text: "Promote your event", This is one time, seems to me, they got it right. place when I left than when I arrived.. The former Southern Miss Golden Eagle athletics director and coach, Roland Dale passed away Sunday night in Jackson, MS. "I may be the luckiest athletic director in America today to have Joe return to the . A successful high school football coach at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee, Freeze coached Michael Oher and Greg Hardy.He subsequently was the head football coach at Lambuth University from 2008 to 2009, Arkansas State University in 2011, the University of . He has made several key personnel decisions during his tenure at USM, including the appointment of football coach Will Hall and men's basketball coach Jay Ladner. The Sun Belt is intensely competitive in the spring sports of baseball and softball. He was sports editor of Hattiesburg American, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Miss and we will continue those friendships for years to come.. Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain kept a notecard with him at all times during the coaching search this past fall. With a 24-65 record at the time, Southern Miss Athletic Director Jeremy McLain went to bat for Ladner. Only the SEC and Pac 12 had more. "Southern Miss has lost a legend as Roland Dale was an exceptional man, coach, and athletic director," said Southern Miss Interim Athletics Director Jeff Hammond. by Rick Cleveland, Mississippi Today October 26, 2021, This and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.. Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. The search firm has assisted in 40 athletic director searches nationwide, Dale hired several outstanding Golden Eagle Hall of Fame coaches such as Bobby Collins in football, M.K. offices, dressing and meeting rooms. His knowledge and insight into the world of collegiate athletics has allowed him to - Southern Miss Athletics would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family of Roland Dale and the Southern Miss community on the passing of his death. Jon does a great job of getting everybody on the same page and making sure everybody is moving in the right direction. He invests in the people around him and it shows with how highly people think of him in our building. Wed love to hear from you. Mitchell is a respected veteran administrator who . athletic experience to Hattiesburg. Reach Southern Miss writer David Eckert at deckert@gannett.com or on Twitter @davideckert98. Download the WXXV News 25 and Weather Authority Mobile Apps on your smart phone or tablet device to receive breaking news and weather push notifications the minute it happens. I would like to wish Jon, his wife Katie, and their family well." At Southern Miss, Mitchell utilizes his extensive background in legal affairs, external relations, and revenue generation to manage the Universitys relationship with multi-media rights partner LEARFIELD. championship, it is a perfect time for me to retire. Here's the score. I am very fortunate to have good health which will allow me to spend When Jeremy McClain took over as the school's eighth Director of Athletics, he knew that he would have to roll up his sleeves and get to work. student success. }, Jeremy McClain, the Southern Miss athletic director, believes the annual travel expenses for all athletic programs will be reduced between $500,000 and a million dollars. Southern Miss Director of Athletics Bill McGillis is proud to announce the hiring of Doc Sadler as the 20th head men's basketball coach in school history. more time with Gayle, my wife of 42 years, my four daughters and son-in-laws and my He knows what life is like in both leagues. Rick Barnes University of Tennessee Men's Basketball Head Coach "Congratulations to Southern Mississippi on their selection of Jon Gilbert as their next athletics director. }. His work as a syndicated columnist and celebrated sports writer has appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals and newspapers. Southern Miss Athletic Director Jeremy McClain was enjoying his one week of vacation when news broke of Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 Conference and joining the Southeastern Conference. the South End Zone and East Club suites, an artificial turf and new lighting at Carlisle-Faulkner Checks should be made to the Southern Miss Athletic Foundation; Box 15458; Hattiesburg, MS 39494. external affairs. Rick Cleveland, a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, has been Mississippi Todays sports columnist since 2016. In spending time with Jon, people will quickly understand his passion for college athletics and his strong understanding of running an athletics department. We do not sell or share your information with anyone. Keep this news free and accessible to all by becoming a member and giving a recurring donation of any amount today. "Our focus and expectation continues to center around improving our basketball program with Coach Ladner as our head coach," McLain said. General HATTIESBURG Southern Miss announced a contract extension Wednesday for Athletic Director Jeremy McClain. The Sun Belt is an ESPN league with national exposure. Four Sun Belt softball teams earned NCAA Tournament berths last season. as well as a new stadium construction at the Softball field and Reed Green Coliseum Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain, left, presents a No. Vollmuth, Assistant Coach / Coordinator of Camps, Lauren Pittman, Assistant Coach Recruiting Coordinator, Shannon Dawson, Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks, Tim Billings, Assistant Head Coach / Defensive Coordinator / Safeties, Chris Boone, Assistant Coach / Defensive Line, Brock Hays, Assistant Coach / Tight Ends, Eddie Hicks, Assistant Coach / Cornerbacks, Les Koenning, Assistant Coach / Running Backs, Erik Losey, Assistant Coach / Offensive Line, Derek Nicholson, Assistant Coach / Co-Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers, Scott Walden , Assistant Coach / Inside Wide Receivers & Tight Ends, Wes Turner , Director of Player Personnel, Nikki Mattison , Administrative Assistant, Dexter Hollingsworth , Offensive Graduate Assistant, Bryan Stork , Offensive Graduate Assistant, Akeem Davis, Defensive Graduate Assistant, Aaron Walker , Defensive Graduate Assistant, All Recruiting Correspondence , (601) 266-5393 | Fax: (601) 266-6597, Aaron Kindt, Assistant Coach / Cross Country Coach. (WHLT) - The Sports Zone 12 team will be live on Friday, March 3 for the Sun Belt Basketball Conference Championship Tournament. Heres what Dr. Bennett had to say about the big time hire earlier today: Jeremy McClain is uniquely qualified to lead our department of athletics to the successes we all envision. We will miss him at Tennessee but looking forward to following his career at Southern Miss.". * Where We Have Been New was well connected with numerous Mississippi officials, including Davis and then-Governor Bryant, and close friends with . In conjunction with the school's first year in the Sun Belt Conference, Southern Miss Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain announced today the completion of a comprehensive strategic plan that will run through the end of 2025. following organizations: Whoops! Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) MCEC founder Nancy New, a Southern Miss alum and former athletic foundation board member, has since pleaded guilty to fraud. H.C. "Bill" McLellan Served as Southern Miss Athletics Director from 1986-1999. Good coaches and good players are what make you better. Before his departure from Santa Clara, Mitchell also assisted in the development of the Broncos new $38 million Athletics Excellence Center, which opened in the Fall of 2020. He was also director of licensing for the NCAA. As the 17-sport program heads to the Sun Belt, the Golden Eagles are fresh off divisional title in women's soccer, a second-straight conference women's indoor track and field championship and a regular-season conference title and Super Regional berth for the baseball program over the last academic year. Giannini was officially hired on April 21, 1999. The 25 strategic initiatives range across five categories, demonstrating the department's commitment to the following areas: What athletic director says November 10, 2021 3:50 AM Take Us With You. Dale was named captain of the 1949 Ole Miss squad. in both the 1999 and 2000 campaigns. national telecast of the College Baseball World Series for HBO, and produced numerous For years now, Conference USA, which Southern Miss joined in 1995, has seemed almost like a bicycle without handle bars: unsteady at best, direction-less at worst. Prior to his experience at Tennessee, Gilbert worked for nearly 17 years at the University of Alabama, serving in multiple roles, including Associate Athletics Director from 2009 to 2011. : Why Southern Miss baseball will and won't make a deep NCAA Tournament run in 2023. Jeremy McClain, the Southern Miss athletic director, believes the annual travel expenses for all athletic programs will be reduced between $500,000 and a million dollars. Mitchell negotiated multi-million dollar deals with The Aspire Group to grow the departments ticketing and revenue generation efforts and with Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment to develop a comprehensive corporate sponsorship and multi-media rights program valued at $5 million. Jeff.Mitchell@usm.edu. Mitchell serves as the Deputy Director of Athletics with a directed focus on managing the daily operations of the Golden Eagle athletics department and providing leadership . He fully understands and embraces the primary role of serving student-athletes and creating an experience focused on current academic and athletic goals, as well as preparing them for life beyond sports. University of Southern Mississippi average salary is 47 percent lower than USA average and median salary is 80 percent lower than USA median. After working for the NCAA in 1976 and Also visiting on the show this week are head men's basketball coach Jay Ladner and Brad Smith the athletic . Field at Roberts Stadium, a new press box and suites as well as an expansion at Pete He has a vision of how he wants to run a department with his top priority always being what's best for the student-athlete. He and his wife, Katie, have two teenage children, daughter Larsen and son Kent. Please reload the page and try again. Sports Director Blake Levine will be live from the Pensacola Bay Center for the tournament with the latest updates and coverage on Southern Miss. Upon successful completion of the academic degree in athletic training, the student is eligible to sit for the Board of Certification . HATTIESBURG, Miss. For the Golden Eagles, Mitchell serves as the sport administrator for mens basketball and baseball in addition to serving as the administrator for football scheduling. Jeremy knows us. With Larry leaving and the 2011 football The following is a list of NCAA Division I universities in the United States (listed alphabetically by their schools' athletic brand name) and their current athletic director.This list only includes schools playing Division I football or men's basketball. In return, the Sun Belt provides a much more comfortable and sensible home for Southern Miss. During Mitchells Southern Miss tenure, the Golden Eagles have claimed five conference championships and have appeared in six post-season tournaments. Mitchell was selected as one of twelve senior-level administrators from across the country to participate in the prestigious NCAA Pathway Program for the 2021-2022 cohort. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. 2023 The University of Southern Mississippi. McClain should see a bump in pay back at Southern Miss where Gilbert just recently had a $350,000 base salary compared to McClain's $210,000 at Troy. The #ToTheTop25 Strategic Plan can be viewed by clicking here. At For questions, please contact Dr. Leslie Oglesby, LAT, ATC at 601-266-5495 or at Leslie.Oglesby@usm.edu. Real-time updates and . A few days later he began his duties. detail_page_enabled: true, Sports Director Blake Levine will be live from the Pensacola Bay Ce When Memphis, Houston, Tulane and others left, CUSA went after other large-market schools in belief they would give the league more TV appeal. He was the director of athletics for Troy, a . Gilbert, who will begin his work no later than March 1, comes to Southern Miss from the University of Tennessee, where he has served as Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director since 2011. The move won't take place until July 1, 2023 . We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. He earned a master's degree in Sport Administration at Eastern Kentucky University. is doable. 3) That all the tools we need to be successful already exist within the Southern Miss family Dale began his football career as a player at Ole Miss, where he played tackle from 1947-49. continues to serve Southern Miss athletics in an advisory capacity. "I am extremely humbled and honored with the opportunity to be the Director of Athletics at Southern Miss, and I want to thank President Bennett for the confidence he has in me to lead the athletic department," Gilbert said. HATTIESBURG, Miss. Under Gilbert's leadership, Tennessee student-athletes averaged over a 3.0 grade point average, and all programs exceeded the NCAA Academic Progress Rate standard. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. Since the announcement of his hiring on April 8, 2019, McClain has done just that. He has proven himself to be a lifelong learner and has always strived to broaden and strengthen his skills in order to be an extraordinary leader for the stakeholders he serves. We have a plan for that., In the long term, the move should be worth far more than $3 million to Southern Miss. "During Favre's fundraising efforts, in July 2017, the Southern Miss athletic director introduced Favre to New, a Southern Miss Athletic Foundation board member, as someone who could assist Favre with the fundraising. University of Southern Mississippi Director of Athletics Richard Giannini announced The larger facility was a key factor in helping to upgrade the schedule by getting more formidable opponents to come to Hattiesburg. Rick has been recognized 13 times as Mississippi Sports Writer of the Year, and is recipient of multiple awards and honors for his reporting and writing. | Learn more about Sean Merchant's work experience, education, connections & more by . position at Louisiana-Monroe. You have to credit Mississippi Today. On this week's episode of Inside Southern Miss Athletics, Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain stops by to talk about men's and women's basketball, the upcoming Sun Belt Conference basketball championships in Pensacola, Florida, and the start of the baseball and softball seasons. Jonesboro (Ark.) 39401 Deputy Director of Athletics. The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. Mitchell also has assisted in the planning and development of $7.5 million in facility upgrades at Southern Miss including a new 18,000 square foot student-athlete academic center, a new synthetic turf baseball field and state-of-the-art LED lighting system, a new basketball court re-design and state-of-the art LED lighting system, and enhancements to the baseball locker room, the M-Club lounge and kitchen, and the athletics administration building. See what is being said about Jon Gilbert being named Director of Athletics for the University of Southern Mississippi. With the administrative support, the larger crowds, a new conference, and an overall embrace from . Schools are alphabetized by commonly used short name, regardless of their official name. The 1947 and 1948 squads posted a 17-3 record and the 1947 team captured the Southeastern Conference Championship. Holly Warlick University of Tennessee Women's Basketball Head Coach "Jon Gilbert will be a great leader for Southern Miss and they are very fortunate to add someone of his caliber. New construction also included a new tennis facility From October 2006 to November 2014, Mitchell oversaw compliance, student services, and legal affairs at Santa Clara. This. During his tenure as athletics director, Dale engineered the school's membership in the Metro Conference. After graduation, Mitchell began his professional career as the Director of Sports Information at Millsaps and served as an assistant coach for the 2003 Millsaps baseball team, which advanced to the NCAA Division III South Regional Tournament. Gilbert is a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C., where he was a three-year letterman on the football team. Four years ago I turned 65 the same year I hired Larry Fedora and the same year Thank you to NCS Southern Miss. 1) The best days of Southern Miss Athletics are ahead of us Ball State has hired Southern Miss deputy director of athletics Jeff Mitchell to be the school's new athletic director, it was announced Friday. Video Platform powered by CBS Sports Digital, Athletics Communications- (601) 266-4503, Ticket Office - (601) 266-5418 or 1-800-844-TICK, Cody Bielstein, Assistant Director of Athletics Development, Kendall Towe, Assistant Director of Development Internal Operations, Misty McWhorter, Athletic Foundation Staff Accountant, Brandon Roberts, Head Coach / Cheerleading, Kyle Richards , Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance, Eric Beatty, Marketing Graduate Assistant, Carly Della Sala, Marketing Graduate Assistant, Whitley Ruffin, Digital Marketing Graduate Assistant, Josie Copley , Graduate Assistant (Softball, Track, Cross Country), Sterling Randle , Graduate Assistant (Women's Basketball, Women's Golf), Ashleigh Young , Graduate Assistant (Soccer, Men's and Women's Tennis), Rob Shillito , Assistant AD for Academic Support Services (Baseball, Women's Basketball), Raven Tatum , Academic Counselor (Football (Offense), Men's and Women's Tennis), Yuji Katsuta , Assistant Athletic Trainer (Men's Basketball), Jayme Nauman , Assistant Athletic Trainer (Women's Basketball), Heather Nosky , Assistant Athletic Trainer (Soccer), Evan Denoux , Graduate Assistant (Volleyball), Jonathan Pierce, Graduate Assistant (Softball), Jordan Adams, Graduate Assistant (Track and Field, Cross Country), Chase Bitowf, Assistant Director / Football Video Coordinator, Treis LeBlanc, Video Production / Graduate Assistant, SaJason Finley, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach, T.J. Greenstone, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Matt Mandich, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Alex Richard, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, Brooke Veltkamp, Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach, B.A. at games, monetary gifts, and encouragement through social media and in the community. discovery: { he was stepping down from that role. During his time at Santa Clara, the Broncos secured 22 team NCAA tournament bids, 11 individual NCAA postseason invitations across eight different sports, and 7 WCC championships. The Sun Belt Conference announced the addition of Southern Miss on Tuesday. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. Phone. Mitchell served as the interim Director of Athletics for six months during the 2018-2019 academic year in which the Golden Eagles posted their most competitive athletics season in more than a decade as all team sports registered winning seasons and baseball captured its fourth consecutive conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament. McClain previously served as the athletics director at Troy for just under four years. orientation: "portrait", * Maximizing our Footprint Giannini founded the Southern Miss Athletic Foundation, which has raised over $100 It makes no sense now when the competition is as far flung as El Paso, Miami and Coral Gables, Fla. Southern Miss already has a history with Sun Belt teams such as South Alabama, Troy, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana-Monroe. 266-5578. In lieu of flowers, the Dale family asks that a donation be made to the Roland and Teenie Dale Endowment. Southern Miss athletic director Jeremy McClain decided to shoot his shot as it were yesterday in regards to the Golden Eagles playing Ole Miss. 266-6829. baseball team played in nine consecutive NCAA Regionals. Let's put it this way: Steve Campbell, the South Alabama coach who whipped Southern Miss last Thursday night, makes $600 grand a year. (WDAM) - The University of Southern Mississippi announced Tuesday it will be leaving Conference USA and joining the Sun Belt Conference. I have been inducted into the Southern Mississippi Athletic and Student Halls of Fame. He still has it. 2023 The University of Southern Mississippi. 8/18/2022 9:00:00 AM. Mitchell spent five years at USM after being hired in . "I'm looking forward to getting to know our staff, our student-athletes and coaches, and the great supporters of the Golden Eagles," Gilbert added. first-year bowl in NCAA history. gtx_ads_conf.ads["ad-manager-252582"]= {"custom_css":[],"out_of_page_ad":false,"ad_details":[{"min_width":"","max_width":"767","dfp_ad_sizes":[{"dfp_ad_width":"320","dfp_ad_height":"50"},{"dfp_ad_width":"300","dfp_ad_height":"50"},{"dfp_ad_width":"320","dfp_ad_height":"100"},{"dfp_ad_width":"300","dfp_ad_height":"250"},{"dfp_ad_width":"300","dfp_ad_height":"100"}]}],"lazyload":"global","ad_id":"252582","ad_container":"div-ad-manager-252582","ad_placement":"banner-mobile","ad_name":"ad-manager-252582","position":"","article_position":""}; Have you ever watched a game after a trade or free agent signing and just said to yourself man, that guy looks weird in that jersey.. Mitchell helped finalize the Universitys first comprehensive apparel deal with Nike valued at more than $2.5 million and helped administer plans for $58 million in facility projects to include a new soccer facility, softball stadium, aquatics center, and upgrades to basketball locker rooms and a basketball court re-design. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using. There, the development office generated $82 million in gifts and pledges for the Crimson Tide Foundation, and Gilbert had oversight of the marketing and promotions department, as well as all facets of the ticket office and seat licensing program.