ANNUAL REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2016
CONTENTS • AD Address/Letter • Academic Integrity • Rules Compliance • Facility Enhancements • Events Hosted • Financial Prudence Budget
Purple Circle
Corporate Gifts
• Significant Accomplishments • Student-Athlete Well-Being/ Success
Life Skills
Diversity Gender
Community Support
Dear Bear Nation, The 2015-16 academic year was again an outstanding year for Central Arkansas Athletics. We accomplished many great initiatives but nothing as strong as an increased Federal Graduation Rate of 15 percentage points. This puts Athletics at more than 20 percentage points higher than the general student body which is a metric the NCAA reviews closely. It puts UCA in a great position. The fact that UCA achieved such success in ten years is remarkable and a tribute to our fine student-athletes and coaches. At UCA, we embrace the NCAA DI principles of Academic Integrity, Rules and Governance, Financial Prudence, and Student-Athlete Well-being. These characteristics shape our program as we excel at providing a great place to live, learn, and compete. UCA is a total package program. We succeed in academics, socially, and life skills; while winning championships. Our goal is to provide a wonderful educational experience for our student-athletes which is further enhanced through athletics success. The fondest memories come from our great teams and programs. We want all to have that experience. As we enter our 11 th year in Division I, our image continues to be very important to our success. Through our branding, facilities, and media; our image is impacted. We will ensure our image elicits a perception of a first-class program. We have been successful due to our re-branding of our logos and trademarks. We have been successful due to our abundant facility improvements over the last ten years. We have been successful due to our forethought in social media and communications. We have been successful due to our staff creativity and innovation. UCA Athletics is committed to providing a rewarding student-athlete experience, an enjoyable fan/donor experience, and a professional and classy image. We will do this while contributing to the university’s educational experiences. UCA Athletics cherishes the role it plays on this great educational campus of UCA. We are also dedicated to Academic Vitality, Integrity, and Diversity (AVID), furthering the values and mission of the University of Central Arkansas. Go Bears!
Brad Teague, Ph. D. Director of Athletics At the beginning of the 2013-14 academic year, the athletics department administrative staff engaged in a dialogue to focus on our mission. From the session, our staff developed core values and guiding principles for the department. These values and principles truly describe our work and our plan to be the best Division I program. Our decisions are scripted by these and we strive to do what is right and true for all.
CORE VALUES 1. Student-Athlete Success 2. Excellence 3. Accountability 4. Innovation 5. Collegiality GUIDING PRINCIPLES 1. Student-Athlete Experience 2. Fan/Donor Experience 3. Image
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Athletics programs utilize several metrics to evaluate the success of their student-athletes in academics. Grade Point Average (GPA), Graduation Success Rate (GSR), Federal Graduation Rate (FGR), Academic Progress Rate (APR) and Completed Athletics Eligibility Grad Rate (CEGR) are all part of the evaluation system. As detailed below, UCA has improved significantly in most categories below. UCA student-athletes saw a major jump in FGR in 2015, 20 percentage points ahead of the general student body.
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 GPA
Women
3.02 3.03 3.11
Men
2.74 2.75 2.73 2.78 2.79 2.82 2.88 2.87 2.88 2.96
Total
2.77 2.85 2.87 2.92 2.94 2.98 3.02 3.04 3.04 3.10
GSR
Women
76% 77% 79% 90% 86% 95% 82% 83% 73% 81%
Men
48% 49% 52% 62% 68% 75% 67% 66% 69% 70%
Total
55% 57% 61% 73% 74% 81% 73% 72% 74% 75%
FGR
Women
58% 56% 60% 61%
55% 58% 50% 49% 66% 60%
Men
35% 50% 39% 41%
50% 43% 43% 42% 65% 56%
Total
48% 54% 49% 51% 53% 50% 47% 46% 65% 58%
3.17
3.16
3.18
3.19
3.28 3.28 3.32
All Students 45% 43% 41% 41% 42% 41% 41% 41% 45% 45% APR
Women
929
956
947
979
960 980 973
Men
902 919
938
955
957
Total
914 933 941 966 959 966 956 961 965 970
CEGR Total
93% 93% 96% 100% 94% 99%
958
978
969 980
944 949 963
965
COMPLIANCE & FACILITIES
COMPLIANCE 1. The most important part of Compliance is that all individuals associated with UCA Athletics promote and support the interest of the athletic department to ensure full compliance with NCAA, Southland Conference and University Rules. 2. Increased rules education and updates to coaches, staff, boosters, and student-athletes. These updates occur in a variety of ways from face to face, email blasts, website notices, and individual meetings with coaches or student athletes. 3. Conversion to e-filing system for all student-athlete records. 4. Financial Aid will enter student-athlete data without the assistance of athletics staff. 5. Implementation of JumpForward to make tracking many aspects of Compliance simpler for coaches as well as the compliance office. This year will add the component of all the preseason NCAA paperwork to JumpForward which will help make the beginning-of-year meetings with Student-Athletes more productive. 6. Reorganizing departmental manuals over the summer to make them complete and more user friendly. 7. Compliance staff and general counsel will continue semi-annual meetings.
FACILITY ENHANCEMENTS
ON-CAMPUS EVENTS HOSTING
1. Basketball practice facility construction in Farris Center completed 2. Beach Volleyball courts Phase 1 completed Summer 2016 3. Bathroom/concession area for softball/track/ soccer complex & fencing around softball complex to be completed 4. Covered batting cages for baseball to be completed Fall 2016 5. Expansion of Estes Stadium training room completed August 2014 6. New lights in indoor facility to be completed Fall 2016 7. Storage containters/decks installed at track/ soccer complex 8. Carpet at Hall of Fame Room in Estes Stadium replace with stained concrete
1. Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament Fall 2016 2. Southland Conference Softball Tournament Spring 2017 3. Arkansas Activities Association All-Star Week (includes all-star games for football; boys & girls basketball and soccer; baseball; softball; cheer and dance
FINANCIAL PRUDENCE
PURPLE CIRCLE ANNUAL FUND UCA Athletics has a strong fundraising arm in the Purple Circle. During the move to Division I, the fund grew over 400%. Membership is strong at 350 members and over $300,000 annually is contributed to the fund.
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS Through the arrangement with Peak Sports MGMT/UCA Sports Marketing, corporate partnerships have continued to rise as the Central Arkansas brand has maintained a steady rate of growth and visibility throughout the region, and corporate partners have realized an increase in value in their relationship with Central Arkansas Athletics.
BUDGET UCA and UCA Athletics are committed to reducing the amount of state funding for Athletics while increasing the amount of external funding from ticket sales, fundraising, corporate sponsorships, and NCAA Revenue. This trend is demonstrated below.
Revenue Student Fees Auxiliaries E&G External Funds Federal
Expenses Salaries & Fringes Scholarships Travel M&O Debt Service Medical Federal Facilities Other
FY17
FY16
FY15
FY14
FY13
$ 5,276,000 $ 3,008,038 $ 1,272,925 $ 2,697,760 $ 126,000 $ 12,380,723
43% $ 5,000,000 24% $ 2,800,000 10% $ 1,000,000 22% $ 2,700,000 1% $ 126,000 100% $ 11,626,000
43% $ 5,000,000 24% $ 2,675,777 9% $ 1,000,000 23% $ 2,600,000 1% $ 126,000 100% $ 11,401,777
44% $ 4,838,092 23% $ 2,783,324 9% $ 1,000,000 23% $ 2,507,764 1% $ 113,877 100% $ 11,243,057
43% $ 4,913,412 25% $ 1,563,989 9% $ 1,069,387 22% $ 2,595,295 1% $ 98,830 100% $ 10,240,913
48% 15% 10% 25% 1% 100%
$ 3,830,954 $ 4,067,092 $ 1,678,750 $ 1,130,526 $ 631,901 $ 150,000 $ 126,000 $ 435,500 $ 330,000 $ 12,380,723
31% $ 3,650,007 33% $ 3,555,493 14% $ 1,454,500 9% $ 1,160,000 5% $ 600,000 1% $ 200,000 1% $ 126,000 4% $ 550,000 3% $ 330,000 100% $ 11,626,000
31% $ 3,600,000 31% $ 3,485,777 13% $ 1,410,000 10% $ 1,100,000 5% $ 600,000 2% $ 200,000 1% $ 126,000 5% $ 550,000 3% $ 330,000 100% $ 11,401,777
32% $ 3,520,742 31% $ 3,351,709 12% $ 1,409,150 10% $ 1,100,300 5% $ 628,604 2% $ 245,461 1% $ 113,877 5% $ 544,740 3% $ 328,474 100% $ 11,243,057
31% $ 2,984,717 30% $ 3,185,815 13% $ 1,399,948 10% $ 935,785 6% $ 406,235 2% $ 153,408 1% $ 98,830 5% $ 600,785 3% $ 475,391 100% $ 10,240,914
29% 31% 14% 9% 4% 1% 1% 6% 5% 100%
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
ACADEMICS
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
For 2015-16, 231 UCA student-athletes were named to the Southland Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll – which requires a minimum GPA of 3.0. The 231 represents a 22% increase from 2014-15 and also ranked 2nd among the 13 Southland institutions. Only one other Southland institution had more than 200. Of the 231, 37 had perfect 4.0 GPAs, up from 32 the previous year. Central Arkansas student-athletes had a cumulative GPA of 3.10, the highest in program history and well above the 2.77 posted in the 1st year coming from NCAA Division II. It is the 4th straight year the GPA has been above a 3.0. Female student-athletes had a 3.32, their 7th straight year higher than 3.10. The athletic department’s overall APR was 970, the program’s highest to date and 3rd straight year of improvement. The department’s Federal Graduation Rate was more than 10 points higher than the overall student body’s for the 2nd year in a row, with student-athletes coming in at an average of 16.5% higher than all students over the last two years.
The Sugar Bears had a season for the ages, winning a program-record 28 games and claiming their first Southland Conference Tournament championship to punch their ticket to the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament for the first time. The Sugar Bears earned a 14 seed, the highest for a Southland team since 2007. In the NCAA tournament, they met up with Louisville – which finished the regular season ranked 8th in the country.
NCAA REVENUE Central Arkansas Athletics received its 4th annual installment of NCAA Revenue Sharing. We received the highest distribution of all Southland institutions. The revenue share is based on total number of sports & scholarships awarded as well as NCAA Basketball Tournament distribution. An additional amount is provided for student-athlete well-being and academic success. Last year UCA received $894,111 and this year the total was $939,024.
The 28 wins was the 4th highest total ever for a Southland team, and the Sugar Bears join Stephen F. Austin and former league member ULM as the only program’s to ever reach 28 wins in a season in the league’s history. It was the most wins for a Southland team since 2000, and the Sugar Bears also set program records for Southland Conference wins and regular-season wins. Junior guards Maggie Proffitt and Brianna Mullins were both named All-Southland Conference and Southland All-Academic for the 2nd straight season, the first pair of Sugar Bears to do so. Proffitt also became the program’s Division I career record holder in 3-pointers made and now ranks 3rd overall in program history. Following the season, two Sugar Bear assistants landed head coaching jobs as Destinee Rogers takes over at El Dorado High School and Nakeia Guiden will lead the program at Osceola High School. With all its success, the Sugar Bear program was named the state’s Program of the Year by the Arkansas Activities Association, with the award presented during AllStar week held on the UCA campus.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
BASEBALL Finished the season by winning 12 of their final 15 regular season games to earn the program’s highest-ever seed for the Southland Conference Tournament – where the Bears extended their streak of recording a postseason victory to 4 seasons, totalling a Southland-best 14 since 2013. Senior pitcher Connor Gilmore broke the program record for career wins, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and starts, and went on to sign with the Atlanta Braves organization after the season – becoming the 11th player to come through the program since Coach Gum’s hiring to be drafted or sign with an MLB team.
and a perfet APR score of 1000 to receive an early reprieve from NCAA sanctions inherited by Coach Pennell’s program two seasons ago. On the court, sophomore guard Jordan Howard put together one of the finest seasons in the program’s Division I history, averaging 20.2 points –good for 2nd in the Southland and 31st nationally. Howard made 95 3-pointers (ranked 6th nationally in 3pt FG per game and 24th in percentage at 42.8%), breaking the program single-season record and leaving himself just 34 short of the career record with two seasons left to play. Halfway through his career, he has a 17.9 points-per-game average, the 5th highest in program history and highest since 1999.
Coach Gum also eclipsed the 400-win mark for his career, getting No. 400 with a 9-0 win over UAPB on May 10, and finishing the season with 407. Gum is 181-154 in 6 seasons at UCA, and needs 29 more wins to pass Doug Clark for the program record.
Howard was named 1st Team All-Southland and Southland All-Academic, while junior Derreck Brooks was the Southland’s Newcomer of the Year after averaging 12.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
FOOTBALL
SOFTBALL
In the second season under Coach Steve Campbell, the Bears had a record-setting season as they won the most Southland games in a season in program history, finishing with 7 as they won 7 of 8 before falling to Sam Houston State in the season finale.
The Bears qualified for the 6-team Southland Conference tournament for the 5th straight year, and finished the year with 35 wins – bringing their 5-year average to 34 per season. In the five years prior, the Bears averaged just 19.4 wins per season.
In a 35-17 win at Lamar, running back Blake Veasley set the progam record for rushing yards in a game as he rang up 292 with 4 touchdowns (one shy of the program record). Veasley would go on to be named the Southland Player of the Week and was one of 8 Bears named to the All-Southland Conference teams.
The Bears scored a signature win with a 1-0 shutout of No. 25 Mississippi State Head coach David Kuhn eclipsed the 600-win milestone for his career, finishing the season with 612.
This spring, defensive end Jonathan Woodard was selected in the NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, marking the 2nd straight season that a Bear was selected, following Dezmin Lewis going to the Buffalo Bills in 2015.
MEN’S BASKETBALL The Bears scored their most significant win of the year away from the court, finishing with a team GPA of 3.10
Several career records fell as seniors Sarah Bigej, Sam Forrest and Jessie Taylor wrapped up their four-year careers with their names throughout the record book. Bigej finishes with the records for career on-base percentage (.453), walks (131) and hit by pitch (36). Forrest holds the records for games played and started (228), at-bats (766), runs scored (152), hits (260), doubles (63), and total bases (411). Taylor departs as the program’s alltime leader in home runs (36), runs batted in (170) and sacrifice flies (10).
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
MEN’S SOCCER
TENNIS
Junior Wes Carson made program history when he became the first from Central Arkansas to be named 1st Team All-Missouri Valley Conference in the Bears’ 6th year in the league. Carson has the best offensive season in the program’s Division I history, leading the MVC with 9 goals and 21 points on the year.
The Sugar Bears put together their finest season as a Division I program, posting a program record 14 wins and advancing to the semifinals of the Southland Conference tournament –becoming the first Sugar Bear team to do so.
Carson recorded a hat trick in the Bears’ 3-0 win over Evansville to secure their 1st MVC tournament appearance since 2012. Daltyn Knutson and Chris Holmes were named to the MVC’s All-Freshman team, the 2nd straight season the Bears featured a pair on the league’s All-Freshman team.
WOMEN’S SOCCER Camille Bassett was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and was 1st team All-Southland after tying for the league lead with 10 goals in 11 conference matches. Stacia Carroll, Allie Coleman and Shelby Wilson were all selected All-Southland Honorable Mention. The Bears earned the 6 seed in the Southland Conference tournament, their 2nd time to qualify for the event.
TRACK & FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY Eric Moore had a year for the ages in the high jump, sweeping the event at the Southland’s Indoor & Outdoor championships en route to qualifying for the NCAAs in each. During the outdoor season, Moore tied for 4th at the NCAA West prelims, advancing to the national finals at the University of Oregon. Moore holds the Central Arkansas high jump records both indoor (7 ft. 2.6 in.) and outdoor (7 ft. 1 in.). Al Maeder was an Academic All-American, posting a 3.96 GPA in Biology and both he and Grant Williams were named Southland Conference All-Academic, with Williams sporting a 3.59 GPA in Biology.
During the season, they scored wins over both the reigning Southland Conference regular season and tournament champions as part of a four-match winning streak that also included a victory over Arkansas State. The Sugar Bears later put together a 5-match winning streak, and knocked off 2nd-seeded Stephen F. Austin in the Southland tournament. QiLi Ma and Rada Manataweewat were both named 2nd team All-Southland, while senior Krizia Buck was named All-Southland Honorable mention.
VOLLEYBALL Despite a coaching transition and losing three All-Southland players (including the libero of the year), the Sugar Bears continued their run of success in the Southland in their first year under head coach Jeni Jones, finishing as the league’s runner-up – marking the 8th straight season the Sugar Bears have finished 1st or 2nd or won a Division title. After winning 4 straight East Division titles before the league eliminated divisions beginning in 2012, the Sugar Bears have won two more regular season titles and finished as runner-up twice while making a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and having 4 Southland Tournament championship appearances. Heather Schnars repeated as the Southland’s Player of the Year and was once again an AVCA All-Region selection, racking up 5 Southland Offensive Player of the Week awards along the way. Megan Nash was named the league’s Student-Athlete of the Year with a 3.91 GPA along with her 1st team All-Southland accolade. Amy South was also named 2nd team All-Southland. A major expansion of the program was announced with the addition of Beach Volleyball beginning in 2016-17.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
MEN’S GOLF Louis Tomlinson was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year and was 1st team All-Southland after recording four Top 10 finishes with a season stroke average of 73.62 and a low round of 68. The sophomore was also voted onto the Southland All-Academic team. Freshman Luis Obiols was 3rd team All-Southland with a 74.5 stroke average and and a low round of 67, and earned Medalist honors while leading the Bears to a win at the Missouri State Twin Oaks Intercollegiate.
WOMEN’S GOLF The women’s golf team finished as Southland runner-up, 10 strokes ahead of 3rd place HBU, 20 strokes ahead of SFA and Sam Houston State, 43 strokes ahead of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and 51 ahead of McNeese State. Three Bears finished among the Top 6 in the Southland championship, with Fernanda Lira finishing 2nd, Brenda Gonzales 5th and Emma Svensson 6th. Lira and Svensson were both 1st Team All-Southland, with Svensson also earning the league’s Freshman of the Year award. Lira had a 75.1 stroke average and had four Top 10 finishes. Svensson had a Southland-best 73.69 stroke average and had seven Top 10 finishes, including Medalist honors at the Little Rock Golf Classic. She set school records for lowest single round (67) and tournament score (208). Svensson went on to compete in the NCAA Regional in Baton Rouge, shooting a 229 to finish 51st out of 96 competitors.
CHEER & DANCE The UCA Coed Cheer team placed 4th in the Division I NCA Collegiate National Championship, and the Honey Bears Dance team had their best finish, qualifying for
the finals and placing 6th at the NDA Collegiate National Championship.
ADMINISTRATION Dr. Brad Teague was named Under Armor Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), one of four from Division I FCS programs to receive the honor along with Thorr Bjorn of Rhode Island, Dave Blank of Elon and Bill Chaves of Eastern Washington. Teague is one of two Central Arkansas administrators sitting on national selection committees, as he began serving on the FCS Football Playoff Selection committee in 2015. Associate AD Natalie Shock completed her 2nd season on the Division I Softball Championship selection committee.
IN THE MEDIA The Bears’ football program was prominently featured on ESPN’s Sportscenter with Scott Van Pelt, being highlighted on the show-opening “Best Thing I Saw Today” segment for video of ‘Fat Bowl II’, a player-organized 7-on-7 touch football game exclusively for offensive linemen. The video was picked up by ESPN and Fox Sports, generating millions of views across multiple digital platforms and cable. The Sugar Bears and Central Arkansas fans were featured on the ESPN telecast for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament selection show with a look-in at the reaction to the Sugar Bears’ placement in the tournament. Through its work on social platforms, the Central Arkansas athletic department was selected as one of the top non-FBS teams in visual communication by SkullSparks Digital Sports Consulting.
STUDENT-ATHLETE WELL-BEING AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
STUDENT-ATHLETE ADVISORY COUNCIL ACTIVITIES • Raised more than $4,500 for Boys & Girls Club of Faulkner County through pancake breakfast fundraier • Provided free shoes to over 300 Conway-area children through ‘Shoes of Hope’ event with Samaritan’s Feet • Participated in Operation Christmas Child – providing Christmas presents to children all over the world. • Hosted week-long ‘Delete Blood Cancer’ event, registering hundreds of potential donors to bone marrow registry • Collected can tabs for Ronald McDonald House LIFE SKILLS AREAS RECOMMENDED BY NCAA • • • • • • • •
Alcohol and drug guidelines Personal development Leadership Sexual orientation Diversity Nutrition Personal counseling Gambling
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Career counseling
AREAS COVERED THIS YEAR •
Alcohol and drug guidelines
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Nutrition
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Career counseling
COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS Throughout the year, our teams volunteer at numerous community events, school programs, youth & elderly programs and charity functions, in addition to on-campus events and organizing and volunteering for fundraisers for a variety of charities. In all, our student-athletes logged more than 2,300 hours of community service over the past year. Some of the projects UCA student-athletes & staff were involved in over the past year are: • • • • • • • • • • • •
• • • • • • •
Conway Optimist Club Youth Football Clinic Staffed Conway Kids Triathlon Reading programs at local Elementary schools & Pre-K programs Outreach programs with local retirement centers Staffed Conway EcoFest Helped with programs at First Tee of Arkansas 5K Walk for Diabetes Staffed Kidz Club play area at UCA football games Served as helpers for Conway Miracle League Baseball Collected toys for Operation Christmas Child Packed boxes at Operation Christmas Child warehouse Collected donations for soccer student-athlete Kelsey Johnson to assist with medical expenses for brain surgery Volunteered at Boys & Girls Club of Conway Staffed local elementary school Fun Day Volunteered at TOP Soccer youth program Assisted with Tacos4Life Mobile Pack program to provide food to underdeveloped nations Staffed “The Big Event” volunteer day in Conway Worked UCA “Brake For Bears” safe driving/pedestrian awareness event Gave education speeches to Vilonia 7th graders