Belmont Abbey College Appoints Dick Dull Athletic Director For Division II School
Selection Reflects Focus On Emphasizing Virtue In Sports
BELMONT, N.C. (June 27, 2007) – Belmont Abbey College, which competes in the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas, today announced the appointment of Richard M. Dull as athletic director effective July 1.
Dull most recently served as athletic director at Division I California State University Northridge and brings to his new assignment a wealth of experience culled from guiding athletics programs at NCAA Division I, II and III schools over the past 25 years.
“We have a special community here at Belmont Abbey College in which we share a lifelong journey to search for and live in response to truth,” said Dr. Bill Thierfelder, president of Belmont Abbey College. “The proper role of college athletics should be to teach students lessons that will be as valuable to them in later life as those they learn in the classroom or in any other aspect of their college experience. The role of athletics should be to enhance and augment the academic experience in the development of the whole person. In order to properly fulfill this role, we need talented coaches who are teachers and mentors first. It is important to set high standards that guide the conduct of players on and off the field, the conduct of fans sitting in the stands, and the conduct of our athletic coaches and administrators. The individual we are introducing today as Belmont Abbey's next athletic director understands and shares this philosophy. This individual knows that excellence in sports is a means to achieving greater ends, and not an end in itself.”
Dull served as director of athletics for Cal State-Northridge for six years from 1999 through 2005, a tenure highlighted by the school’s first appearance in the NCAA basketball tournament in 2001 and a move from the Big Sky Conference to the Big West. He resigned in 2005 to assume the role of executive director for athletics facilities advancement for the school. Between 1995 and 1999, Dull served as director of athletics at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. During his three-year tenure at Division II Nebraska-Kearney the school led the Rocky Mountain Conference in Honor Roll students and won the conference’s All Sports Championship, symbolic of the best athletics program in the conference. Dull previously served as director of athletics at the University of Maryland from 1981 to 1986, during which time the school achieved the greatest percentage increase in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the number of student athletes on the ACC Honor Roll.
“I have seen what can happen to good institutions and to promising young people when the culture of celebrity infects sports,” said Dull. “I am excited to be part of an institution that shares my commitment to using athletics in the service of developing mind, body and spirit and producing athletes who embody both excellence and virtue.”
Thierfelder, a two-time All-American in track and field and former NCAA Division I coach, is an active proponent of a growing movement to reform the culture of athletics at all levels. He is the creator of SPD (Sport Properly Directed) – Reclaim the Game, which promotes the reintroduction of virtue into the world of sports. SPD has established the “Sport at the Service of the Spirit” award and Belmont Abbey College has created a “Sport at the Service of the Spirit” scholarship to recognize individuals who represent virtue and excellence in sports. Thierfelder, who holds a doctorate in sports psychology, blogs regularly on virtue in sport on SPD’s Web site, www.reclaimthegame.com.
“The motto of Conference Carolinas is ‘Academics and athletics working together,’ and that reflects Belmont Abbey College’s view of the proper role of sports in college life,” Thierfelder said. “We were indeed fortunate to find an individual with Dick’s experience and qualifications who shares this philosophy.”
Membership in Conference Carolinas, formerly known as the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference, grew to 12 schools with the recent addition of Converse College as a full member of the league. The conference’s name change and the addition of Converse College were announced earlier this month at the league’s annual meeting hosted by Belmont Abbey College.
Named one of the top 50 “All-American Colleges” by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), Belmont Abbey College finds its center in Jesus Christ and believes in the development of the whole person – mind, body and spirit. Founded in 1876, the College celebrates its Catholic Benedictine heritage and welcomes anyone from any background or tradition committed to its vision of excellence and virtue. Home to more than 1,100 students from 29 states and 24 countries, the campus is located on the 650-acre picturesque monastic property of Belmont Abbey. Located just 10 miles west of Charlotte, N.C., it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.belmontabbeycollege.edu.
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