Brother Craig Franz, FSC

Recently, Nick Moore, Chairman of the College's Board of Trustees announced the resignation of Brother Craig Franz, FSC, President of Saint Mary's College, effective January 1, 2005. Brother Craig has led the College since 1997. Under his leadership, the College's endowment has nearly tripled, several new facilities were built and one Director of Athletics search was completed.

I am grateful for the opportunity Brother Craig provided me and my family to move to the Bay Area and join the Saint Mary's family. I enjoy working at this wonderful College and serving the Catholic, Lasallian, and Liberal Arts traditions, as well as being part of the West Coast Conference, a conference where the commitment to achievement in the classroom and competitively is evident every day. I appreciate the invitation provided to me more than four years ago to join the team, and look forward to continuing to serve the College.

All of our coaches and staff wish Brother Craig the best in future endeavors.

Update on Searches and Promotions
We have decided to close two searches that were underway. Jessica Hanaseth, Assistant Softball Coach for the past three years and alumna of the College and the Softball Program, will serve as Interim Head Softball Coach. Jessica replaces Megumi Takasaki who resigned this summer to pursue other opportunities.

Kami Gray, Graduate Assistant in the summer camp program for the past three years and also an alumna of the College and the Softball Program, will serve as Interim Director of Compliance. Kami will assume the compliance responsibilities that were previously handled by Stephanie Shreive, who resigned this past summer and is now working at the University of California at Irvine.

We will reevaluate both of these positions early next year.

Stephanie also served as Senior Woman Administrator. With her departure, I have asked Kari Montero, Assistant Director of Athletics for Student Support Services, to assume additional duties as Senior Woman Administrator. Kari will assist me with a number of issues in this enhanced role, including personnel decisions, gender equity, and implementing our strategic plan. She has previous work experience at both Arizona State and the University of San Francisco. Kari grew up in Lafayette and attended the University of California at Davis where she played basketball.

Mark Orr was the second hire I made four years ago (Scott Hardy who is doing a wonderful job as Head Coach of the Men's Golf Program was the first!). Mark began by providing leadership for our student support services function and almost two years ago moved to Associate Director of Finance and Internal Affairs. To recognize his continually expanding role and his contribution, Mark has been promoted to Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Finance and Internal Affairs.

We have officially welcomed John James, Ph.D., as Coordinator of Sport Psychology. John was awarded the prestigious "Volunteer of the Year" award at last year's Gael Awards show for his contribution and support of our coaching staff and student-athletes. John has lectured around the world to corporations, public agencies, educational, and religious groups. John is the Director of the James Institute, an education, counseling, and professional training center in Lafayette, California. He is a psychotherapist, clinical trainer, theologian and ordained clergy, educator, and consultant.

Update on the Performance of Fall Teams
The women's volleyball team had quite a week. The team achieved wins over Stanford, Loyola Marymount, and Pepperdine, ending Pepperdine's 43 match West Coast Conference winning streak spanning three seasons. We are fortunate to be able to test our skills against such outstanding opponents. The accomplishment of the Pepperdine team and Head Coach Nina Matthies is truly remarkable winning 43 straight...a feat that will not be easy to duplicate.

I am impressed with the dedication, effort, team work, and passion to succeed of Head Coach Jon Stevenson, his staff, and the student-athletes.

Women's Soccer played Stanford this past Sunday prior to opening league play.

Men's soccer lost a well played game to #4 Santa Clara this past Friday at Garaventa Field, bringing their record for the year to two wins, three losses, and three ties. The team is playing hard and is in position to have a strong conference season.

The men's and women's cross country teams continue to improve each week and set personal bests. We are challenging ourselves to improve our performance and place in the West Coast Conference at the conference championship this November.

Implementation of Strategic Plan
This past summer, we were able to implement several pieces of the strategic plan.

• Two full-time employment (FTE) positions were added to our Recreational Sports function to provide support for intramural and club sport opportunities.
• More than $90,000 was added to fund equipment, uniforms, and activities for recreational sports (open recreation, intramural program, club sports, and outdoor adventures).
• A new basketball court and sand volleyball court were installed in Justin Commons for use by all students.
• A new competition floor was installed in McKeon Pavilion.
• Office space was renovated for men's soccer, women's basketball, club sports, women's rowing, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, men's golf, women's volleyball, women's soccer, and men's basketball.
• Locker rooms were renovated for women's soccer, baseball, and men's soccer.
• We signed an all sport agreement with adidas that has reduced our spending on apparel, shoes, and uniforms.
• The spirit squad is under new leadership and has received an enhanced budget allocation. (These women are doing a wonderful job of supporting our fall teams).

Upcoming strategic plan action items include:

• Renovation of the baseball infield is currently under way.

• Reallocation of more than $400,000 in athletic grants-in-aid will be implemented this July 1, 2005, and the head coaches who will benefit from this move are currently recruiting with these funds.

• Approximately $160,000 will be reallocated or added to various sport operations budgets as of July 1, 2005.

• We will be reallocating or adding 10.25 FTE with a significant portion occurring this coming July 1, 2005, and the probability that we will not complete the effort until July 1, 2006. These positions will for the most part directly benefit sport programs, with staff increases also for media relations and athletic training. We are still working out what opportunities will be available on July 1, 2005, and I will update you in the future on our progress.

In closing, allow me to mention our wonderful student-athletes and how much they appreciate your support at their contests.

Go Gaels!

Carl