girl’s Basketball: North Marion

Football: Martinsburg

Cheerleading: Spring Valley

Boy’s Cross Country: Cabell Midland

Girl’s Cross Country: University

Golf: Wheeling Park

Boy’s Soccer: Woodrow Wilson

Girl’s Soccer: University

Boy’s Swimming: George Washington

Girl’s Swimming: Morgantown

Boy’s Tennis: Huntington

Girl’s Tennis: Huntington

Boy’s Track: Jefferson

Girl’s Track: Buckhannon-Upshur

Volleyball: Musselman

Wrestling: Parkersburg South

Schools Winning Championships: 15

Schools With Multiple Titles: Jefferson (2), Huntington (2), University (2), George Washington (2)

Fall 2011 4-H Soccer This Friday

Fall 2011 4-H Soccer Registration

West Virginia Board of Education Seeks Public Input - 06.13.11

The West Virginia Board of Education is seeking comment on alterations made to two state policies outlining provisions to the rules and regulations of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) and Standards of High Quality Schools.

The board voted during its May meeting to place the policy updates on a 30-day public comment period ending June 13, 2011.

Proposed updates to WVSSAC’s rules and regulations include six modifications to current practices. The changes are based on the recommendations from the WVSSAC staff, Constitution and Bylaws Committee and the Board of Control.

•  The first change allows members of a ninth grade team to be grouped for practice with varsity or junior varsity teams but participation in a varsity or junior varsity scrimmage or game would revoke their eligibility to participate on the ninth grade team. During the school year as a member of a school team, a student cannot participate or compete in a formally organized non-school team in the same sport.

•  The second update defines participation to include fund raising activities, team picture or tryouts.

•  The third expresses a student athlete absent from practice for 14 consecutive days for non-medical reasons, not under a doctor’s care, must fulfill all of the 14 days of practice before participating in a game or contest.

•  The fourth change allows schools to include grade 12 enrollment to determine the classification of schools as AAA, AA or A.

•  The fifth increases the number of eligible quarters to 50 for a student in one season.

•  The sixth change adds the ability to revoke participation in post season games as punishment for not remaining a part of the game until the end.

Updates to Policy 2322:
Standards for High Quality Schools provides a guiding document for teachers implementing the standards. The policy includes a set of expectations that directs and informs their work. Utilizing rubrics, schools will be able to self-assess against seven standards to determine strengths and weaknesses.

The seven standards are:

•  Positive climate and cohesive culture

•  School leadership

•  Standards-focused curriculum

•  Instruction and assessments

•  Student support services and family/community connections

•  Educator growth and development

•  Efficient and effective management

•  Continuous improvement

Educators, parents and community members are encouraged to review the policies and make suggestions. The policies can be viewed and comments can be submitted by logging onto the West Virginia Department of Education website at wvde.state.wv.us/policies.

Fall 2011 4-H Soccer

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES - 08.09.10

TASH: Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Awards
The TASH Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Awards honor important contributions of individuals and school districts in advancing inclusive education and equitable opportunities for students grades K-12, particularly those with the most significant disabilities and support needs.
Awardees will be selected from these categories: Inclusive Education Administrator of the Year; Inclusive Education Teacher of the Year; Inclusive Education Advocate of the Year; Most Promising Inclusive School; Most Promising Inclusive School District.
Maximum award: All awardees will be recognized at the TASH 2010 Conference in Denver, Co., December 8-10, 2010, in the conference program, on the TASH website and at the general session.
Attendees will receive a commemorative plaque, and TASH will promote awardees’ accomplishments to the trade media and local press.
Eligibility: school districts and education professionals that work inclusively with students K-12 with disabilities.
Deadline: October 01, 2010.

U.S. Soccer Federation: Field Grants
U.S. Soccer Federation Field Grants support projects throughout the U.S. that focus on keeping children in vulnerable communities active, healthy, and safe from the dangers of the streets.
The foundation awards grants to help pay for field development, uniforms, player equipment, travel costs, facility rental, registration costs, and training for players, coaches and referees.
Maximum award: varies.
Eligibility: not-for-profit organizations, schools, municipalities, colleges or universities, public schools, or sovereign tribal nations that meet the established focus for the 2011 grant cycle, which is the development of players, coaches, and referees in economically disadvantaged urban areas encompassing populations of 50,000 or more.
Deadline: October 29, 2010.

World Cup 2010

World Cup 2010: Leonardo DiCaprio Caught Wearing a WVU Hat Again

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has been spotted several times recently wearing a Flying WV hat at events.

On Saturday, July 03, 2010 he was spotted at the World Cup in South Africa, where he was attending the Germany-Argentina game.

He must be a true Mountaineer fan or may be this is the only hat he has! What do you think?

World Cup 2010 - 06.14.10

Friday - 06.11.10
South Africa 1 - 1 Mexico
Uruguay 0 - 0 France

Saturday - 06.12.10
South Korea 2 - 0 Greece FT
Argentina 1 - 0 Nigeria FT
England 1 - 1 United States

Sunday - 06.13.10
Algeria 0 - 1 Slovenia
Serbia 0 - 1 Ghana
Germany 4 - 0 Australia

Monday - 06.14.10
Netherlan 2 - 0 Denmark
Japan 1 - 0 Cameron
Italy 1 - 1 Paraguay

TV Schedule for upcoming week (all times are EST):

Tuesday, June 15, 2010
New Zealand v Slovakia - 7:30 AM - ESPN (Group F)
Ivory Coast v Portugal - 10:00 AM - ESPN (Group G)
Brazil v North Korea - 2:30 PM - ESPN (Group G)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Honduras v Chile - 7:30 AM - ESPN (Group H)
Spain v Switzerland - 10:00 AM - ESPN (Group H)
South Africa v Uruguay - 2:30 PM - ESPN (Group A)

Thursday, June 17, 2010
Argentina v South Korea - 7:30 AM - ESPN (Group B)
Greece v Nigeria - 10:00 AM - ESPN (Group B)
France v Mexico - 2:30 PM - ESPN2 (Group A)

Friday, June 18, 2010
Germany v Serbia - 7:30 AM - ESPN (Group D)
Slovenia v USA - 10:00 AM - ESPN (Group C)
England v Algeria - 2:30 PM - ESPN2 (Group C)

Soccer Skills and Regulation Workshop This Saturday

Date: Saturday, March 20, 2010

Place: Sand Fork Elementary School

Time: 10:00 AM — 1:00 PM

•  Rules/Regulation Clinic for adult and youth volunteers who coach and referee, as well as parent supporters

•  Skills Clinic for youth athletes of all ages

This FREE workshop is brought to you by the Gilmer County 4-H Soccer Program and West Virginia Wesleyan University Men’s Soccer Program.

Please call the Extension Office to register 304.462.7061.

Jennifer Shirey
Extension Agent: 4-H Youth Development
WVU Extension: Gilmer County

WVSSAC Adds Contingency Plan for Games

With the winter of 2009/2010 being one of the worst on record, a lot of high school basketball teams have spent more time off the court than on.

With the girl’s regular season scheduled to end this weekend and the boy’s next weekend, the WVSSAC is putting emphasis on helping teams make up the regular season games that have been postponed.

And, while the contingency plans certainly helps out with this bad weather scenario, WVSSAC Executive Director Gary Ray says the contingency plan is in place for other situations as well.

According to Mr. Ray, “the contingency plan was developed to assist schools in case of flooding, snow and even an outbreak of the swine flu or other medical situation.“  In detail, the contingency plan states the following:

WVSSAC Contingency Plan for Emergency Situations
It was approved by the WVSSAC Board of Directors on January 28, 2010, to adopt the following plan that will be followed in the event of emergencies that could occur in our schools, counties or a state wide basis.

•  1. All WVSSAC sport/band activities will continue to be held as planned unless information received through the West Virginia Department of Health’s office, local county health departments or other state and local emergency personnel advises our member schools or this office to take alternative measures.

•  2. Decisions of individual member school principals or Superintendents to allow their students to participate or not participate will be honored. If a school is closed and the Principal or superintendent approves of an individual’s/team’s participation based on local health department or other emergency personnel input, it will be honored by the WVSSAC.

•  3. All regular season games/contests that are postponed under this contingency plan will be allowed and encouraged to be rescheduled to the fullest extent possible.

•  4. The date of championship finals will be held as planned and can only be changed by recommendation of the Executive Director to the WVSSAC Board of Directors. All sectional and regional tournament games prior to the start of a championship contest will be scheduled with maximum flexibility to accommodate individual schools impacted by emergency situations. The decision to allow a team to participate in a scheduled tournament contest when school is closed rests with the member school principal and county superintendent with input from the local health department or other emergency agencies that may be involved in the decision.

•  5. State Tournaments will proceed with those qualifying teams/individuals that are available to play. This may require a game or contest forfeiture from schools affected by a school/county emergency.

Gilmer County: 4-H Soccer Cancellation

Gilmer County 4-H Soccer for Saturday, October 17th, 2009 has been canceled due to illness and weather.

By Jennifer Shirey
Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development
WVU Extension: Gilmer County

Gilmer County 4-H Soccer Starts Saturday

The Gilmer County 4-H Soccer Program will be starting this Saturday, October 10, 2009 at the Gilmer County Recreation Center.

At 9:30 AM there will be an opening ceremony for all of the teams.

Times for the K-2 Teams are:
At 10:00 AM Glenville A vs. Sand Fork
At 11:00 AM Troy vs. Glenville B

Times for the 3-6 Teams are:
At 10:00 AM Glenville vs. Sand Fork (Susan’s Team)
At 11:20 AM Troy vs. Normantown

By Jennifer Shirey
Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development
WVU Extension: Gilmer County

Gilmer County Soccer Update: 4-H Soccer Lacks Volunteers

The WVU Extension Service in Gilmer County has collected 100 player registration forms for 2009 4-H Soccer program.  This program is being reorganized at the request of many county residents who missed the program during the fall of 2008.

However, there isn’t the same amount of interest from parents to coach a team.  At this time, there are only people interested in coaching the following teams: Glenville K-2, Glenville 3-4, Normantown 5-6, Troy K-2, and Troy 3-4.  That leaves 7 teams without a coach.  Without the support of volunteer coaches, this program will be cancelled.

All interested coaches will be contacted this week to pick up their team’s information.  If you are interested in coaching a team, contact the WVU Extension Office IMMEDIATELY at 304.462.7061.  We will make a decision about the program on Monday, September 21st.  If the program is cancelled, all money will be returned to the addresses listed on the registration forms.

By Jennifer Shirey
Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development
WVU Extension: Gilmer County
201 North Court Street
Glenville, WV 26351
304.462.7061
“Jenny.Shirey@mail.wvu.edu”

Gilmer County 4-H Soccer Program‏

Registration forms for the 2009 Gilmer County 4-H Soccer Program are available now at the WVU Extension Office in the Courthouse Annex.

Youth in Kindergarten through 6th grade are eligible to play. Forms were sent home with at all four elementary schools in the county.  These forms were to be returned with the registration fee by Friday, Sept 4th. However, forms will be accepted until the 9th (next Wednesday).

There was a coaching workshop planned for this evening (Sept 3rd) from 6 to 8 PM at the Gilmer County Recreation Center. This workshop had to be postponed and will now happen next Thursday (Sept 10th). Same time and the same place. Please gather in the new pavilion between Potomac and Pocatalico cabins.  We hope to have all of the registration forms organized for each team that evening.

Practices should beginning the week of the 14th with games starting hopefully on the 26th.  All games will be played on Saturdays at the Gilmer County Recreation Center.  The entire community is welcome to attend.
~~  By Jennifer Shirey - Agent for 4-H Youth Development - WVU Extension: Gilmer County   ~~