Stevenson has announced that it is adding football to its roster of 19 NCAA Division III varsity sports. The school will recruit 40 to 50 student-athletes for a developmental season to start in fall 2010 and kick off intercollegiate play in fall 2011.

The Capital Athletic Conference, which currently does not sponsor football, would have four schools with the sport in the fall of 2011, with Stevenson joining Frostburg State, Salisbury and Wesley. Gallaudet, which also sponsors football, plays the sport in the ECFC (formerly the NAC) and will have left the CAC by then for its other sports. If no schools drop the sport or leave Division III, that would raise the number of Division III football programs to an all-time high of 242 that season.

A conference must have seven teams to qualify for an automatic bid. Four of them must be core members, or members in all sports.

The school's board of trustees recently approved the concept of starting a football program at its spring 2009 meeting. Now a logistics committee is moving forward with the development of the program and hiring a new coach this fall. It is the third Division III school to announce that it is adding the sport in 2011, joining Pacific, which recently started its coaching search, and Presentation, which is bringing D-III football to South Dakota. Hendrix has also said it would add football but has not publicly committed to 2011.

"Football is a great fit for Stevenson and reflects our commitment to Division III sports and educating student athletes," said Paul Cantabene, associate athletic director in charge of men's sports. "Current students, alumni and prospective students have all expressed a strong desire in having football here."

Stevenson has witnessed tremendous growth over the past decade, building a new campus in Owings Mills, Md., and increasing its undergraduate population to nearly 2,700 students. The school intends to grow that number to 4,000 and expects that the excitement and interest that football creates will be key to attracting a greater number of students, especially male students.

"Football is such a popular sport and we really believe it is something that will add vitality to our campus," said athletic director Brett Adams.

"Football will complement our existing athletic programs well and expenses will be offset by gains in admissions," added Cantabene.

The institution expects to attract 40-50 students representing strong local and regional high school football talent for its fall 2010 developmental season and at least 40 additional students by fall 2011 for its first varsity season.

Stevenson is bringing football back to the practice facility that was once the home of the Baltimore Colts and later the Ravens. It purchased the Owings Mills facility from the city of Baltimore and the Ravens in 2006. The University has existing practice fields on its two campuses and plans for new stadium on its Owings Mills campus.

Gabby Price has announced that he is stepping down as head coach at Husson. "I couldn't be more excited about the future of Husson Football. We have great people, good players, a new league, and an exciting recruiting class. It simply is time to step aside."

"Gabby is the student athlete's coach. His passion, caring and support for his student athletes are among his greatest qualities," said Husson president Bill Beardsley. "He challenges them, works them hard and praises their academic pursuits just as much as what they do on the field. That is what NCAA Division III athletics and Husson University are all about."

Price has been at the helm for seven years and fielded his first team in 2003. He leaves the program with a 25-28 win-loss record. In his final three seasons his teams went 19-10. This past season his team was 7-3 and earned the schools first post-season bid to the ECAC Northeast Bowl where the Eagles lost to St. John Fisher 17-7. Price served as Athletic Director for five years then stepped down in 2008 to concentrate on his coaching duties.

"Gabby has had a storied coaching career at both Bangor High School and Husson University. His passion for the game combined with an extraordinary commitment to student-athletes was a formula for success. He has touched many lives and made a difference, and leaves a regional program that earned ECAC postseason play. We will be meeting over the next few weeks with coaches and student-athletes and will put a plan into place for a search for a new coach," said athletic director Cindy Connelley.

Dennis Collins, commissioner of the North Coast Athletic Conference passed away suddenly, Sunday, June 14, from a heart attack.

Collins became the conference's first and only commissioner when the league began its first playing season in 1984. For 25 years, he led one of the most successful conferences in all three divisions of the NCAA.

He was a respected national leader and has served as president of the NCAA Division III Commissioners Association, a group he helped to organize in 1989. From 1992-96, he served as a member of the NCAA Council, the national association's equivalent of a board of directors. In the same period, he chaired the NCAA Dist. IV Postgraduate Scholarship Committee, served on the Division Special Restructuring Taskforce and in 1999, completed a six-year term on the NCAA Interpretations Committee. He was awarded the prestigious Meritorious Service Award from the Div. III Commissioners' Association in 2006. He was a founder of the Intercollegiate Officiating Association, a cooperative amongst 27 NCAA/NAIA colleges that provides regional officiating services. Collins served 17 years as that group's chief administrator. He served on Presidential Advisory/Visiting Committees at both Carnegie Mellon and Bates. He also served on the Games Committee of five Kickoff & Pigskin Classics, college football's opening games, between 1984 and 2002. Over the years, Collins guided two membership expansions of the NCAC -- one in 1988, adding Earlham and Wittenberg, and the most recent, the addition of Hiram and Wabash in 1998.

Prior to coming to the NCAC, Collins served five years as communications director for the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. He also was sports information director/athletic-alumni director at Case Western Reserve and news director/sports information director at Otterbein. For an eight-year period, he operated his own firm, Collins Communications, which provided public relations and photographic services to regional and national clients such as the National Football League.

He was a graduate of Ohio State with an undergraduate degree in journalism and served four years in the U.S. Coast Guard. He is survived by his wife Jeanne, and three grown children, Jennifer, Kate and Michael, as well as his mother, sister, brother and their families.