A Safe Haven

Voice of the Phoenix

Cumberland celebrates the retirement of a long time coach and his contributions to the CU Athletic Department

Coach Mitch Walters will retire after serving CU for 33 years minus one year at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Miss. He has served in a number of capacities during his tenure at CU, including coaching six different sports as well as serving as the athletic department’s eligibility coordinator and overseeing the athletic training department.

Walters assumed a new title during the summer of 2009 – Assistant Athletic Director – focusing his efforts on student eligibility and retention as well as scheduling and monitoring class attendance for the more than 600 student-athletes in the Cumberland athletic department.

Many around the CU family best know Walters as the voice of the Phoenix, a role in which he has served for the past 22 seasons.

Pictured Left to Right: Coach Woody Hunt, Coach Mitch Walters, VP of Enrollment Services and Athletic Director Ron Pavan The Tioga, Pa., native came to Lebanon in

the Fall of 1987, serving as the assistant women’s basketball coach and head softball coach for two years. He was also the head men’s soccer coach for four seasons starting in 1987.

For six years beginning in 1990, Walters served as the head women’s basketball coach, compiling an overall record of 103-76. He was voted the Coach of the Year in NAIA District XXIV and the Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1992.

For the next five years starting in the fall of 1995, Walters was the head coach for men’s and women’s soccer.

“I believe that Coach Mitch Walters has been the behind the scenes success of our great athletic department,” said Ron Pavan, Vice President of Enrollment Services and Athletic Director. “Mitch is well-loved by our student athletes and alumni. We are forever grateful for his contributions to this program.”

Ainhoa Garijo Garrido Class of 2020 and 2021 Masters of Buisness Administration Ainhoa Garijo Garrido ranked sixth nationally and first in the East region in singles with a 5-0 record in the final ITA Collegiate Tennis NAIA Fall National Rankings.

The Albacete, Spain, native won the ITA Southeast Regional over Tomomi Nagao from the University of the Cumberlands who is currently ranked second in the East Region.

Garijo Garrido and Jessica Hernandez ranked eighth in the nation and second in the East Region with a 4-0 record on the season. They won the ITA Southeast Regional over the doubles team of Nagao and Fros from the University of the Cumberlands in September.

John Olivieri Class of 2021 Sports Management and Marketing Minor John Olivieri is a senior wrestler from Murfreesboro, TN. He is currently ranked #6 in the NAIA for his weight class.

“Being a wrestler at Cumberland has been one of the best experiences of my life,” said Olivieri. “It has been tough and has truly humbled me.”

Olivieri is a father to four-year old, John.

“Coach Hicks has been an amazing role model to me,” said Olivieri. “He was a college athlete when he had a child, and that has really helped us bond and connect. Coach Hicks has helped me mature and become the man I am today.”