Men’s assistant basketball coach moves on George Jackson has accepted a position as a men’s basketball assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati. Jackson worked at Bowling Green as an assistant under head coach Louis Orr for each of the past two seasons.
With the help of Jackson, Bowling Green went 19-14 in 2008-09 and 11-5 in the Mid-American Conference, winning the regular season championship. The Falcons were selected to participate in the National Invitation Tournament, where the team lost to No. 1 seed Creighton 73-71 on the road in the opening round. It marked the program’s first postseason appearance since 2002.
Jackson will return to his roots where he coached basketball in Cincinnati at Withrow. Over his 20-plus high school career, Jackson posted a record of 311-146. A record that included 12 Queen City Conference-Metro titles, eight sectional crowns, and five district championships. He also led the Tigers to two regional championships and two appearances in state semifinals. His 1994 Tigers finished the year as the state runner-up.
A 1979 graduate of Wittenberg University, Jackson was a member of the school’s first NCAA national championship basketball team in 1977, which he later went on to captain.
Hockey team adds five players for next season Coach Scott Paluch has announced the addition of five new players to the hockey program and a total of eight for next season.
The four who have recently signed their Letter of Intent include defenseman Max Grover, forwards Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Nathan Pageau and goaltender Andrew Hammond. The fifth player, defenseman Reed Rushing, will be a walk-on this season.
Grover, a 6-0, 192-pound native of Kentwood, Mich., played last season at Sioux Falls in the United States Hockey League (USHL) where he scored four goals and added 18 assists in 50 games.
Samuels-Thomas (6-2, 190) played last season with Waterloo of the USHL and was among the top point producers in the league. The South Windsor, Connproduct scored 32 goals last season and added 22 assists in 59 games.
Pageau of Stoney Creek, Ontario, played for the Hamilton Red Wings of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) last season scoring 48 goals and assisting on 55 others in 53 games. Pageau (5-11, 168) was the division’s most valuable player.
Hammond (6-1, 195) posted a 27-12-1 record during the regular season in 43 games. The Surrey, British Columbia native led the British Columbia Hockey League in goals-against (2.30) and save percentage (.912). In the playoffs, Hammond was even better with a 12-5-0 record and a 1.50 goals-against and a .946 save percentage.
Rushing played last season for Marquette in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and had 15 points (3-12) in 41 games for the Rangers. The 5-10, 195-pounder, who is a native of Seattle had 31 penalty minutes.
Defenseman Robert Shea and Ian Ruel along with forward Marc Rodriguez signed their National Letter of Intent late in 2007, but opted to play another year in juniors to gain more experience.
The Falcons return 16 letter winners from last season, one goalie, three defense men and 12 forwards. The team was 11-24-3 last season and 8-19-1 in Central Collegiate Hockey Association play.
Track members recognized Stephanie Hillman, Westerville, was one of ten named to ESPN The Magazine second-team Academic All-District Team. She maintains a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in dietetics.
The senior from Westerville was one of the Falcons’ top runner in the 10,000 meters this season, finishing third at the All-Ohio Championships with a time of 38:42.08. She also competed in the 3,000 meters her senior campaign. Hillman along with senior Kara Butler were also named to the Academic All-MAC squad. A total of 39 athletes received the award.
Butler finished third at the Outdoor MAC Championships in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:21.04, her fastest time of the season. She also had a pair of victories in the 3,000 meters, winning at the Toledo Invitational and Detroit Titan Classic. Butler maintains a 3.73 grade-point average, majoring in biology.
Heart attack takes former Falcon’s life Stuart Tolle, a former University football player who appeared in the NFL, has died at 47.
Tolle suffered a heart attack at his home in Akron on May 31.
Before his death, Tolle was teaching science at Copley High School.
Playing for the University in the early 1980s, Tolle was on the Cleveland Browns’ reserve squad in 1985 and appeared in one game for the Detroit Lions in 1987.
Football players on magazine list College Football expert Phil Steele has named six University players to the All-Mid-American Conference Preseason Team.
Wide receiver Freddie Barnes and defensive back P.J. Mahone earned third-team honors, quarterback Tyler Sheehan, punter Nick Lovinelli and offensive lineman Shane Steffy earned fourth-team honors. Defensive back Jerett Sanderson was given an honorable mention.
