Intercollegiate athletics carr sports associates, inc

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  6th^th place at 2005 Big South Conference Championship
  

Competitive Trends:

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  Average conference championship finish of 5.4 last five years
  
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  Has not finished higher than 5^th place in last four years
  

Conference Notables:

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  Coastal Carolina has established itself as the premier program in the Big South, having won two consecutive Big South Conference championships and having made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Regional Tournament
  

RU Opportunity for Future Competitive Success:

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

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  Has placed two teams in the NCAA Regional on occasion
  
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  Campbell made its 2^nd trip to the NCAA East Regional in 2005 (placed 11^th, eight strokes shy of advancing to the NCAA Championship)
  
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  2005 Conference Tournament champion Georgia State placed 17^th in the NCAA West Regional
  
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  All three new members will be competitive
  

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  Furman has established itself as dominant program in the conference and well is very well respected on national basis
  

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  Solid conference that has sent multiple teams to NCAA Regional Tournament
  
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  James Madison, Richmond and UNC-Wilmington three strongest programs in conference
  
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  UNC-Wilmington and James Madison advanced to 2005 NCAA Regional with UNC-W finishing 14^th and JMU 17^th
  
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  JMU has won three consecutive conference championships
  
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  Richmond has finished second in two of the past three conference tournaments
  

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  The Big South Conference remains the right conference for RU in the sport of Women’s Golf and there is no benefit to a change in conference affiliation
  
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  Due to current budgeted scholarship limitations (RU 1.57 vs. BSC average 3.5 vs. BSC max 6), successfully competing for a conference championship is unlikely
  

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  Increase number of scholarship equivalencies offered in the sport of Women’s Golf to at least conference average to become more competitive; increase to 6 if want to win championship
  

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  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the Women’s Golf 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.)
  

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

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  10-6-3 overall record
  
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  5-1-3 conference record (3rd place; just one game out of 1^st place)
  
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  0-1 conference tournament record
  

Competitive Trends:

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  Average finish of 3.2 over last five years
  
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  Consistent pattern of success, finishing between 2^nd and 4^th all five years and among the top three the last four years
  
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  Won the Big South Conference Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2002.
  

Conference Notables:

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  There is no dominant program in the Big South as evidenced by High Point and Birmingham Southern upsetting regular-season champions in the Big South Conference Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and 2004 respectively
  

RU Opportunity for Future Competitive Success:

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

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  With the departures of UCF and FAU, Campbell, which has finished in the Top three each of the last two years and qualified for last year’s NCAA Tournament, should emerge in the short term as the conference’s top program
  

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  Furman (RPI of 62and UNC-Greensboro (RPI of 63) are the two premier programs in conference
  
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  Furman has won four of the last six regular-season championships and UNC-G has won three of the last 5 conference tournament championships
  

Conference Notables:

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  Excellent conference that has received multiple bids to NCAA Tournament
  
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  Conference champion Virginia Commonwealth (RPI of 50), runner-up William & Mary (RPI of 39) and James Madison (RPI of 44) all received bids for the 2004 NCAA Tournament
  
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  William and Mary has been the premier program in the conference, winning seven of the last nine conference tournaments and advancing to the NCAA Tournament 13 straight years
  
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  Hofstra has emerged as a quality program and has an average conference finish of 2^nd over the past three seasons
  

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  The Big South Conference remains the right conference for RU in the sport of Women’s Soccer
  
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  RU would have no greater opportunity for competitive success in either the A-Sun, Southern Conference or Colonial Athletic Association, and; in fact, RU would likely face an even greater competitive challenge in those leagues
  
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  Due to the university’s outstanding soccer facility, and the significant recruiting and training benefits the facility can provide, greater competitive success can be achieved in this sport
  
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  Due to current budgeted scholarship limitations (RU 8.67 vs. BSC average 8 vs. BSC max 11.16) competing for a conference championship will be challenging
  

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  Increase number of scholarship equivalencies offered in the sport of Women’s Soccer to at least 10 to become more competitive; increase to 11 if want to win championship
  

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  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
  
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  Initiate fill/drainage improvements to lower practice fields to reduce level of shared use, safety and quality of training facility
  

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  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the Women’s Soccer 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 Soccer
  

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

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  39-25 overall record
  
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  8-4 conference record (3^rd place)
  
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  1-2 conference tournament record
  

Competitive Trends:

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  39 wins in 2005 was most in RU history
  
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  Best conference record since 1999
  
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  Average finish of 3^rd over last five years
  

Conference Notables:

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  Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (unofficial RPI of 38; an associate member in the sport of softball only) has established itself as the premier program in the Big South winning three straight conference tournament championships
  

RU Opportunity for Future Competitive Success:

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  Limited opportunity
  
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  Budget, scholarship allocation, facility, and other resources all sufficient to successfully compete for conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth
  

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  Troy (unofficial simulated RPI of 47), which won the regular-season championship in 2005 and finished 3^rd in 2004, and Stetson (unofficial simulated RPI of 44) should emerge as the conference’s best program with the departures of UCF and FAU
  
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  New members ETSU, Kennesaw State and Florida will be competitive
  

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  Chattanooga (unofficial simulated RPI of 68; overall record of 42-21) has been the regular-season champion for seven of the last nine years and the conference tournament champion for eight of the last 10 years
  
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  College of Charleston (unofficial simulated RPI of 42; overall record of 53-18 in 2005) won 2005 conference tournament
  
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  Remaining six teams have an unofficial, simulated RPI between 129 and 212)
  

(unofficial; final RPI not yet available)

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  Hofstra (unofficial simulated RPI of 41) has dominated conference, winning four straight CAA championships and advancing to the last four NCAA Tournaments
  
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  Towson has finished 2^nd in the conference regular season three of the last four years and won 30 games or more for seven straight seasons
  

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  The Big South Conference remains the right conference for RU in the sport of Softball
  
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  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 in those leagues
  
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  Due to current budgeted scholarship limitations (RU 6.06 vs. BSC average 8.08 vs. BSC max 10.61), its location as the northern-most school in the Big South and marginal softball facilities (no stadium seating; no indoor hitting facility on campus), competing for a conference championship will be challenging
  

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  Increase number of scholarship equivalencies offered in the sport of Softball to at least eight to sustain current level of success; increase to 10 if want to win championship
  

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  Initiate improvements to the Softball facility to include permanent seating, press box and improved spectator amenities
  

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  Initiate a capital campaign for the purpose of building an indoor hitting facility for both baseball and softball
  

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

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  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the Softball 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 Softball
  

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

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  6^th place at 2004 Northeast Conference Championships (RU is an associate member in the NEC in the sport women’s swimming only;13 participating schools)
  

Competitive Trends:

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  Has finished 6^th both years in NEC
  
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  Finished 5^th in 2003 and 7^th in 2002 when competing in Southern States Championship (9 participating schools)
  

Conference Notables:

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  None
  

RU Opportunity for Future Competitive Success:

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

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  Quality “mid-major” swimming conference
  
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  George Mason has top program in conference having won four straight CAA championships
  
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  UNC-Wilmington has finished in the top three at the conference championship for four straight years
  
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  Four schools were ranked in the final Mid-Major Top 25 poll by collegeswimming.com (Towson No. 15; UNC-Wilmington No.18; William & Mary No. 23; and George Mason No. 24)
  

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  The Northeast Conference remains the right conference for RU in the sport of Swimming & Diving
  
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  Due to current budgeted scholarship limitations (RU 2.13) competing for a conference championship will be challenging
  

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  Increase number of scholarship equivalencies offered in the sport of Women’s Swimming to at least four to become more competitive and provider greater opportunity for positive student-athlete experience
  

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

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  Conduct an in-depth “SWOT” analysis of the Women’s Swimming & Diving program. This analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the program should then serve as a foundation for the development of a comprehensive written strategic plan for the competitive advancement of the program
  

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