Athletic Department

With the departures of Tim O’Shea to Byrant College and Sylvia Crawley to Boston College, the Bobcats have two new basketball coaches on the hardwood, and both are ready to make some changes.

A year ago, Ohio University’s track and field team was in the same position it is now. Almost.

Jim Schaus did not take the new athletic director position at Ohio University purely as a stepping stone to a better position -- he is here for the “long haul.”

Ohio University Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt introduced a former University of Florida Gators assistant as the Bobcats’ new volleyball head coach Monday morning. Ryan Theis, who spent the last two seasons as offensive and recruiting coordinators in Gainesville, Fla., is well-known throughout the country as one of the best recruiters and offensive minds in the nation.

As Ohio University athletic director Kirby Hocutt prepares to leave for his new position at the University of Miami (Fla.), “commitment” is the one word that Hocutt used to describe his time with the Bobcats.

Ohio’s athletic department has had its fair share of problems over the past few years, from Solich’s Court Street adventure, to baseball players gambling, to, of course, cutting sports among other things.

Huddled in a semicircle listening to Coach Joel Greenlee after practice are 3,698 pounds of sweating wrestlers, and 2,464 pounds of them are freshmen.

Mounted in the Ohio Aquatic Center are pictures of all the men’s and women’s swimming teams. The center will lack a men's photo for the first time in 2008, but that won't stop the women from succeeding in the pool.

With all of the controversy surrounding the sports world, the Campus Sports Guy has a case of the Blues and it's not the Kraft Mac & Cheese kind. No, it's more of the Jake and Ellwood kind.

Despite constant criticism the Ohio University Athletic Department has endured over the past year, Robert Andrey continues to contribute to the rejuvenating of the department with the addition of a sports marketing firm, more profitable non-conference schedules for football and men’s basketball and a potential indoor practice facility in the upcoming years. 

The Ohio University Athletic Department is in trouble.

In late January, Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt revealed that his department was operating with a budget deficit exceeding $4 million. Four cut sports and four months later, the immediate future of the athletic department looks equally bleak. For the 2007 fiscal year, the department is projecting a $1.7 million deficit.

The Green and White Club hosted its 45th annual Senior Athlete Recognition Banquet May 21 to honor athletes and club members for their dedication and hard work toward the Ohio University athletic program.

March is back. For sports fans alike, it’s the greatest time of the year. Filling out brackets, picking upsets and deciding who will be cutting down the nets when all is said and done is all part of the fun associated with March Madness.