Intercollegiate athletics carr sports associates, inc

• 
  13-6 overall record
  
• 
  3-3 conference record (T4^th place)
  
• 
  0-1 conference tournament record
  

Competitive Trends:

• 
  Average Big South Conference regular-season finish of 5.1 last five years
  

Conference Notables:

• 
  Winthrop has established itself as the dominant program in the league, earning two consecutive NCAA appearances
  

RU Opportunity for Success:

• 
  Good opportunity to win championship
  
• 
  May be limited to middle of conference standings, except in special circumstances/seasons, due to geographic location as northern-most school in Big South and scholarship limitations
  

• 
  Strength of conference will be diminished by loss of UCF, who won last three conference
  
• 
  Georgia Southern has won four championships in the last eight years and, with newcomer ETSU, should emerge as the conference’s two best programs
  
• 
  North Florida and Kennesaw State will be competitive in a hurry
  

• 
  Balanced conference where four teams in the last six years won conference championship
  
• 
  Furman and College of Charleston become top two programs in conference with departure of ETSU
  

• 
  Solid conference dominated by VCU which had won nine straight conference championships before being upset in tournament finals by William & Mary
  
• 
  VCU was ranked No. 33 in the nation entering the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round
  

• 
  VCU has won nine of the last ten conference championships
  

• 
  William & Mary have an average conference finish of 2^nd over the past three years
  

• 
  The Big South Conference remains the right conference for RU in the sport Men’s Tennis
  
• 
  RU would have no greater opportunity for competitive success in either the Atlantic Sun Conference, the Southern Conference or the Colonial Athletic Association; in fact, RU would likely face an even greater competitive challenge
  
• 
  Conference performance results have not matched resources relative to other RU teams
  

• 
  If want conference championship-winning caliber team, enclose three of the outdoor courts to provide an indoor practice and competitive facility pursuant to the Facilities Master Development Plan of June 2004
  

• 
  Maintain operating budgets which include funding for enhanced recruitment of student-athletes
  

• 
  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the Men’s Tennis program. This analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats should, at a minimum, include a review of personnel, facilities, operating budgets, scheduling philosophy, recruiting, support services (e.g. strength and conditioning, athletic training, academics, etc.) and external financial and revenue-generating activities related to Men’s Tennis
  

• 
  Using the “SWOT” analysis as a foundation, develop a comprehensive, written strategic plan for the competitive advancement of the program
  

• 
  5^th place finish at 2005 Big South Conference Indoor Championship (just 5.5 points out of 4^th place)
  
• 
  5^th place finish at 2005 Big South Conference Outdoor Championship
  

Competitive Trends:

• 
  Average finish of 3.2 over the last five years at the indoor championship
  
• 
  Has fallen from 2^nd place finishes in 2001 and 2002 to 3^rd place in 2004 and 5^th place in 2005
  
• 
  Average finish of 5.8 over the last five years at the outdoor championship
  

Conference Notables:

• 
  Liberty has established itself as the dominant program, winning all eight indoor Big South championships and 11 out of 12 outdoor championships
  

RU Opportunity for Future Competitive Success:

• 
  Strong opportunity
  
• 
  Location, budget, scholarship allocation, premiere facility; other resources sufficient to compete for conference championships
  
• 
  
  

• 
  Troy has established itself as the dominant program in the conference, winning seven of the last eight outdoor conference championships
  

• 
  Appalachian State has established itself as the dominant program in the conference, winning three of the last four indoor conference championships and five consecutive outdoor
  

• 
  UNC-Wilmington has established itself as the premier program in the conference, winning seven of the last nine outdoor championships
  
• 
  William & Mary, which won the 2003 and 2004 outdoor championships, VCU and George Mason traditionally field strong programs
  

• 
  The Big South Conference remains the right conference for RU in the sport of Track & Field
  
• 
  RU would have no greater opportunity for competitive success in either the Atlantic Sun Conference, Southern Conference or Colonial Athletic Association
  
• 
  Due to current budgeted scholarship limitations (RU 5.31 vs. BSC 6.43 vs. BSC max 11.34) competing for a conference championship will be challenging
  
• 
  Due to the university’s outstanding Track & Field facility, and the significant recruiting and training benefits the facility can provide, greater competitive success can be achieved in this sport
  

• 
  Increase number of scholarship equivalencies offered in the sport of Men’s Track & Field to at least eight to become more competitive; increase to 11 if want to win championship
  

• 
  Maintain operating budgets which include funding for enhanced recruitment of student-athletes
  

• 
  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the Track & Field program. This analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats should, at a minimum, include a review of personnel, facilities, operating budgets, scheduling philosophy, recruiting, support services (e.g., strength and conditioning, athletic training, academics, etc.) and external financial and revenue-generating activities related to Track & Field
  

• 
  Using the “SWOT” analysis as a foundation, develop a comprehensive, written strategic plan for the competitive advancement of the program
  

• 
  12-16 overall record
  
• 
  7-9 conference record (5^th place)
  
• 
  0-1 conference tournament record
  

Competitive Trends:

• 
  Average finish of 4th over last five years
  
• 
  Average finish of 5.3 over last three years
  
• 
  Have not had overall or conference record above .500 since 2001-02
  
• 
  Last won regular-season championship in 2000-01
  

Conference Notables:

• 
  Liberty University (RPI of 52) has established itself as the dominant program in the Big South, winning nine straight tournament championships
  

RU Opportunity for Future Competitive Success:

• 
  Strong opportunity
  
• 
  Location, budget, scholarship allocation, facility, tradition and other resources all sufficient to successfully compete for conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth
  

• 
  Traditionally a one-bid NCAA Tournament conference
  
• 
  There is no dominant program in the A-Sun
  
• 
  Georgia State has traditionally been the strongest program, but three different teams have won the conference tournament championship in the last three years (Stetson, Lipscomb, and Georgia State)
  

• 
  Chattanooga has established itself as the premier program in conference with conference record of 19-1 in 2004-05 and 3^rd straight WNIT appearance
  
• 
  Davidson is 2^nd best program in conference with Western Carolina climbing
  

• 
  Old Dominion has been the conference’s dominant program for 15 years and is one of the nation’s storied women’s basketball programs
  
• 
  ODU (2005 RPI of 31) has won 14 straight conference tournament championships and 22 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances
  
• 
  Delaware (RPI of 46) has emerged as the conference’s 2^nd best program, having won the 2005 regular-season championship and having been selected for the WNIT three of the last four years
  

• 
  The Big South Conference remains the right conference for RU in the sport of Women’s Basketball
  
• 
  RU would have no greater opportunity for competitive success in either the Southern Conference or Colonial Athletic Association; in fact, RU would likely face an even greater competitive challenge.
  
• 
  RU would have a similar or greater opportunity for competitive success in the A-Sun, as it would the Big South, however, the increased opportunity would be offset by increased travel expenses, possible increases in missed class time, and loss of rivalries
  
• 
  With strong leadership, and maximum utilization of all currently-available resources, RU can successfully compete for the Big South Conference in Women’s Basketball
  

• 
  Initiate improvements to Dedmon Center as described in the Facilities Master Development Plan of June 2004. Phase I roof replacement essential; Phase II arena configuration, new seating and new floor would potentially have truly significant impact on recruitment of prospective student-athletes and future competitive success
  
• 
  Examine strength of schedule and ensure it provides right balance of home/away ratio, strong vs. weak opponents, etc. in effort to build provide team favorable opportunity to win
  

• 
  Initiate improvements to the strength and conditioning facilities (weight room) used by Women’s Basketball Team and other varsity student-athletes; state-of-the-art, dedicated, varsity weight room located in Dedmon Center would have significant impact on recruitment of prospective student-athletes and opportunity for future competitive success
  

• 
  Maintain operating budgets which include funding for enhanced recruitment of student-athletes
  

• 
  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the men’s basketball program. This analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats should, at a minimum, include a review of personnel, facilities, operating budgets, scheduling philosophy, recruiting, support services (e.g., strength and conditioning, athletic training, academics, etc.) and external financial and revenue-generating activities related to Women’s Basketball
  

• 
  Using the “SWOT” analysis as a foundation, develop a comprehensive, written strategic plan for the competitive advancement of the program
  

• 
  7^th place at 2004 Big South Conference Championship
  

Competitive Trends:

• 
  Average finish of 7^th place last five years
  
• 
  Has not finished higher than 7^th place in last four years
  

Conference Notables:

• 
  Coastal Carolina has established itself as the dominant program in the Big South, winning the last conference championships
  

RU Opportunity for Future Competitive Success:

• 
  Limited opportunity to win team championship
  
• 
  May be limited to middle of conference standings, except in special circumstances/seasons, due to scholarship limitations
  
• 
  Good opportunity for individual team member(s) to win individual championship
  

• 
  Belmont has won the conference championship each of the last three years in addition to placing 9th at the NCAA South Regional in 2003 and 12^th in 2004
  
• 
  ETSU or Campbell may emerge as the conference’s 2^nd best program
  

• 
  Chattanooga has won two of the last four conference championships, but league is balanced as evidenced by five different schools winning championships during last six years
  

• 
  William & Mary has emerged as the premier program in the conference, winning the last two championships and finishing 6^th in the NCAA Regional
  
• 
  James Madison also has strong program and won four straight CAA championships prior to William & Mary winning in 2003
  
• 
  JMU finished seventh at the NCAA Regional meet
  

• 
  The Big South Conference remains the right conference for RU in the sport of Cross Country and there is no benefit to a change in conference affiliation in the sport of Cross Country
  
• 
  Due to current budgeted scholarship limitations (RU 4.07 vs. BSC average 6.96 vs. BSC max 14.28), successfully competing for a conference team championship is unlikely
  

• 
  Increase number of scholarship equivalencies offered in the sport of Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country to at least seven to become more competitive; increase to 12 if want to win championship
  

• 
  Maintain operating budgets which include funding for enhanced recruitment of student-athletes
  

• 
  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the Track & Field/Cross Country program. This analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats should, at a minimum, include a review of personnel, operating budgets, facilities, scheduling philosophy, recruiting and support services (e.g., strength and conditioning, athletic training, etc.)
  

• 
  Using the “SWOT” analysis as a foundation, develop a comprehensive, written strategic plan for the competitive advancement of the program
  

• 
  9-11 overall record
  
• 
  6-0-0 conference record (1^st place in east Division)
  
• 
  0-1 conference tournament record
  

Competitive Trends:

• 
  Average finish of 1.7 in NorPac East Division last five years
  

Conference Notables:

• 
  California has established itself as the dominant program as it has finished ranked in the top 25 in the STX/NFHCA poll the past two seasons and won five consecutive NorPac championships
  

RU Opportunity for Future Competitive Success:

• 
  Strong opportunity to win East Division; very limited opportunity to win conference championship
  

• 
  Location, budget, scholarship allocation, facility, tradition and other resources all sufficient to successfully compete for East Division championship
  

• 
  Strong conference in field hockey
  
• 
  Old Dominion (No. 12), Delaware (No.14) and William & Mary (No.15) all were highly ranked in the final STX/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll
  
• 
  Delaware and ODU advanced to the 2005 NCAA Tournament
  
• 
  ODU has proven to be the premier program in conference having won eight of the past nine conference championships
  
• 
  William & Mary has an average conference regular-season finish of 1.75 over the past four years
  

• 
  The NorPac Conference is the right conference for RU in the sport of Field Hockey and there is no benefit to a change in conference affiliation
  
• 
  Due to current budgeted scholarship limitations and the competitive landscape in the NorPac’s West Division, successfully competing for a conference championship will be very challenging
  
• 
  RU can continue to achieve a high level of competitive success in the NorPac’s East Division
  

• 
  Increase number of scholarship equivalencies offered in the sport of Field Hockey to at least 4 to maintain current success; increase to 8 if want to win championship
  

• 
  Initiate outdoor field improvements as described in Facilities Master Development Plan of June 2004 to include installation of a multi-purpose, artificial grass, field to be used by Field Hockey, intramurals and recreation, and to serve as an alternate practice facility for the Men’s and Women’s Soccer Teams
  

• 
  Maintain operating budgets which include funding for enhanced recruitment of student-athletes
  

• 
  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the Field Hockey program. This analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats should, at a minimum, include a review of personnel, operating budgets, facilities, scheduling philosophy, recruiting, support services (e.g., strength and conditioning, athletic training, etc.), and external financial and revenue-generating activities related to Field Hockey
  

• 
  Using the “SWOT” analysis as a foundation, develop a comprehensive, written strategic plan for the competitive advancement of the program