Intercollegiate Sports Review program
boosts lower-profile teams

While Loyola may be best known for its soccer, basketball and lacrosse teams, more than 260 student-athletes compete on equally accomplished cross country, swimming and diving, crew, tennis, track and field and golf teams.

Thanks to the establishment of the Intercollegiate Sports Review committee in 2006, these teams have benefited from additional support and resources. The committee, formed and co-chaired by Rick Satterlee, assistant vice president for student development, and Bill Wnek, assistant director of athletics, considered carefully how Loyola could better aid these teams in their athletic pursuit and where additional funding would be most beneficial. Ultimately, the committee made several recommendations for initiatives to be implemented over a seven-year period.

Several of the recommendations focused on augmenting the teams’ coaching staffs. For the first time in its history, the crew team was able to add a full-time assistant coach, whose leadership will prove very valuable to the guidance on one of Loyola’s largest intercollegiate programs in terms of participants. Part-time assistant coaches were also added to the men’s and women’s cross country team and women’s track.

Brian Loeffler, ’91, was promoted to full-time men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach and two new scholarships were made available to those teams thanks to additional funding.

Tom Beidleman was promoted to full-time men’s golf coach, and Jackie Truncellito, ’05, was promoted to assistant cross country coach and full-time women’s track coach.

This year also marked the opening of Loyola’s new track and field facility, a complex it will share with Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The new facility is located approximately one mile from the Loyola’s Evergreen campus on JHU’s Eastern High School property. The track’s grand opening was held on April 8 with a ceremony attended by Loyola administrators, coaches and track team members.

“It’s a blessing to have a place to call our own, and it gives the athletes confidence to know they are supported and recognized for their efforts,” Truncellito said. “The new facility enables us to bring on more event-specific coaches to provide the team members with more individualized attention. We don’t have to schedule around other sports or schools, we don’t have to transport poles and bars, and we don’t have to make do with second-hand equipment. As hard as these athletes work year-round, they deserve it.”

This year also brought improvements to the women’s volleyball locker room, the purchase of a new racing shell and windscreens for the crew team, and upgrades to the tennis courts near Butler Hall.
 
“The Intercollegiate Sports Review committee is looking ahead to the coming academic year mindful of the difficult economic environment,” said Satterlee. “However, through forward thinking and careful planning, the committee hopes to be able to continue increasing support to the student-athletes who do such a great job representing Loyola on and off the field.”