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The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Jim Koerner, Head Baseball Coach at North Carolina Central University. Koerner came to NCCU in 2011 from the University at Buffalo, where he was the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

During the 2015 season the Eagles were once again in the hunt for a division title, and featured one of the best pitching staffs in NCCU’s modern era. The team kept the second-lowest earned run average (4.55) and second-lowest opposing batting average (.286) in the program’s modern history.

In 2014, Koerner and the Eagles were right in the thick of the MEAC’s Southern Division race throughout the entire season, putting together one of the best season’s offensively since the program restarted. NCCU recorded 454 hits, the second-most since 2007, and ripped a Division I high 22 home runs, along with the most doubles in the modern era of the program (75). New standards were set in the 2013 campaign for Koerner and his program as the Eagles set a new modern era record with 27 wins overtaking the 21 victories collected in the 2007 season, the only year NCCU played at the NCAA Division II level. Despite finishing third in the Southern Division and dropping its opening round matchup against Norfolk State in the 2013 MEAC Baseball Championships, the Eagles recovered to win two of the next three to advance all the way to semifinals as one of the four remaining teams left in the tournament, going 2-2 during the week.

He received his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1997 from St. John Fisher College (N.Y.), and a master’s degree in athletic administration from Marshall University. Koerner and his wife, Kylie, have two children, Sam and Elizabeth.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

5/18/16 – Billy Lee, UNC Women’s Basketball, Special Assistant to Coach Sylvia Hatchell
6/1/16 – “Scholar-Athlete Awards Night” (5:30pm start time)
6/15/16 – Special Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be David Cutcliffe, Head Football Coach at Duke University. Cutcliffe is 48-53 (.475) in eight seasons at Duke and owns an overall head coaching ledger of 92-82 (.529). His 2015 squad continued the elevation of the program as it captured eight wins, marking the first time in school history the Blue Devils have posted three consecutive seasons with eight-plus victories. In addition, the season capped the most successful three-year stretch in Duke history with 27 wins while the Blue Devils earned a berth in an unprecedented fourth straight bowl game last winter, defeating Indiana, 44-41 in overtime, in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl.

Duke’s fan support has increased since Cutcliffe took the helm of the football program. In his first season, Duke set a school single-season record with four home crowds of 30,000 or more spectators. Eighteen of Duke’s 47 home dates in the Cutcliffe Era have reached 30,000 fans — compared to just four of the previous 47 home games prior to his arrival.

In addition to guiding the Blue Devil gridiron program, Cutcliffe serves on the American Football Coaches Association’s Board of Trustees.

Cutcliffe is married to the former Karen Oran of Harriman, Tenn., and they have four children (Chris, Marcus, Katie [Kolls] & Emily), one daughter-in-law (Molly), one son-in-law (Chris Kolls) and four grandsons (Shivers, Bennett, Oliver & Campbell).

Thanks, www.GoDuke.com!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

4/20/16 – NO MEETING
4/24/16 – Durham Sports Club’s “Night Out With the Bulls”
5/4/16 – Jim Koerner, Head Baseball Coach, North Carolina Central University
5/9/16 – Durham Sports Club Golf Outing

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Dave Odom,

In his 12 seasons(1989–2001) as head coach at Wake Forest, Odom compiled a record of 240-132, making him the second-highest winning coach in Wake Forest history, as well as the second highest winning percentage in school history. During this time, Wake Forest earned 7 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship.  Odom was named ACC coach of the year in 1991, 1994 and 1995, and he led his team to consecutive ACC Championships in 1995 and 1996.

During his tenure at South Carolina, his team earned one NCAA tournament bid, and made three appearances in the NIT, winning the championship in 2005 and 2006. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 2004. On January 2, 2008, Odom coached his 400th collegiate victory as a head coach. Later that month, on January 18, he announced that he would retire at the end of the 2007-2008 basketball season, his seventh at South Carolina. He coached his final game for USC on March 14, 2008, in the SEC tournament.

With the 2016 NCAA tournament coming up, this promises to be a very timely and informative meeting.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

4/6/16 – David Cutcliffe, Head Football Coach, Duke University
4/20/16 – NO MEETING
4/24/16 – Durham Sports Club’s “Night Out With the Bulls”

The guest speaker for our next meeting will be John Clougherty, the Director of Basketball Officials for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Clougherty, who served as an NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Official for 30 years, was named the ACC Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officials in June 2005. During his tenure on the court, he officiated 26 consecutive NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments as well as 12 Final Fours, including four NCAA Championship Games. Clougherty has received the James Naismith Official of the Year, the NIT Officials Award as well as inclusion into the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, and the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

As the ACC Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officials, Clougherty has overseen the expansion of the men’s basketball officiating staff, the management of all evaluations and ratings, and numerous training and educational opportunities to promote the recruitment and development of ACC Men’s Basketball Officials.

Clougherty and his wife, Dorothy, have three sons (Tim, Patrick and Conor) and six grandchildren.

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Mark Your Calendar

3/16/16 – Dave Odom, NCAA Basketball Expert
4/6/16 – Special Guest Speaker
4/20/16 – Special Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for our next meeting will be Luke DeCock, Sports Columnist for the News and Observer. DeCock has been with the News and Observer since 2000, serving as a beat reporter for the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL until 2008, at which time he became a columnist. He has earned multiple awards for sports columns, feature writing and coverage from the North Carolina Press Association, and multiple awards for game stories and news stories from the Professional Hockey Writers Association. DeCock has also been in the national top-10 for sports columns and feature writing by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

Prior to joining the News & Observer, DeCock was the Colorado College hockey beat writer, General-assignment sports writer, and sports copy editor/page designer for The Gazette newspaper in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

He also served as a General-assignment sports writer for the Appeal-Democrat newspaper in Yuba City, California, where he won first place for sports stories by the California Newspaper Publishers Association in 1996, and his story “A Matter of Heart” was listed in The Best American Sports Writing in 1997.
DeCock is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

Mark Your Calendar

3/2/16 – Special Guest Speaker
3/16/16 – Dave Odom, NCAA Basketball Expert
4/6/16 – Special Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for our next meeting will be Elliott Avent, Head Baseball Coach at North Carolina State University. In 18 years as head baseball coach at NC State, Avent has molded the Wolfpack into one of the nation’s best and most consistent programs. Starting with his hiring in 1996, he has taken the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in 13 of the last 18 seasons, and 10 of the last 12. Avent captured both ACC and National Coach of the Year honors in 2003.

The 2014 NC State baseball squad saw seven players taken in the MLB First-Year Player Draft, tied for the third-most all-time at NC State. Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner became the Wolfpack’s first-ever three-time All-Americans and gave State a pair of first round picks for the first time in program history. Andrew Knizner earned Freshman All-America honors and a spot on the All-ACC third team. Brett Austin joined Turner and Rodon on the All-ACC first team.

In 2013, the Wolfpack returned to Omaha for the College World Series for the first time since 1968, and the second time in program history. Avent was named the 2013 ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for his efforts.

In his NC State career, Avent has amassed 681 career victories, produced 21 All-Americans, and six of the eight first-team All-Americans in NC State’s 107-year baseball tradition.

Mark Your Calendar

2/17/16 – Special Guest Speaker
3/2/16 – Special Guest Speaker
3/16/16 – Dave Odom, NCAA Basketball Expert

The guest speaker for our next meeting will be Lee Pace, sideline reporter for UNC football games and a golf historian who has written numerous books about golf. He has written 10 books and hundreds of articles about golf. Four of the books focus on Pinehurst.

Pace, who has been a writer since 1987, decided early in his career that he wanted to write about one of his loves – golf. That desire led him to Pinehurst, where he wrote his first book just as it was reassuming a prominent spot in the world of golf.
Pat Corso, then president and CEO of Pinehurst Resort, knew Pinehurst needed to tell its story before it hosted the PGA Tour Championship in 1991. He called on Pace, who wrote a 320-page coffee table book called “Pinehurst Stories.”

Pace wrote “Pinehurst Stories, Vol. II” in 1999, the year Pinehurst hosted the U.S. Open for the first time. In 2004, just before the resort was host to its second U.S. Open, Pace wrote “The Spirit of Pinehurst.”

Pace’s latest book, “The Golden Age of Pinehurst – The Story of the Rebirth of No. 2,” focuses on the 2010-12 restoration project of Pinehurst’s No. 2 Course.

Pace also has written a book about Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club and Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club and a biography of former Pinehurst Director of Golf and PGA President Don Padgett.

Mark Your Calendar

2/3/16 – Elliott Avent, Head Baseball Coach, North Carolina State University
2/17/16 – Special Guest Speaker
3/2/16 – Special Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for our next meeting will be Dr. Frank Bonner, President of Gardner-Webb University located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Bonner also serves as President of the “Big South” Conference, which includes schools like Campbell University, High Point University, UNC-Asheville, Coastal Carolina University, Gardner-Webb, and others.

Bonner was born in Durham, and grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. He earned a BA degree from Furman, then a MA degree from the University of Georgia, and then a Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill. He has been President of Gardner-Webb since 2005, following service in many capacities at the University since 1987.

Bonner and his wife, Flossie, have two children and six great-grandchildren.

Mark Your Calendar

12/16/15 – Christmas Party with Jeff Gravely, WRAL
1/4/16 – NO MEETING!!!!
1/18/16 – Special Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for our next meeting will be Brick Oettinger, College Basketball Recruiting Expert. Oettinger has been the basketball recruiting analyst/columnist and talent evaluator for the ACC Sports Journal since its inception in 1977, and nationally for the Prep Stars Recruiter’s Handbook from 1990 to 2012. Since 1995 he has been a member of the prestigious McDonald’s High School All-American Game Selection Committee. As a community volunteer, Oettinger coached the basketball team at Orange Correctional Center in Hillsborough (NC) for 13 years, winning seven state championships in the North Carolina Prison League (which was discontinued after 1991) and earning seven North Central Area Coach of the Year awards.

Mark Your Calendar

12/2/15 – Dr. Frank Bonner,President,Gardner-Webb University and Board of Director Elections
12/16/15 – Christmas Party with Jeff Gravely, WRAL
1/4/16 – NO MEETING!!!!

The guest speaker for our next meeting will be Scott Riggs, NASCAR driver from Bahama. Riggs began his racing career at the age of fourteen in the American Motorcycle Association, where he won the State Championship in North Carolina two years in a row. He moved to the NASCAR mini-stock division at age 17, and won 12 races in 3 seasons.

In 1999, Riggs made his major-league NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park, driving the #84 for Long Brothers Racing. He started seventh and finished nineteenth.

In 2002, Riggs moved to the Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) to drive the #10 Nestlé Nesquik Ford Taurus for ppc Racing. He won his first race at Nashville Superspeedway, then won again two weeks later at California. He finished tenth in points at the end of the season, earning him Rookie of the Year honors.

In 2004, he joined the Sprint Cup Series, to drive the Valvoline Chevrolet Monte Carlo for MB2 Motorsports. Qualifying for all but one race that season, he had a fifth-place finish at Dover International Speedway and finished 29th in points, fifth in the Rookie of the Year standings. In 2005, he won his first pole at Martinsville, and went on to have a second-place finish at Michigan International Speedway.

Mark Your Calendar

11/18/15 – Brick Oettinger, ACC Basketball Recruiting Expert
12/2/15 – Dr. Frank Bonner, President, Gardner-Webb University
12/16/15 – Durham Sports Club Holiday Meeting (for members and their guests only).