Deneé Rivera-Barracato, one of the up-and-coming athletics administrators in the country, stopped by Campus Connection recently to fill us in on some of the things happening on the Adelphi campus.

The assistant director of athletics and senior woman administrator at Adelphi, Deneé discusses Adelphi's commitment to the Division II philosophy of balance, as well as the outstanding success of the university's student-athletes in the classroom.

Deneé recently served on a panel at the NCAA Gender Equity & Issues Forum, and shared a great deal of insight about Hispanic student-athletes and some of the challenges facing that community with regard to involvement in intercollegiate athletics. In our podcast, Deneé discusses why her presentation is important for the future of college sports.

Get connected with Deneé Rivera-Barracato

Last month, LeBron James was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine, striking a controversial pose with supermodel Giselle Bundchen.

In light of last year's controversy with Don Imus, it seemed appropriate to check in with Emmett Gill, an assistant professor in Rutgers University's School of Social Work.

Dr. Gill, a former student-athlete and father of a teenage girl, discusses the portrayal of female student-athletes in the media. He also addresses the impact of the Imus controversy and how it affected the Rutgers community.

Get connected with Emmett Gill

For the past 10 years, Mike Theulen has overseen the Western New England athletics department, bringing unprecedented success to the Springfield campus.

Theulen, who until recently served as head men's basketball coach at the college, has helped WNEC transform an athletics department without any full-time head coaches to one of the leading Division III programs in the Northeast.

In this edition of Campus Connection, Theulen discusses WNEC's academic and athletic success, the return of Iraq veteran Brody Savoie to the men's lacrosse program and the college's commitment to the Division III philosophy.

Get connected with Mike Theulen

Jonathan Wallace has certainly made his mark while starting every game for the Georgetown basketball team during the past four years, but it’s what he’s achieved off the court that makes his story unique.

Wallace, who arrived at Georgetown as a walk-on, was recently admitted to the prestigious Georgetown School of Law. Although he hasn’t decided if he will pursue professional basketball after graduation, he’s thrilled that he will one day join the legal profession.

A key member of last year’s Georgetown team that advanced to the Final Four, Wallace is still hoping to achieve something most lawyers never get to – a national championship.

Get connected with Jonathan Wallace

When Western Carolina’s women’s basketball team beat Charleston last night, the Catamounts grabbed their 23rd victory of the season, one shy of the school record set last season.

At the helm of the WCU program is Kellie Jolly Harper, who in her fourth season has already amassed 74 victories to become the second winningest coach in school history. Harper’s players have had a great deal of success on the court, but have also excelled in the classroom, something the coach takes tremendous pride in.

Harper played for the legendary Pat Summitt at Tennessee and was an integral member of the Lady Vols’ three consecutive national championships from 1996-98.

In our Campus Connection podcast, Harper discusses her team’s success, the influence of her former coach and what it’s like to have her husband as an assistant with the Western Carolina program.

Get connected with Kellie Harper

There are more schools in Division III than in any of the other divisions, but you wouldn’t know that once you step west of the Mississippi.

In order to find out what the Division III experience looks like on the left coast, we chatted with Pomona-Pitzer athletics director and head men’s basketball coach Charlie Katsiaficas.

After two years serving as an assistant men’s basketball coach under Gregg Popovich, Coach Kat took over the Pomona-Pitzer program in 1986 and hasn’t looked back since.

Get connected with Pomona-Pitzer

The Bentley men’s basketball team is 19-0 and Athletics Director Bob DeFelice is loving life. DeFelice, who has been head coach of the Falcons’ baseball program for the past 40 years, has been the Bentley AD since 1991.

During his time at the helm, DeFelice has won 569 baseball games, third in New England Division II history. Since he took over the athletics department, Bentley has won 85 conference championships and the field hockey team won the 2001 national championship.

On this edition of Campus Connection, the former Boston Red Sox minor leaguer discusses the success of the basketball program, his love for coaching and why college baseball should be played with wood bats.

Get connected with Bentley

While student-athletes on traditional campuses can roll out of their dorm rooms to the athletics facilities, city schools often have space challenges that change the experience.

On today’s edition of Campus Connection, Columbia associate director of athletics Jacqueline Blackett discusses the inherent challenges of being a student-athlete in Manhattan, what makes Columbia special and why she’s stayed at the university for 18 years.

Get connected with Columbia

On today’s edition of Campus Connection, Plattsburgh State head baseball coach Kris Doorey shares an emotional story about one of his players, Brian Mehan.

Brian is currently fighting a battle against cancer and is undergoing treatment in the Plattsburgh area. During our podcast, Coach Doorey discusses the impact Brian’s situation has had on him and on his players. He says it’s important to “put things in check” and offers advice for other coaches and student-athletes facing difficult life situations.

Some of the richest traditions in intercollegiate athletics exist on the campuses of our historically black colleges and universities.

Only five months into his job as athletics director at Delaware State, Rick Costello has quickly developed a keen appreciation for the spirit associated with his program. On today’s edition of Campus Connection, Rick discusses the traditions ingrained on the Dover campus, the historic football season that just finished and the university’s nationally-ranked bowling squad.

When Lafayette heads into Goodman Stadium to take on Lehigh on November 17, it will be the 143rd football meeting between the two universities. The most-played football rivalry in the country, the teams began playing one another in 1884.

Lehigh Director of Athletics Joe Sterrett hasn’t been around for all of the games between his Mountain Hawks and Lafayette, but he has seen a number of them. Sterrett, who played quarterback during his undergraduate days at Lehigh, has spent 32 years in Bethlehem, the last 19 as athletics director. Sterrett met his wife Cindy at Lehigh, and their four children have also attended the university.

On today’s edition of Campus Connection, Joe and I discuss his love for Lehigh, the storied football rivalry and some of the other excitement happening in the Valley.

The winner of the Division II Directors’ Cup each of the past four years, Grand Valley State has made a tradition out of being the top all-around athletics department in the country.

Last Saturday, Grand Valley defeated Ferris State on the football field, 34-7, to win a Division II-record 36th consecutive game. A national contender in almost every sport, all 19 Laker teams advanced to NCAA championship play last year.

On today’s edition of Campus Connection, Grand Valley State Director of Athletics Tim Selgo discusses the university’s athletics success, but more importantly, says it’s the performance of the Laker student-athletes in the classroom and the school’s commitment to the Division II philosophy that make the program truly special.

There are few people in intercollegiate athletics as involved with the NCAA governance structure as Del Malloy, director of athletics at Salve Regina. Currently the vice-chair of the Division III Management Council, Malloy also attends the meetings of the Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee on a regular basis.

Fourteen of Salve Regina’s 18 varsity programs have cumulative grade point averages above 3.0 and Malloy says that academic pursuits are the top priority of the institution’s student-athletes. On today’s Campus Connection, Malloy fills us in on the current landscape at Salve Regina and in Division III.

One of the most progressive directors of athletics in the country, Georgia’s Damon Evans has made news recently for taking a hard-line stance on the academic progress of his student-athletes. Evans recently instituted an attendance policy for all Georgia student-athletes and actually fines them when they have unexcused absences. This week, Georgia suspended three men’s basketball players a total of 30 games for failing to adhere to that policy.

Each of the players is academically eligible to compete, as they still meet minimum NCAA and university standards, but Evans doesn’t want his student-athletes coasting along. He wants them to go to class. On today’s Campus Connection, Evans discusses the policy and says wins aren’t as important as the education Georgia’s student-athletes should be receiving.

The excitement at Chadron State has reached an all-time high in the last week, as football standout Danny Woodhead broke the all-time NCAA rushing record with his performance against Western New Mexico on Saturday. On today’s Campus Connection, we touch base with former Chadron State football coach and current Director of Athletics Brad Smith, who lets us know what intercollegiate athletics means to the Nebraska campus.

During the 2008-09 academic year, Detroit-Mercy will add men’s and women’s lacrosse teams and a men’s tennis team as it expands it varsity program. The university will have the only Division I lacrosse program in the state of Michigan.

In addition to program expansion, Detroit-Mercy has its hands full as host of the Midwest Regional of the 2008 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, and host of the 2009 Men’s Final Four. On today’s Campus Connection Detroit-Mercy Director of Athletics Keri Gaither discusses the excitement at the university.

Get connected with Detroit-Mercy

Nine years ago, Birmingham-Southern transitioned from the NAIA to Division I under the leadership of Director of Athletics Joe Dean Jr. Nearly a decade later, Dean has pioneered the college’s move to Division III. In addition to bringing football back to the campus for the first time since 1939, Birmingham-Southern has also added track and field and lacrosse programs for both genders.

On today’s Campus Connection, Dean tells us about the impact the move to Division III has had on admissions and why this was the right move for the college.

Get connected with Birmingham-Southern

There are more than 1,000 NCAA member institutions, and in order to learn about some of things happening on each campus, the Double-A Zone has launched a new feature called Campus Connection. Every week or so, we will touch base with a different athletics administrator to find out what’s new at our respective colleges and universities.

Our inaugural conversation is with Alaska-Anchorage Director of Athletics Steve Cobb. In our chat, Dr. Cobb says that on average, Alaska-Anchorage student-athletes travel 28,000 miles each year. He also informs us about a new $150 million facility that will benefit the entire campus community and lets us know what it means for the Seawolves programs to be the only game in town.

Get connected with Alaska-Anchorage