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Message from the

Director of Athletics:

Dr. Brad Teague

Dear Lettermen. The summer, once again, has passed us by quickly. We spent the majority of our summer fundraising, selling advertisements, and sell-ing tickets. We were also proud to learn of the NCAA electing us to Active Membership in Division I. We will have no more stigma at-tached to our name and can compete in the playoffs now! Even before classes started last Thursday, our fall sports were already well into their preparation for the upcoming seasons. Our women’s soccer and volleyball programs have already started their regular seasons, men’s soccer begins Wednesday and our football team is ready to fill Estes Stadium this Thursday night.

We will be in full swing very soon and with our entire campus community and all of our students and student-athletes back on campus, the excitement of the new year is upon us.

With our transition period over and full Divi-sion I status secured, this is the beginning of an incredible era in athletics at the University of Central Arkansas. We hope to see you soon and often.

Go Bears and Sugar Bears,Brad

ELIZABETH CITY STATE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 P.M.

FIRST SECURITY FIELD @

ESTES STADIUM

[Tailgating begins at 4 p.m.]

20/10 Vision20/10 VisionAs new season begins, Bears eye D-I Playoffs for fi rst time

When the 2010 UCA football season kicks off Thursday night, the Bears will offi cially begin a journey fi ve years in the making as they begin their fi rst-ever quest for the Division I FCS Playoff s.

After playing the 2006-2009 seasons in a transitional phase as part of the school’s reclassifi cation from NCAA Division II to Division I and the Football Championship Subdivision, the shackles fi nally come off for all of UCA’s programs as the 2010-11 school year begins.

The Bears come into the season with goals of crashing the playoff party in their fi rst year eligible; of winning a(nother) Southland Conference title; and of bouncing back from a disappoint-ing 5-7 season in which the losses came by a grand total of 23 points.

To do so, the Bears must fi nd a way to replace a

23-player senior

class that included NFL Draft pick and two-time Southland Confer-ence Defensive Player of the Year Larry Hart; Taylor Scott - who later signed on with the Montreal Alou-ettes of the CFL; and Brent Grimes - one of the school’s all-time great running backs.

Also gone is quarterback Rob-bie Park, leaving the Bears with a group of talented yet inexperi-enced signal-callers who will be tasked with guiding the always-exciting brand of off ense played under Clint Conque – who begins his 11th season at the helm and fi nds himself a win away from ty-ing Harold Horton as the all-time winningest coach in the long, storied history of UCA football.

With post-season play now a possibility, we all have something to look forward to at season’s end. It promises to be a fun-fi lled ride.

Grab your seat Thursday.

on www.youtube.com/ucasportsvideo

check us out at:

The athletic department has established an online video presence with the creation of a channel on YouTube. Already, in the preseason videos from football practices and scrimmages have been posted with interviews with head coach Clint Conque and a number of assistant coaches and players. A three-part volleyball season preview is also available for viewing. More will be steadily added as the year goes on.

All-New UCASPORTS.COMto be unveiled this week

The athletic department will unveil its new online home this week with the debut of the all-new UCAsports.com.

UCA has teamed up with Sidearm Sports, a Syracuse-based company that is one of the national leaders in athletics websites. The rapidly-growing company has more than 400 clients nationally spanning all NCAA divisions.

The new site will include more video con-tent, enhanced live stats, photo store, and various other new features. In conjunction with the launch of the new site, the UCA athletic department will also roll out its new online store which will feature approximate-ly 750 items ranging from apparel for men, women and children (with brands including Nike, Under Armour and adidas), to gifts and accessories, to tailgating supplies.

““We are thrilled and relieved to receive the news of our ap-proval of active membership status at the NCAA Division I level. This has been a long process which has strengthened our awareness and implementation of Division I rules on gover-nance, academics, diversity, and student-athlete well-being. These are all key principles of D-I athletics.

There are so many responsible for our successful reclassifi ca-tion from Division II to Division I. Certainly our athletics admin-istrative staff was heavily involved in the process, our coaches had to overcome many issues in dealing with the four years of transition, and our campus was extremely supportive. We look forward to our active membership status and the opportunity to participate in post-season competition on the conference and NCAA level. This is an exciting time for our student-athletes and coaches.” — Dr. Brad Teague, UCA Director of Athletics

““This fi nal step to full D-I recognition is the result of a tremendous amount of work by Dr. Teague and the entire athletic depart-ment.

Our coaches have been outstanding in their support of the athletic administration during this transition period. I would also like to acknowledge the work of numerous individuals and offi ces throughout the UCA campus that assisted in bringing about this day.

A special thanks to the UCA’s Board of Trustees for their support and encourage-ment.” — Dr. Allen C. Meadors, UCA President

“This is a great moment for the University of Central Arkansas, its athletic program, and everyone involved in the university community. When the Southland Conference began reviewing membership possibilities with UCA in 2005, our presidents quickly realized the university’s obvious potential as a strong, competitive Division I program. Now, we are very pleased that the NCAA has seen the same qualities we discovered fi ve years ago.

On behalf of the other member institutions of the Southland Conference, it’s been a great pleasure working with and assisting the university during its divisional transition and we now look forward to UCA competing fully as a member of NCAA Division I. Congratulations to the UCA Board of Trustees, President Allen Meadors, Athletic Director Brad Teague, the UCA coaches, student-athletes, support staff and the tremendous fans and enthusiastic followers of the Bears and Sugar Bears for a great accomplishment.” — Tom Burnett, Southland Conference Commissioner

R.I.P. RECLASSIFICATION

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Athletic Department, University and Conference leaders’ comments

on UCA’s Division I Active Membership

Supreme CourtThe court in the Farris Center underwent a complete overhaul this summer, with Gym Masters out of Searcy handling the project. The redesigned court features the new athletics logos at center court and in each of the four corners, along with a wider border along the sidelines and baselines and the athletic department’s

website featured prominently in alternating corners of the fl oor.

The old surface was stripped and sanded and the wood brought back to a lighter tone, with the area inside the 3-point line stained darker.

In addition to the playing sur-face getting a makeover, other improvements are underway with more planned between now and the beginning of the season on November 12.

The walls in front of the stands on the East and West sides are in the process of being repainted to refl ect the new logos as well.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGEThe last time the Bears lost a football home

opener was...

A. 2007B. 2003C. 1999D. 1996

Answer: C. – UCA lost 24-17 to North Alabama on Sept. 25, 1999.

Prince (Center) & The RevolutionVolleyball Facility Undergoes Upgrades

The Prince Center has been re-worked during the offseason, with a number of changes around the facility.

In addition to the new championship banners won by Coach Steven McRoberts’ team, the large wall at the south end of the arena has been repainted (by UCA alum Bradley Widding - who is also cur-rently working on a project in the Farris Center) with the new athletics logo and the lower portion of the other walls have all been repainted purple from gray.

Capacity has been increased with the addition of student section risers in the southeast and northeast corners, with additional chairback seating in the works.

MOVED ON MOVED INKale Gober

Director of Athletics

Henderson State Univ.

Jack O’Keefe

Asst. Golf Coach

Ole Miss

Jeff Jenkins

Asst. Golf Coach

Texas Tech

Maegan Dyson

Development Associate

Richard Johnson

Asst. Golf Coach

Shane McClung

Asst. Golf Coach

O’Keefe and Jenkins both left UCA

for assistants positions at major-conference schools in the Big 12 and SEC. O’Keefe had been at UCA since 2006 and Jenkins joined the Bears’ program in 2009.

“This is quite an accomplishment and says a great deal about our Division I golf program,’” said Dr. Brad Teague, UCA’s director of athletics. “Coach Dismuke and his staff have done a fi ne

job bringing our men’s and women’s golf program to among the elite in our conference. We are happy for Coach O’Keefe and Coach

Jenkins for their moves.”

Gober moved into the AD position at his alma mater on Aug. 23 after two years at UCA working under Dr. Teague. “Kale has an extreme desire for

responsibility,” Teague said. “Couple that desire with an abundant work ethic and it allowed him to experi-ence and learn much about athletics administration in the two years he spent at UCA. Kale is innovative in his fundraising and marketing approaches and will bring a fresh perspective to Reddie athletics.

Dyson, who had previously served as a graduate assis-tant for marketing with the UCA athletic department before earning her mas-

ter’s degree earlier in the year, will take over the role vacated by Gober as a Development Associate. Also previously the the cheer coach, Dyson will continue in that role and will also take over as coach of the Honey Bears dance team with cur-rent coach Susan O’Keefe leaving for Ole Miss with her husband Jack.

Replacing O’Keefe and Jenkins are Richard John-son and Shane McClung. Johnson was No. 1 on the Nationwide Tour money

list in 2007 and won the Nationwide Tour champi-onship that year. He rose as high as No. 113 on the offi cial Golf World rankings in 2007. He will serve as the men’s assistant at UCA.

McClung is a UALR graduate and served as the Trojans’ head coach for two years. He was formerly a Nike golf rep and an instructor at The Country Club of Arkansas in Maumelle. He

will assist head coach Ryke Dismuke with the UCA women’steam.

Purple Circle Members of Year to berecognized prior to kickoff Thursday

Bo Connor2009 Purple CircleMember of the Year

Paul Cantrell2008 Purple CircleMember of the Year

“Decade of Dominance”Celebration planned to honor

UCA football teams from 1983-1992

The UCA Lettermen’s Club is planning an event scheduled for the Sam Houston State

game on November 13 to celebrate the 10-year period in which the Bears won 10 straight AIC titles and three NAIA national

championships.

Players and coaches from those teams inter-ested in attending the event should check

out the info on the Lettermen’s page on UCAsports.com. A fl yer and registration form

are available.

HARRIS NAMED GSC WESTPLAYER OF THE DECADE

Carone Harris was tabbed as the Player of the Decade for the Gulf South Conference’s West Division for the years 2000-2010.

Harris was a three-time GSC West Player of the Year, three-time All-American, and two-time South Region Player of the Year during her time as a Sugar Bear.

She holds the league’s season record for points, steals and free throws made. Harris is the NCAA’s all-time leader in steals for any division with 667 and is second on UCA’s career scor-ing list with 2,447 points.

Kentrel Rogers and Cory Cangelosi were named to the GSC’s All-Decade 2nd team for football, while Claire Koelling was a 2nd team selection for women’s soccer and Danny George was Honorable Mention on the men’s soccer squad.

UCA Lettermen’s Club Membership Application

Please act now to reserve your membership in the UCA Lettermen’s Club

It only takes a minute to be remembered for a lifetime!PRINT this form and return to address listed below.

Name __________________________________________________________________Address________________________________________________________________City _________________________________________ State ________ Zip __________Home Phone _______________________________ Business Phone ____________________*Email Address__________________________________ Years Lettered __________________Sports _________________________________________________________________Dues: 1 Year at $30 Lifetime $250 Lifetime for 70 & above $200*Must have current email address to receive monthly newsletter Active Lettermen members receive double credit in the Purple Circle beginning at the $100

level. Lifetime Lettermen members may receive up to four free general admission tickets upon

request.Payment Options (check one)Please charge my Visa Mastercard Discover or Personal CheckCard Number__________________________________________ Expires _________________Print name as it appears on card ___________________________________________________For additional information on the UCA Lettermen’s Club contact Carole Good at 501.450.3150 or caroleg@uca.edu

Please return this form with check or credit card authorization to: UCA Lettermen’s Club

Athletic DepartmentPO Box 5004

Conway, AR 72035 Fax your application to (501) 852.2638

Go UCA Bears!!