Macalester makes headlines for Barker's departure, Chandler's appointment

Macalester College men’s soccer coach Ian Barker has announced he is resigning his position to become Director of Coaching Education at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in Kansas City, Kansas.

Barker has been head coach at Macalester since 2003 and was assistant coach at Mac for four seasons before that. The 2009 MIAC Coach of the Year, Barker’s head coaching record during his nine years at Macalester was 97-59-15 and during his 13 years with the program, the Scots posted a 152-74-21 record with six conference championships, one MIAC playoff title, and six appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Also in the Macalester news this week, Director of Athletics Kim Chandler has begun her term as president of the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA). Chandler began her duties last Jan. 14 at a NADIIIAA meeting during the annual NCAA Convention in Indianapolis. Chandler is in her fourth year as Director of Athletics at Macalester and her 24th year in intercollegiate athletics.

| Barker Press Release | Chandler Press Release |

Ex-Piper new Wisconsin offensive line coach
Mike Markuson, a 1982 Hamline grad, has been hired as the new offensive line coach at the University of Wisconsin. Markuson, a Farmington, Minn. native, was a defensive tackle for the Pipers. He coached at HU in 1986. A year later, he moved to Oklahoma State. Since then, he has been in demand, working at schools like Notre Dame, Boise State, Arkansas and (for the last five years), Ole Miss, where he served as Co-Offensive Coordinator.

Former and current Gusties make news on the ice
Former Gustavus Adolphus women’s hockey players Laura Vannelli `08, Jessica Doig `09, and Liz Haakenson `09 were members of the first place “Top Shelf Tricks” hockey team that won the coveted Golden Shovel at the 2012 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships held Jan. 20-22 on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis. The Top Shelf Tricks, which also featured St. Thomas graduate Marie Omann and University of Minnesota grads Krista Johnson and Allie Sanchez, went 5-0 in the women’s division, defeating the Eau Claire Gong Show 12-6 on Sunday to claim the 2012 crown. This year’s event featured over 1,500 players from more than 40 states.

With her aggressive style of play and physically dominating presence on the ice, junior Lindsey Hjelm has seen her fair share of the penalty box over her three-year career at Gustavus. With the game already in the Gusties’ hands at 7-0 in the third period Friday night against St. Kate’s, Hjelm was flagged for tripping which gave her a career total of 72 penalties for 144 penalty minutes, breaking the program record for both marks. The Gustie women jumped to No. 4 on this week’s USCHO.com and D3Hockey.com polls. Gustavus is the only remaining team unbeaten in Division III with a 13-0-1 record overall and 8-0-0 mark in the MIAC.

MIAC MVP Waldvogel signs German pro football contract

Two-time MIAC Player of the Year and All-America KR-WR Fritz Waldvogel has signed a contract to play pro football in 2012 with the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorn of the German Football League. Waldvogel will report to the Unicorn after he graduates in May and the season lasts into October. Schwabisch, which runs a spread offense, went 16-0 in 2011 and was quarterbacked by ex-Linfield standout Aaron Boehme, who faces the Tommies in the 2009 and 2010 NCAA playoffs. German league teams can sign only one new American player each season on each side of the ball. Waldvogel started a school-record 50 games at UST and had 46 touchdowns (10 on kick returns), with 300 receptions, 4,289 receiving yards and 7,433 all-purpose yards.

| Full Press Release |

Trio of MIAC men reach 1,000-point milestone

Augsburg men's basketball center Andy Grzesiak-Grimm (SR, Wyoming, Minn./St. Francis HS) scored his 1,000th career point on Monday night in Augsburg's 83-77 loss to Hamline at Si Melby Hall. Grzesiak-Grimm posted a 24-point, 14-rebound effort on his way to recording his 1,000th career point to lead Augsburg. He becomes the 18th player in school history to score 1,000 career points and just the sixth player in Augsburg men's basketball history to score 1,000 points and pull down 600 rebounds in their career. Grzesiak-Grimm now stands at 1,011 career points and 625 career rebounds.

Gustavus senior men’s basketball player Seth Anderson tallied his 1,000th career point Saturday in a losing effort against Bethel last Saturday. The Minnesota Lake, Minn. native posted 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and went a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line. Anderson becomes the 32nd player in a storied men’s basketball program to reach the 1,000-point mark.

St. Olaf senior Stu Neville became the 17th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau on Wednesday in the Oles' loss to first place St. Thomas. Neville had 15 points in the defeat to UST and followed with 14 points and 11 rebounds in an overtime win over Carleton on Saturday.

This year, the MIAC enters its second season with weekly television exposure in the Twin Cities and beyond thanks to GameON! The weekly sports show features "The MIAC Minute" each week, where host/producer Rod Simons sits down for an interview with a coach, student-athlete or administrator from the conference.

This week, Simons sits down with Augsburg head men's basketball coach Aaron Griess to discuss the Auggies' outstanding season thus far and their quest for both a MIAC title and a spot in the 2012 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs, as well as the parity throughout the league and the high level of play throughout the conference this season.

Tune in to GameON! every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on MY29 in the Twin Cities. This week, the show will also air an encore performance at noon on Sunday on Fox 9 to hopefully reach a larger audience. For MIAC fans outsite the metro area, visit the show's home page to watch full archived episodes. Fans are also invited to attend the weekly tapings, which are Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Seven Steakhouse/Sushi/Ultralounge & Skybar on the corner of Hennepin and 7th in downtown Minneapolis.

In addition to the MIAC home page, stay connected to the conference through its various social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.