Dear Fellow Varsity D Members,
As most of you probably know by now, the North Coast Athletic Conference made the difficult decision to suspend intercollegiate competition through the end of 2020. You can read the conference’s full statement here.
And though the sting of disappointment has not abated, it is time to move forward. We are grateful to have our fall-sport athletes back on campus and fully engaged with their master coaches. We have been extremely cautious in phasing in our athletes’ preparation for their ultimate return to varsity intercollegiate competition.
Right now, our athletes and coaches are focusing on intense skills improvement and leadership development, so that when we do return to competition, DU’s athletes will be positioned for success in all of our varsity sports. Our entire staff has worked hard to create valuable, rewarding, and safe experiences for our athletes, which includes a suite of leadership, skill, and talent development programs provided by Denison’s new Knetzer Family Institute for Development Through Sport.
The important bottom line here is that right now, we are practicing, training, and developing both as individuals and as teams.
Our students and coaches have stepped up to meet the myriad challenges they face head-on, and I am exceedingly proud of their efforts.
On a more somber note, it saddens me to tell you that Denison University and Big Red athletics have lost a true giant among their ranks. Scott Trumbull ’70, a loyal and venerated member of the Denison community, passed away on August 29 at the age of 71. His lifetime of boundless support for the college as both a volunteer and philanthropist has changed Denison for the better in perpetuity. Please read more about Scott’s life here.
Nan Carney-DeBord ’80
Associate Vice President
Director of Athletics
Professor and Chair of Health, Exercise, and Sport Studies
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While Big Red intercollegiate sports are on hiatus, join us at noon EDT on Tuesday, October 6, for a conversation with Denison Hall of Famers George Bodenheimer ’80 and Nan Carney-DeBord ’80.
Bodenheimer, a Denison trustee, is the former president, CEO, and executive chairman of ESPN.
He will discuss his career in media and the state of sports during the current pandemic with Carney-DeBord, DU’s celebrated and esteemed associate vice president and director of athletics.
You won’t want to miss this incisive and timely athletics-focused conversation between two illustrious Denison classmates. Read more and learn how to register here.
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In a previous issue of The Varsity Letter, we introduced you to Brandon Bianco, our new Big Red men’s soccer coach. He now has a new assistant coach, Connor Keenan. Keenan came to Denison after spending the last four seasons as the assistant men’s soccer coach and recruiting coordinator at Catholic University in D.C.
Get a glimpse of both coaches in action in this minute-and-a-half video showing what varsity practice looks like when your conference has suspended intercollegiate competition.
And the best part is seeing Denison student-athletes back on the field, playing their sport on a hot, humid Granville morning. Enjoy the video!
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It’s been quite some time since the Denison University men’s tennis program announced a new men’s tennis coach. With Peter Burling completing an incredible 30-year career highlighted by more than 700 wins this spring, new Head Men’s Tennis Coach David Schilling ’89 had a long wait to return to his alma mater.
Schilling arrived at Denison after spending the past 21 years at Ohio State with the incredibly successful men’s tennis program. During Schilling’s time in Columbus, the Buckeyes turned around a struggling program (6-18 record and an ongoing 33-match Big Ten losing streak the year prior) and built a national powerhouse. In his time in Columbus, OSU captured two National Indoor Team Titles and 27 Big Ten Championships. He worked with 42 All-Americans, 70 All-Big Ten selections, and eight individual national champions. The program also set the NCAA record for all sports by winning an incredible 200 straight home matches, a record that still stands.
Before joining the staff at Ohio State, Schilling led the men’s program at Kenyon College for five years and left Gambier as the Lords’ all-time winningest coach.
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Denison University swimmers Bebe Wang ’20 and KT Kustritz ’20 were named as the Men’s and Women’s Academic All-Americans of the Year on the NCAA Division III At-Large Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Wang and Kustritz were named first-team Academic All-America selections and were then voted as the Academic All-America Team Members of the Year out of a field of the nation’s top scholar-athletes. This marks the second consecutive Academic All-America Team Member of the Year award for Wang and the first for Kustritz.
Denison’s history with the CoSIDA Academic All-America program has been highly successful and longstanding. The university garnered its first Academic All-America winner in 1967, and since then, 103 Denison scholar-athletes have been honored, ranking the college among the elites in Division III.
Wang, Denison’s first-ever two-time winner, and Kustritz join Denison’s impressive list of Academic All-America Team Members of the Year that includes swimmers Kristen Hohl ’09 and Kristin Goldthorpe ’97, distance runner Elaine Binkley ’07, and football defensive back Grant Jones ’86. Read more about the academic and athletic careers of Wang and Kustritz here.
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The Varsity D Association has announced its 2020 Denison Athletics Hall of Fame inductees.
In a typical year, the honorees would be inducted on campus in the fall during the college’s annual Big Red Weekend festivities, but given current gathering restrictions, they will be recognized in-person at a later date.
This year’s class of former Big Red standouts includes Alex Baruch ’08, lacrosse; Cam Cowden ’04, baseball; David Curtis ’09, swimming; Bill Druckemiller ’68, basketball; Jenny Lacey Phelan ’06, field hockey; Kristin Goldthorpe Richner ’97, swimming; Robin Sheskey ’01, softball; Emma Woodward ’05, basketball; and Cheryl Bailey, former coach and administrator.
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Denison University landed 102 student-athletes on the 2019-2020 North Coast Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll.
To be honored, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore on an active roster in a sport sponsored by the conference and hold a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.
Denison was one of only half of the conference’s 10 member colleges and universities to have more than 100 honorees on the list.
Overall, the NCAC recognized 978 student-athletes on the 2019-20 Academic Honor Roll. A complete list of this year’s honorees, broken down by school, class year, and sport, is available on the North Coast Athletic Conference website. Read more here.
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We sincerely appreciate the loyalty and generosity of our former Denison athletes who support the continued development of our remarkable students and coaches.
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We encourage you to stay up to date with the players, coaches, and teams at denisonbigred.com.
And follow us on social media.
You can always find up-to-the-minute Big Red sports scores and more, as well as general Denison news, events, and features on the official Denison Mobile App.
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As always, please let us know if we can be of service to you in any way. Also, we value the opinions of our former athletes and other family and friends, so feel free to pass along any feedback you might have regarding Denison athletics.
Mike Hills
Director of the Varsity D Association
Nan Carney-DeBord ’80
Associate Vice President, Director of Athletics, Professor and Chair of Health, Exercise, and Sport Studies
Rich Seils ’67
President of the Varsity D Association
Go Big Red!
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