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Friends of the Court

So 50 grandparents walk into a gym … That isn’t a setup to a bad joke: It’s the scene that happens when the Franklin College women’s basketball team takes the court.

Plugged Into Life

Since beating cancer in 2009, Caitlyn Mortus’ mission has been to provide that opportunity to children fighting life-threatening illnesses through what she calls “social healing.”

Filling Backpacks, Stomachs - and Hearts

When Jenna Maury isn’t stuffing the stat sheet on the softball field or facts into her head for an upcoming psychology exam, she is cramming food into backpacks for needy families in her hometown of Lawton, Michigan.

The Shot of a Lifetime

In the late 1990s, one of the most sought-after high school recruits in the nation didn’t play basketball or football. Instead, he was a marksman from Mount Holly, New Jersey, who had already set a junior world record as a 16-year-old in the 50-meter rifle three-position event.

Stroke of brilliance

The wedding rehearsal was supposed to start at 6:30 p.m. one Friday in September. But the minutes ticked toward the bottom of the hour, then away from it again. Bridesmaids checked the time on their phones. Groomsmen glanced at their watches. Where, they all wondered, was the officiant?

Dressed for Success

Shyra Ely-Gash has two passions in life: basketball and fashion. On the court, Ely-Gash played in four Final Fours for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. But she also grew up circling clothing she liked in magazines, and earned a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising.

Still in the Saddle

Leah Fiorentino’s first year as the executive director of the National Collegiate Equestrian Association hasn’t been a quiet ride.

What’s the Status of Your Fandom?

A fall 2014 survey conducted by the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center and the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators collected responses from 18,876 college students. Of the respondents, 81 percent had attended at least one sporting event at their university.

Wave of Emotion

Rick Dickson is ready to greet the 308 former Tulane University student-athletes who competed in fall 2005 and are expected to return for homecoming weekend this fall. The athletics director has waited 10 years for this opportunity.

Room in This Margin

In 1981, with most of its NCAA championship-winning roster returning from the year before – including four first-team All-Americans – expectations were lofty for the Stanford University men’s water polo team.

A Load Off Their Feet

Vanderbilt University athletics likes to offer unique opportunities on an overseas trip for student-athletes. But this year, the adventure wasn’t just exciting but historic: a chance to visit Cuba.

Load Up

Fueling stations have become common additions to athletics facilities nationwide. But when it comes to stocking them, where should you start?

A Membership Milestone

Nebraska Wesleyan University will soon forgo its dual membership in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and NCAA to align itself exclusively with NCAA Division III. A mundane transition? Hardly.

Hitting the Book

Most football players show up at Media Day with confidence and cliches. Malcolm Mitchell brought a book.

They’ve got his number

Parker Moore should have taken the field with his Linfield College football teammates this fall. But in November 2014, on a day that was otherwise filled with reason to celebrate, Moore was stabbed to death by a stranger in the checkout line of a 7-Eleven.

The Short Walk

A huge rivalry in Arkansas pits Henderson State University against Ouachita Baptist University – two schools separated by two lanes of U.S. Highway 67, over which the visiting team walks to its opponent’s field on game day in the shortest road trip in football.

Lessons Learned

Colleges and universities searching for answers that help curb sexual violence and assault on campus might find some helpful examples in their peers at the U.S. military academies.

It's About Time

This fall, the 25th NCAA Woman of the Year will be named. The program launched in 1991, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the advent of NCAA women’s championships.

Seniors’ Prom

Thanks to 25 college athletes at Rogers State University, residents of an area assisted-living center relived a special moment: prom night. The Hillcats Student-Athlete Advisory Committee hosted a senior prom, complete with a prom king and queen, for residents at The Brookfield, an assisted-living center in Claremore, Oklahoma.

Getting in the game

Year after year, more students than ever before are participating in NCAA athletics. The climb to more than 472,000 college athletes has been sure and steady, with 12-percent growth occurring during the most recent six-year period.

Back to the Bases

It was the final play in the third game of the season for the New York University baseball team. Coach Doug Kimbler saw the pitch, the pop-up, the ball landing in his shortstop’s mitt. Then, with the game won, Kimbler watched the shortstop roll the ball over the mound before leaving the field, as he would for any other game. Except this wasn’t just any other game. Kimbler knew that ball marked history.

Net Results

With his pedigree as a member of the Nigerian national soccer team headed for the 1976 Montreal Olympics, big things were expected of Thompson Usiyan when he arrived at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Nearly 40 years later, his 109 goals and 255 points in just 49 games at Appalachian State have never come close to being matched.

Sibling Showdown

All year, Julio and Ignacio Pulido had been hoping for this matchup. Would it be more nerve-wracking than their typical tennis game? Probably. A bit harder for Mom and Dad to watch? You bet. In some ways, they were used to it – growing up in Caceres, Spain, the Pulido brothers had competed with each other in nearly everything they did. But going head-to-head in the Division II national championship tournament was a first.

Louder Than Words

Aida Pojoy works the 4 a.m.-to-12:30 p.m. custodial shift at Belmont University, spending much of her time in the athletics department. Belmont senior Kirbie Ferrell’s softball team lifts weights at 7 a.m. three times a week. Inevitably, the two often would spot each other in the hallway that connects the laundry room to the training room and the locker room. One day, Ferrell spoke up.

The Emerging Path

Next spring, when women’s beach volleyball serves up the NCAA’s newest championship, it will join the sporting ranks of a unique few. Women’s ice hockey, women’s water polo, rowing and bowling might not appear to have much in common with beach volleyball – nor each other – but the sports’ NCAA championships all share the same roots.