Mess ge from the President Dear Students, Alumni, and Friends: Welcome to Homecoming 1998. While all homecoming weekends are special, this year's celebration is even more meaningful than those of the past. This year we step into the history books as we begin the time-honored tradition of college football on our campus. Adding football and four other new athletic programs was a strategic decision based on "The New Century Plan for Excellence," our vision for Bryant in the 21 st century. Among o ther initiatives, the p'lan calls for enhancing student life on campus, offering a va1lue-added education, and solidifying our competitive advantage. These new athletic teams will help to enrich campus life, especially on weekends when classes are not in session. By 2002, in addition to footba'll, we will have added varsity teams in men's and women's lacrosse. women's field hockey, and women's golf - giving students 19 sports programs and more opportunities than ever before to develop skills and talents outside of the classroom. Our expanded athletic program will also increase !Bryant's visibility and open new recruitment markets. Bryant College is a Perhaps most important, we are expanding our athletic programs because we believe that the classroom and playing field are linked student-centered together in shaping tomorrow's business leaders. While our athletes at'e expected to maintain Bryant's high academic standards, their classroom College, focused on knowledge will be complemented by the discipline, drive, competitive spirit, and leadership skills learned on the playing field. excellence, that Out" athletic programs will bring all of these things and more to our prepares its students campus in the years to come. Please join me in saluting all of our teams - and in cheering on Coach Jim Miceli and the Bryant Bulldogs as they to achieve their take to the field for the first time in the I35-year history of Bryant College. Thank you for your continued support. personal best in lifo and in business. ~/('~~ Ronald K. Machtley President Bryant Co ll ege HIGHLIGHTS ofthe 1997-98 Bryant College Athletic Season While high expectations are the norm for the volleyball team, last fall's gutsy group carved out one of the most memorable and exciting THE '98 SEASON WAS SIMPLY THE BEST campaigns in recent memory. in the long history of Bryant baseball. The Bulldogs FACING AN AMBIT IOUS won the conference title and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since SCHEDULE 1986. Not satisfied just to make the that included several of the East's tourney. Bryant overcame a four-run top squads, Bryant reeled off 28 deficit in the eighth inning to take wins, including nine in a row down a stunning 7-6, la-inning win over the stretch, and became the only UMass-Lowell, the top seed in non-scholarship team in the 32­ the Northeast Regional, in the team NCAA Tournament field. For opening game of the tournament her efforts, head coach Theresa The Bulldogs broke 12 team Gadacy was named NE-I a coach of records last spring, including wins the year. (29) and consecutive wins (14). Nine players earned all-conference accolades, and head coach Jon AN NCAA TOU RNAMENT APPEARAN C E Sjogren picked up his third confer­ ence coach-of-the-year award in has become a tradition for the golf team. Last spring, eight years. the Bulldogs made their 13th straight appearance, the 21 st in 26 years. Earlier in the season, the nationally ranked Bulldogs captured their sixth straight Division II New England crown. MATT ROLOFF PERSONIFIES THE TRUE MEANING After a slow start, the women's soccer team ended the season by of 'student-athlete.' Roloff. a winning six of the last seven games. computer information systems major with a 3. 79 grade-point average, was TH E BU LLDOGS named to the 1997 NCAA Division II Men's WERE DOMINANT Cross Country Coaches Association AII­ in the second half of the season, Academic Team. The two-sport athlete was an posting four shutouts and outscoring all-conference selection in cross country and the opposition 19-3. Among the set school track records in the 3,000 meters victories was a 2-1 thriller over and in the distance medl ey. The men's cross­ nationally ranked Stonehill. Bryant country team was honored as one of only 15 finished eighth in the final Division teams in Division II to carry a grade-point II New England Coaches Poll . average of 3.0 or better. For more information check out the Bryant Athletics home page at http://www.bryant.edu/-sports A PRE,SEASON C with Coach M iceli It's taken you a year to get prepared for this season. Looking back, Head Coach Jim Miceli was building a football program from the ground up harder than you anticipated? Jim Mi celi came to Bryant in July 1997 from A little harder. We were starting from scratch. I was always strapped for time the University of Maryland, where he was between hiring coaches, moving into new offices, and recruiting. In fact, we an assistant coach and coordinator of the haven't stopped recruiting. recruiting program. In his four years at This season will probably be the most interesting year in my career. I told the Maryland, he had three top-20 recruiting kids that these are the facts : the first day we get out there, no one will know classes (1993. 1994, and 1995) and, in 1995, anybody, no one will have a clue what we are doing, and no one w,11 be better was ranked by national recruiting analyst than anyone else. For the players, that has t o be great. Tom Lemming as one of the top 10 college football recruiting coordinators in the This team is going to be made up predominantly of freshmen. nation. While at Maryland, Miceli coached Obviously, college football is a big change from high school football, quarterbacks, tight ends, receivers, punters, What are the biggest challenges facing the freshmen? and the offensive line. He also served on the University Compliance Committee, The speed of the game is different. Everyone is two steps faster at this level interpreting NCAA rules and establishing and, in some instances, 30 pounds heavier. The biggest difference is in practice. university policies. In high school football, they spend up to three hours on the fie ld. We will never be on the field more than two hours and twenty minutes, but there wil l After serving as an assistant coach at be meeting time. The mental part of the game is much more intense at the Milford Academy in Connecticut, Miceli college level. It is critical that evel'y day the players focus on their classes, broke into the college ranks in 1980 as an meetings, and practice. assistant at the University of Pittsburgh, where he coached the offensive and defen­ sive lines and guided the junior varsity team You are playing a wide variety of teams this fall. to a two-year record of 15-1. He also Yes, we are. Our schedule is ve ry interesting. served as a Pittsburgh assistant coach from We are playing a junior college (Dean), and 1992 to 1993, coaching the tight ends and most people don't understand why. tackles and serving as coordinator of academic programs for football players. Physically, that team may be the best team we play. Miceli's first collegiate head coaching job was with Ramapo College in New Jersey Then we play three conference teams that from 1986 to 1993. He revived its down­ we will see in the future. St. Anselm is in trodden Division III program, leading the the same situation as we are with a new team to a 33-9 record from 1988-92 after it program. Assumption has a new head coach had suffered through one of the worst los­ and has been feeling its way through the con­ ing streaks ( 1-29-1) in college football histo­ ference a little bit. Pace will be one of the stronger ry. He was named New Jersey Athletic teams in the EFC , so that will be a tough game. Conference coach of the year in 1989. His teams were nationally ranked in 1989, 1990, I believe that no other start-up program has tried to play and 199 1, when they finished ninth national­ three teams that are on a higher level (La Salle, Sacred ly, and captu red the ECAC South title in Heart, and Siena). La Salle just revived its program last 1990. Miceli coached three All-Americans, season, and will be muc h improved - as we hope to be seven ECAC All-Stars, and 18 first-team all­ next season. Sacred Heart, which was in the EFC in '97, conference players. makes the jump to Division I this season. Anytime you Miceli is a 1979 graduate of Southern upgrade your athletic program, it translates into better Connecticut State University. NVERSATION EASTERN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE players. Siena was 5-5 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and had the leading rusher Last fall marked the inaugural sea­ in the nation last season. son of the Eastern Football We also have a scrimmage Conference (EFC). The EFC com­ against Western New England College, a Division III prises I I NCAA Division II school in Massachusetts. schools, all non-scholarship for football, from throughout New Ninety-nine student-athletes from 12 states as far as Florida England and New York. and Ohio were on the pre-season roster.