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Former Mulerider Reaches 5,000 Receiving Yards

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:16 GMT

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Former Southern Arkansas standout Nik Lewis has reached the 5,000-yard receiving mark for his career with the Canadian Football League’s Calgary Stampeders. He went over 5,000 yards on a 22-yard touchdown catch against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on August 2.

Lewis currently has 328 receptions for 5,037 yards in his four-plus seasons in Calgary, good for eighth all-time in Stampeder history in both career receptions and receiving yards. At his current pace this season, Lewis has a chance to move to seventh in both categories and would pass Rudy Linterman in receptions (368) and Willie Armstead in yards (5,425).

Dating back to his rookie season of 2004, Lewis has 76 consecutive games with a reception, standing third all-time behind Allen Pitts’ 85 (1990-95) and 82 (1996-2000). Lewis is also trying to become the first receiver in franchise history to post five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He currently shares the record of four with Terry Vaughn (1995-98) and Travis Moore (1999-2002). Pitts owns the club record of nine 1,000-yard seasons, followed by Lewis and company.

Lewis had 72 receptions for 1,045 yards in his first season in Calgary and was named the CFL Rookie of the Year. He followed that with 80 catches for 1,379 yards in 2005, 77 for 1,114 in 2006, and 70 for 1,165 last year. In the team’s first seven games this season, Lewis has 32 receptions for 398 yards, with 11 regular season games remaining.

In his three years (2001-03) with the Muleriders, Lewis had 162 career receptions for 2,852 yards and 36 touchdowns, all school records. He also holds SAU records for both receiving yards (1,239) and touchdowns (14) in a season, and twice caught three touchdown passes in a game, sharing that mark. A punt return for a score gave him 37 touchdowns in his career, also the school record.

Lewis was named to four All-America teams in his final season with Southern Arkansas and was a top 24 Harlon Hill finalist.

SAU Tennis Team Honored

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:26 GMT

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has announced that 42 teams, including Southern Arkansas, have been named 2008 NCAA Division II All-Academic Teams. The Lady Muleriders were one of only four teams (Alabama-Huntsville, Arkansas Tech, Ouachita Baptist) from the Gulf South Conference to receive the honor.

To receive ITA All-Academic accolades, SAU had to post a cumulative team GPA of at least 3.20 on a four-point scale.

Only 15 individuals from the GSC were honored as ITA Scholar-Athletes for this past academic year, six from Southern Arkansas. They include Aneeka Bhalla, a senior from Nepean, Canada; Ana Gonzalez-Dorado, a senior out of Rosario, Argentina; Caitlin Korensek, a sophomore from Ennis, Texas; Meaghan Ocanas, a freshman out of Rowlett, Texas; Megan Phinny, a sophomore from Gladewater, Texas; and Rachel Vinsant, a senior of Greenville, Texas.

To earn the ITA Scholar-Athlete honor, a student must be a varsity letter-winner, post at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA for the current academic year, and have been enrolled at their present institution for at least two semesters.

This was the fourth consecutive year that the Lady Muleriders were named as an all-academic team, and the fourth straight year that Bhalla and Vinsant were recognized as scholar-athletes. Korensek earned the award for her second consecutive season.

Arkansas teachers can now take advantage of a program at Southern Arkansas University in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:35 GMT

Four new courses for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) will be offered at Southern Arkansas University this fall. The courses include TESOL Methods & Materials, Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Assessment, and Teaching People from Other Cultures. These four courses are required of educators by the Arkansas Department of Education for an endorsement in TESOL. The first of these four courses, MCUL 4003/5003, Teaching People from Other Cultures, will be offered Tuesday evenings at 5:10 p.m. during the fall 2008 semester.

The offerings were approved this summer by the Arkansas Department of Education, according to Dr. Lynne Belcher, a professor of English at SAU who will be teaching the courses. Belcher, whose doctoral work was in the area of teaching English as a Second Language, said the courses are designed to help educate graduate and undergraduate students on the methods of teaching a new language as well as how to help students get through issues such as culture shock, which is common among people from other countries.

“I am happy to be able to use some of my experience and knowledge to help area students,” Belcher said. “This program will prepare educators to handle having non-native English speakers in their classes. Teaching English to those who don’t speak it as their first languages is very different from any other kind of teaching. The first thing teachers usually will encounter is culture shock, especially for young children who didn’t have any choice sometimes in leaving their home countries.”

Belcher said her first experience with teaching international students was in 1978 with Vietnamese refugees. Addressing the cultural differences is the first step in helping people become comfortable enough to begin learning another language, she said.

“When you work with internationals, you have to be able to see your culture through other eyes, Belcher said. “One can’t learn a second language if he or she rejects a culture.”

Besides showing teachers how to approach people from other cultures, the TESOL courses will also help teachers understand how students learn a second language and how it differs from learning a first language and how to assess what their students have learned in terms of reading and writing, speaking and listening. It also will provide a practicum of all teaching strategies involved in TESOL courses.

For more information about the courses, call the office of Liberal and Performing Arts at 870-235-4200. Interested students may also call Dr. Elizabeth Davis, 870-235-4212 (ehdavis@saumag.edu) or Dr. Lynne Belcher, 870-235-4213 (lrbelcher@saumag.edu ) or visit www.saumag.edu.

Muleriders to Report for Fall Practice

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 16:02 GMT

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas Coach Steve Quinn is expecting approximately 135 players to report for fall practice Thursday as the Muleriders begin preparation for the 2008 football season.

The team will go through light practices on Thursday and Friday evening and will hold strength and conditioning tests on Friday before getting into full-fledged practice Saturday through Monday at 7 p.m. nightly. They will follow the one-a day practice schedule Wednesday and Friday of next week as well. Tuesday will bring two-a days at 9:45 a.m. and 7 p.m. and will be held every other day through the following Saturday.

After practicing Sunday, August 17 at 8 p.m., SAU will go back to two-a-days the next day before holding media day Tuesday, August 19 at 10 a.m., with practice scheduled for 7 p.m. that night. Wednesday and Thursday will be a regular two-day and one-day practice schedule, respectively, whereas Friday’s practices will be held at 7:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. The team will not practice on that Saturday.

Southern Arkansas will wrap up game week practices beginning Sunday, August 24 at 8 p.m. and will go at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday as players will be involved with registration during the day.

The Muleriders will depart Wednesday morning, the first day of classes, for Florence, Ala., for their season-opener on Thursday, August 28 against North Alabama. The Lions are ranked seventh in both Lindy’s and the Sporting News pre-season publications.

SAU travels the following Saturday, September 6, for their first-ever meeting against Truman State in Kirksville, Mo., about 30 miles south of the Iowa border. Southern Arkansas begins Gulf South Conference play in their home-opener September 13 when they host defending national champion Valdosta State, ranked first and third in the polls. They then travel to West Alabama September 18 for their only television appearance of the season, before hosting Henderson State September 27 on Hall of Fame Day. Following a tilt at Harding on October 4, the Muleriders return to Magnolia for homecoming October 11 against Arkansas Tech. They make the short trip the next week to face Ouachita Baptist before hosting Delta State in their final home game of the season October 25. After an open date the following week, SAU closes the regular season at Arkansas-Monticello on November 8.

Lady Muleriders Fifth in GSC Volleyball Poll

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:36 GMT

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas has been picked to finish fifth in the Gulf South Conference West Division, according to the 2008 GSC volleyball pre-season coaches’ poll released Wednesday. The Lady Muleriders received three fourth-place votes, one for fifth and two for sixth for a total of 13 points, equaling the point total for Christian Brothers.

Six-time defending West Division champion Harding collected four first-place votes on its way to 34 points in being picked again to win the division. Arkansas Tech (31) garnered two votes for the top spot in being picked second, and Henderson State picked up the other first-place vote and finished with 28 points for third place.

Arkansas-Monticello (16) is fourth in the poll, and Ouachita Baptist received 12 points in placing behind SAU and Christian Brothers.

West Florida ended North Alabama’s 11-year stranglehold on the East Division championship last year and the Argonauts are picked to repeat again this season, garnering five first-place votes and 35 points. North Alabama, which has won the overall GSC championship for 10 of the past 12 years, picked up the other top two votes and 32 points for second. Defending overall champion West Georgia (23) is third, Alabama-Huntsville and West Alabama received 19 points each for fourth, and Valdosta State (10) and Montevallo (9) round out the East.

For the overall championship West Florida received nine votes, and Harding and North Alabama two each.

A total of 17 athletes were named to the two division pre-season All-GSC team, including 10 first team selections from a year ago. Harding and Arkansas Tech each have three members, while West Florida, North Alabama and West Georgia placed two apiece.

Southern Arkansas doesn’t have a member on the pre-season team, but has two named to the 2008 top newcomers list, Michaela Scroggins and Danielle Sneed. Scroggins is a 5-7 sophomore setter from The Colony, Texas, who transfers in from Manatee (Fla.) Community College, and Sneed is a 5-6 junior outside hitter out of Duncanville, Texas and Brookhaven (Texas) College.

The Lady Muleriders report August 10 and open their 2008 season August 29-30 in Commerce, Texas, at the Texas A&M-Commerce Classic. SAU’s home opener is slated for Monday, September 1 against East Texas Baptist, while their GSC opener is September 23 at Harding.

GSC Releases Pre-Season Football Poll and Team

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:18 GMT

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Defending NCAA Division II National Champion Valdosta State has been picked to claim this season’s Gulf South Conference football championship, gaining the top spot from the league’s coaches in the annual GSC Pre-Season football poll released Tuesday.

It’s the first time since 2005 that the Blazers received top billing from the league’s coaches, garnering 95 total points behind six first-place votes. The coaches expect a tough race with North Alabama only one back of Valdosta State in the polling with 94 points, receiving four nods for first. Defending GSC Champion Delta State secured the other first-place vote, tallying 84 points for third. Arkansas institutions Henderson State (68), Harding (61), and Arkansas Tech (58) are fourth through sixth, respectively, while West Alabama (36) and West Georgia (32) are seventh and eighth, respectively.

Southern Arkansas received one vote each to finish fourth and seventh, four for eighth, three for ninth and one for 10th to total 30 points for ninth place in the poll. Ouachita Baptist (24) and Arkansas-Monticello (23) round out the final two spots.

In national publications, Valdosta State is picked to repeat as national champion by Lindy’s and is ranked third in the Sporting News. North Alabama is seventh in both magazines, Delta State is ninth and 14th, respectively, and Harding is 22nd in the Sporting News.

As with the pre-season poll, the GSC football coaches also select the conference pre-season team, which includes 12 players named to last year’s all-conference first team and 10 from the second team. Henderson State leads the way with five honorees, while Valdosta State, North Alabama and Delta State each placed four. Arkansas Tech and Ouachita Baptist added three on the team, while Harding and Southern Arkansas round out the schools with multiple honorees, landing two each.

Defensive lineman Ryan Terry and defensive back Roland Perkins are the Muleriders’ representatives. Terry is a 5-11, 234-pound junior from Houston (Westfield) Texas, while Perkins is a 5-11, 175-pound senior out of Baton Rouge (Belaire) La. Both were second team All-GSC last year.

SAU has four athletes mentioned among the 2008 Top Newcomers, red-shirt freshman quarterback Ryan McCombie (6-2, 185) from Youngsville (Westminster Christian Academy) La.; freshman defensive back Alex Bowman (6-2, 190) out of Lone Oak, Texas; and twin senior defensive linemen Chase (6-2, 265) and Chandler Richardson (6-1, 255) from Poplarville, Miss., (Central Oklahoma).

Lindy’s listed defensive back Rodney Anthony as a second team All-American in its pre-season publication, but Anthony is no longer with Southern Arkansas.

Southern Arkansas Volleyball Earns Academic Honor

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:52 GMT

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that a record 353 teams, from high school to NCAA Division I, earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2007-08 season. Southern Arkansas was one of 39 institutions associated with NCAA Division II, and one of two from the Gulf South Conference, to receive the honor.

In its 16th season, the award was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year and honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that display excellence in the classroom. Schools must maintain at least a minimum of a 3.30 grade-point average as a team during the school year to earn the award.

The Lady Muleriders received the honor on the strength of eight team members who finished the academic-athletic year with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA.

Arkansas-Monticello was the only other member of the GSC to garner the award.

Assistant Professor of Education

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:54 GMT

Duties: Supervision of students in field assignments; teaching undergraduate level students on campus and at satellite sites; student advising; establishing and maintaining school partnerships; committee assignments and scholarship. Experience with accreditation processes is preferred.

Qualifications: Applicants must have earned Ed.D. or Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education or a related field (ABD will be considered). Applicants must submit evidence of three years of relevant licensed public school teaching in an early childhood licensure area, pre-K to grade 4; evidence of research interest and skills in publications in peer reviewed journals and grant writing; evidence of experience with balanced literacy programs; and evidence of interest in the integration of technology with the curriculum and evidence of interest in teaching diverse students.

To apply, send letter of interest, resume, and the names and telephone numbers of three references to Office of Human Resources, Southern Arkansas University, P.O. Box 9288, Magnolia, AR 71754-9288 or HR@saumag.edu. Southern Arkansas University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified woman and minority candidates.

Social Psychology

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 08:09 GMT

Position: Assistant Professor of Social Psychology (specialization open),
Nine-month tenure-track position starting August 2008

Duties: Teach in the Behavioral and Social Science Department from among Social Psychology, Personality, General Psychology, Industrial Organizational, and Domestic Violence; advise student majors; coordinate and conduct research; supervise undergraduate research; participate in scholarly activity; promote service to the department, school, university, and community.

Qualifications: Ph.D. in psychology preferred, ABD will be considered; demonstrated evidence of effective teaching; practical experience and expertise in the use and preparation of instructional technology in the teaching/learning process. Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Program: The Psychology program is one of four majors within the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the School of Liberal and Performing Arts. The department offers Bachelor’s degrees in psychology, sociology, social work, and criminal justice. Department faculty are committed to an interdisciplinary research and practice orientation across all social sciences. The department is housed in Peace Hall, a newly renovated building equipped with modern facilities and equipment (including its own Internet servers) for teaching, research, and community outreach. For additional information about the department, please visit http://peace.saumag.edu.

The University: Southern Arkansas University at Magnolia is a four-year state university located in southwestern Arkansas. Magnolia has a population of approximately 12,000 and is within commuting distance of two large metropolitan areas. Southern Arkansas University is primarily a teaching institution with an enrollment of approximately 3000 students. For additional information on the university, please visit http://www.saumag.edu.

Application: Submit letter of application, vita, graduate and undergraduate transcripts (official transcripts will be necessary before hiring), and the names and telephone numbers of three references to Office of Personnel, Southern Arkansas University, PO Box 9288, Magnolia, AR 71754-9288. For full consideration, application materials must be received by June 2, 2008. Applications will be reviewed as received. For additional information on the position, contact Dr. Edward Kardas, Chair, BSS Search Committee, at epkardas@saumag.edu or call (870) 235-4321.

Southern Arkansas University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from qualified women and minority candidates.

Southern Arkansas to Host Winter Baseball Showcase

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:19 GMT

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Southern Arkansas Assistant Coach Justin Pettigrew has announced a winter baseball showcase that the Muleriders will hold on Saturday, January 17.

The showcase is designed to give high school students (grades 9-12) the opportunity to improve and display their talent and will be conducted from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Mulerider Field and the SAU baseball facility. The showcase will include presentations, timed running, and defensive, hitting, and pitching evaluations.

Cost for the showcase is $75 per participant and the fee will include evaluations, and discussions on academics, admissions, clearing house, and the NCAA. The showcase is only open to the first 75 applicants and a $50 non-refundable deposit must be made by Saturday, January 10. The remaining $25 can be paid at the 12:30 p.m. registration prior to the start of the showcase on January 17.

For more information, or to pre-register, contact Coach Pettigrew at (870) 235-4103, or at jrpettigrew@saumag.edu. Registration and release forms and a showcase itinerary can also be found on the SAU athletic website at http://muleriderathletics.com/general-information/camps/baseball/.