The next step for athletics at Mississippi University for Women is coming soon.
In his continuing effort to educate the community about the return of sports to The W, Jason Trufant, the school’s athletic director, spoke to the Columbus Rotary Club on Tuesday to put everyone on alert. Trufant told Rotarians to be on the lookout — possibly on billboards on Highway 82 — for news about the unveiling of the school’s new logo, an owl that incorporates The W, and to be prepared for the announcement of the hiring of coaches for baseball, softball, men’s soccer, and women’s volleyball.
Those new hires will work with Trufant to help bring women’s athletics back to the four-year, coeducational public university in Columbus and to introduce men’s athletics to the school.
“I think it is important for everybody in this room to wrap yourself around what we’re doing because it is not going to be any fun for these guys and girls to go out and play in front of nobody,” Trufant said. “We have had over 50 or 60 inquiries just on sports alone from local high school students. We don’t even have sports and they’re asking what we’re doing. That is important to me.”
The W announced Aug. 5 in a news release that it was beginning a nationwide search for coaches. Trufant said Tuesday that the search generated more than 200 candidates for the head coaching positions of the baseball, men’s soccer, softball, and volleyball teams. Trufant said interviews haven’t started for men’s and women’s cross country. Those six Division III sports will begin play at The W in the 2017-18 school year.
Trufant said men and women from throughout the United States applied for the positions. He said there was a cross section of applicants from all levels — high school, club, junior college, Division I, Division II, and Division III.
From there, Trufant said the initial pool was narrowed down to coaches who were interviewed. Trufant, Dr. Phillip Stockton, an assistant professor for music education; Tyler Wheat, a member of the university relations staff; and Kimone Simmons, coordinator of student engagement, made up the committee that interviewed candidates.
In all, Trufant said 27 phone interviews and 12 on-campus interviews were conducted to identify the best candidates.
“When we brought those people to campus, it was more of can you fit in here, can you be a part of this working environment, and can you follow that win every day motto?” Trufant said. “(The process is about) finding that unique person that understands we’re trying to build something. It is not in place. It is coming into place. That was important for me for them to understand. It is really exciting to be able to be the first of something, but you have to really understand what that is about.”
Trufant said those six teams will provide opportunities to roughly 100 hundred student-athletes. He said the school is working on identifying a facility for soccer in the area and plans to renovate existing resources, like the softball field on the MUW campus, to accommodate the teams.
Trufant said he is confident sports at The W will provide “a great avenue” for individuals in the community who don’t have anywhere to go after high school or junior college. He also feels The W will provide a great education for those student-athletes.
“We just have to get the kids to campus. As everybody knows, you come on to our campus and eventually see our athletic facilities, it is going to sell itself. … The name is what it is, and we have to embrace it and tell that story to everybody that asks.”
Trufant said The W plans to add six to seven sports for the 2018-19 school year to help it get to 12, the number it needs to have to fulfill NCAA requirements. Trufant said men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s golf, and men’s and women’s lacrosse are being considered.
Once The W reaches that mark, Trufant said the school will begin a four- to five-year process to gain full NCAA membership. He said The W plans to use that time to build the programs, to establish recruiting bases, to build academic standing on campus, and to hire coaching staffs.
In the meantime, a lot of work remains to be done. Trufant said The W has hired a consulting firm to investigate options for conference affiliation. He said he and Nora Miller, the senior vice president for administration and the chief financial officer for The W, have an athletic budget in place for the 2017-18 school year. He said the school has “budgeted for success” and that the new coaches will be encouraged to get out into the community to raise money for things they “want” for their programs.
“We’re not going to budget for nickels and dimes and just try to compete somewhere,” Trufant said. “That is not going to work. (MUW President) Dr. (Jim) Borsig and Nora understand we’re going to need some funds upfront. That is why we appeal to the community as well. They’re going to be a part of it, and it is important for them to put their hands in it and help us.”
Trufant said the funding for the 2017-18 athletic budget will come from tuition from incoming student-athletes and money The W will receive from the state of Mississippi because it has athletics. He said that total will put The W at a position where it will be “almost at break even.”
“Fundraising is going to be huge for us,” Trufant said. “We’re going to need some better facilities. The only way to do that is to fund raise for them. That is why I am here, and it is my job to get that done and to speak at places like this to let people know we want help. We don’t need it. That is a bad way to say it. We want the help.”
Trufant also is going to solicit help from community members who can help sell the school as an athletic destination for women and men. He feels the school’s strong academic reputation will help it attract women and men because Division III sports aren’t able to offer athletic scholarships. Student-athletes at The W would be eligible to receive academic scholarships.
“We’re not offering a dollar. We’re offering them an opportunity,” Trufant said. “The name goes away when you walk in the front gates. You won’t see that name on a jersey in full. It is The W. I wish I could speak more about the logo and how it is going to look, but that will answer a lot of questions down the road of OK, there is their focus. That’s how they are going to bring the past with them and incorporate the future.”
Trufant said the work of Joe Bosack & Company will be instrumental in getting that message out. Joe Bosack & Company, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, is a strategic brand builder that created the NCAA’s championship logos and has worked with numerous schools at different levels. He feels the new logo will help women and men see The W as a viable academic and athletic destination.
“I believe in what we do, and a name is just a name,” Trufant said. “Just like Texas Christian (TCU), Dallas Baptist, William & Mary. Those are schools with the same typical issues. We are The W. We’re going to know that. Our new athletic logo will help us tremendously get through a small hurdle.”
Trufant, who is from Dowling College, a Division II school in Long Island, New York, was hired in May 2016 and started at The W on June 6. He was responsible for the day-to-day operations of compliance, game operations, fund raising and marketing, sport supervision, team and departmental budgets, and purchasing at Dowling College. Prior to that, he served as associate director of athletics at Molloy College and as head assistant baseball coach at Frostburg State. He also served as baseball coach at the State University of New York at Cobleskill.
In August, Trufant said it was imperative for The W to find the right fit with its coaches. He said the coaches would have to be able to recruit and develop student-athletes in an academic and athletic setting. The coaches also were asked to be responsible for NCAA compliance, community involvement, fundraising, and game-day operations.
“The two most common questions we had are how much are you paying and how much are you budgeting?” Trufant said. “The first one I really don’t answer because if you are in it for that then I am talking to the wrong reason. The second part is very important.”
All candidates were required to have at least three years of prior coaching and/or playing experience in college with knowledge and adherence to NCAA rules and university policies. All candidates were required to have a bachelor’s degree. It was preferred that candidates have a master’s degree.
Athletics at The W were discontinued in 2003 by then-president Claudia Limbert after a November 2002 tornado destroyed the school’s gymnasium.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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