Denison
Spring 2019

The Varsity Letter 

A periodic sampling of recent news and notes featuring the people and programs of Denison University Big Red Athletics

Denison University partners with Nike

Denison has entered into a multi-year partnership with Nike through BSN Sports as part of BSN’s Collegiate Select Program, providing the Big Red with finest apparel and equipment. Read more ...
As a bonus, official Denison-branded Nike gear is available for public purchase online for a limited time through June 19. Link directly to the Denison Team Store here.

Carney-DeBord ’80 named Athletic Director of the Year

Associate VP and Director of Athletics, Nan Carney-DeBord ’80 has been selected as the 2018-19 Division III Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. She is being honored today at the NACDA Convention in Orlando. Read more ...

DeCamp’s grit personifies DU’s championship pedigree

Facing off in men’s lacrosse is a brutal battle situated inside a game that’s personified by finesse and teamwork. Now, imagine facing off with a knee that is torn to shreds. Read more ...

Denison wins its 17th NCAC All-Sports Championship

Denison has clinched the 2018-19 North Coast Athletic Conference All-Sports Championship. Highlighted by league titles in six sports this year, DU now owns a record 17 All-Sports Trophies. Read more ...

Men’s swimming & diving repeats as NCAA champion

For the second-straight year and the fifth time in the last nine years, the Denison men's swimming & diving team were crowned Division III National Champions on Saturday at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. Read more ...

Women’s swimming & diving takes third at nationals

The Big Red women’s swimming and diving team made their 12th straight trip to the top-four podium this year, earning their best finish and scoring the most points since placing second in 2015. Read more ...

Baseball competes in NCAA postseason again this year

Denison baseball rewrote the record books winning 39 games on its way to earning the NCAC Tournament title and a national ranking as high as No. 7. Here are video highlights of NCAA regional play. Read more ...

Women’s lacrosse wins league, returns to NCAA tourney

Denison ended the 2019 campaign with a record of 16-5 and its fourth-straight 8-0 record in conference play. Head Coach Amanda Daniels became the program’s winningest coach with 85 wins. Read more ...

Denison hosts eighth annual Glerum Top-50 Honors

Denison hosted its annual James T. Glerum ’82 Top-50 Scholar-Athlete Celebration this spring. The event recognizes the top 50 student-athletes of sophomore standing or higher based on GPA. The student honorees were accompanied by a faculty member of their choosing. Read more ...
For more Denison sports highlights, including a growing number of spring sports postseason honors, visit denisonbigred.com.

Two DU coaches reach career milestones

This spring, two veteran Big Red coaches, Mike Caravana and Tiffany Ozbun, earned their 300th win at Denison. Caravana, head coach of the men’s lacrosse program for 26 years, reached the landmark on April 13 when the Big Red defeated visiting Whittier College in Granville by a 12-5 score. Ozbun, head coach of Denison softball since 2007, earned her milestone victory on May 5 with a 5-2 win over the College of Wooster in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament held in Greencastle, Ind.
One of the winningest coaches in college lacrosse and a former All-American attackman at the University of Virginia, Caravana has guided Denison to three NCAA Final Four appearances in 1999, 2001, and 2017, 11 NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearances and 12 North Coast Athletic Conference championships. In 2016 he became Denison's career leader in wins, surpassing the legendary Tommy Thomsen, who passed away in 2012.
Ozbun who will return for her 13th season in 2020, is the program’s all-time leader in victories with a career record of 300-179. She is a two-time North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year who has guided Denison to 12 consecutive 20-win seasons. Since 2008, she has led DU to three NCAC Tournament Championships, two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, and three regular-season conference titles. Denison has finished as the NCAC Tournament runner-up for the last three years.
Both Caravana and Ozbun serve as associate professors in Denison’s Department of Health, Exercise, and Sport Studies.

Support Denison Big Red Athletics

The extraordinary momentum that Denison is realizing campus-wide is mirrored by the success we are experiencing in athletics. In addition to winning a conference-record 17th NCAC All-Sports trophy this year, Denison is now one of only 10 liberal arts colleges nationally, and the only one in the Midwest, to be ranked in the top-50 of both the U.S. News & World Report and the Learfield Director's Cup Division III standings. Denison is keeping good company within this elite group, alongside Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Middlebury, Pomona-Pitzer, Washington & Lee, Wesleyan, and Williams. Your gift in support of Denison Athletics will help fund things that otherwise might not be possible: training and recruitment trips, team travel, equipment and uniforms, continuing education for coaches, special team awards and so much more. Thank you for your help in ensuring that our scholar-athletes can continue to compete at the highest level. Go Big Red!
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Your Varsity D Association leadership

The Varsity D Association has undergone a reorganization in recent years under current President Rich Seils ’67, including the addition of individual sports representatives working closely with the head coaches of Denison’s 23 varsity sports. Their objective is to provide even more support that promotes and enhances the overall athletic experience for our varsity student-athletes. As alumni, coaches, professors, and administrators, we comprise a strong community that champions academic excellence and athletic eminence. Both are key components of the mission of our university. Mike Hills, a 24-year veteran of Denison’s Office of Admission, was named the Varsity D Association’s first-ever director in 2018.

Contact information

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
Department of Athletics | 740-587-6627 | denisonbigred.com
Denison University, 100 West College Street, Granville, OH 43023 | 740-587-0810 | denison.edu
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