ST. JOSEPH – Four finalists to be the next director of athletics at Missouri Western State University will visit campus beginning July 17. All four of the candidates are currently athletic directors at other NCAA Division II universities.

“We have an amazing pool of candidates to choose from, reflecting the current strength and future potential of our Department of Athletics,” said Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president for academic affairs and chair of the search committee. “The committee is excited to enter the next phase of the search process, and we believe others on campus and in the community will be as impressed as we have been by the quality of these individuals.”

The four candidates will spend the day meeting with a number of groups on campus, and each will give a public presentation on their vision for the future of Missouri Western athletics.

“I think that we have an exceptional list of candidates,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “In fact, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a more qualified and experienced group of candidates as finalists for a cabinet-level position like this. To have four successful sitting Division II athletic directors as finalists is pretty remarkable. I look forward to getting to know them better during the interview process.”

The finalists are:

– Josh Looney, director of athletics at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. Looney previously worked for the NCAA, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Orlando Magic. He will be on campus Monday, July 17, with a public presentation at 2 p.m. in the Hearnes Center, room 102.

– David Miller, director of athletics at Upper Iowa University. Miller was previously athletic director at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and has worked at Southern Methodist University, Ohio University, Truman State University and the U.S. Air Force Academy. He will be on campus Thursday, July 20, with a public presentation at 2 p.m. in the Hearnes Center, room 102.

– Marty Bell, vice president for intercollegiate athletics/director of athletics and men’s basketball coach at Quincy University in Illinois. Bell was previously an assistant basketball coach at Drake University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Lock Haven University and a graduate assistant at the University of South Carolina. He will be on campus Monday, July 24, with a public presentation at 1:45 p.m. in the Hearnes Center, room 102.

– Todd Thurman, director of athletics at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Thurman was previously head men’s basketball coach at Southwestern and at Wayland Baptist University, and assistant coach at Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Christian University and the University of Central Oklahoma. He will be on campus Wednesday, July 26, with a public presentation at 2 p.m. in the Hearnes Center, room 102.

Missouri Western seeks to replace Kurt McGuffin, who left last month after five years at the helm to become director of athletics at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Patsy Smith will serve as the interim director of athletics at Missouri Western State University.

“Patsy Smith is a Griffon through and through, having been a part of Missouri Western athletics as a student-athlete, coach and administrator,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “I have the utmost confidence she will provide excellent leadership to the department while we complete the search for our next athletic director.”

“I feel honored that Dr. Vartabedian has asked me to serve as the interim director of athletics at Missouri Western State University,” Smith said. “Having served in this role previously, I am confident our coaches and staff will continue to do a great job, and this will provide for an easy transition.”

Smith officially retired from Missouri Western in July of 2014 after serving various roles in the department since 1994. At the time of her retirement, she served as senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator. She continued to serve part-time as athletic business manager until March of 2017.

Smith began her career at Missouri Western in the fall of 1990 as a tennis student-athlete and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in accounting in 1995.

In 1994, Smith became the head women’s tennis coach and led the team to its first ever NCAA Tournament in 1998. That same year, she became the first athletics business manager at Missouri Western. She has served in the roles of compliance and academics, director of finance, assistant athletics director and finally senior associate director of athletics and senior woman administrator before retiring from full-time employment in 2014.

Smith served on the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee for tennis and the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee for women’s basketball. She also served on the NCAA Championships Committee for six years and was chairperson of the Institutional Representative Council for the MIAA at the time of her retirement.

In the St. Joseph community, Smith co-chaired the YWCA Women of Excellence Luncheon and is a member of their finance committee. She was also a member of the St. Joseph Junior League for 10 years.

Smith takes over for Kurt McGuffin, who left after five years at Missouri Western to become director of athletics at the University of Tennessee-Martin. Dr. Vartabedian hopes to name McGuffin’s permanent successor by the end of July.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Two Missouri Western student-athletes were among the 117 Division II nominees for the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Kelsey Olion (volleyball) and Morgan Rathmann (softball) were Missouri Western’s nominees. A record 543 female athletes were nominated across all three divisions.

Olion, who recently graduated with a degree in biochemistry/molecular biology, was a four-time MIAA Academic Excellence Award recipient, maintaining a 4.0 cumulative GPA throughout her time at Missouri Western. On the court, Olion was named All-MIAA three times including a second team selection as a senior in 2016.

Rathmann will graduate with a degree in English education and was also a four-time MIAA Academic Excellence Award winner. Rathmann was also named second team CoSIDA Academic All-America following her senior season and was a four-time All-MIAA selection, including first team honors in 2016 and 2017.

The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.

Next, conferences will select up to two conference nominees each from the pool of school nominees. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.

From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then chooses the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.

The top 30 honorees will be recognized and the 2017 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 22 in Indianapolis.

— MWSU Athletics —