Catching up on some news and notes collected in the last few days:
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Mark Rhodehamel, a 2006 SRU sport management graduate-degree recipient, was named Wednesday as Assistant Director of Panther Club Operations by the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Department.
Congrats to Mark, who I had the privilege of working alongside on some projects during his graduate-school career.
Mark will coordinate special events, donor relations and the overall operation of the Panther Club, which is the fundraising branch of the athletic department.
Mark joined the Panther Club staff after serving for four years as the Director of Operations for the Pitt Women's Basketball team. He began his employment at Pitt in 2006 as an athletics operations and facilities assistant. Rhodehamel earned his undergraduate degree from SUNY Oswego before being admitted to SRU’s nationally-recognized sport management graduate-school program.
• Former Rock football All-America performer
LaMonte Coleman is now the CEO and general manager of the Marion Blue Racers, who are based in central Ohio and will play in Saturday’s Continental Indoor Football League championship game.
Coleman, who rushed for an SRU-record 1601 yards in his senior season after going for 1,396 yards (#5 all-time) as a junior, played for The Rock from 1992–94 before he pursued a professional career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and several Arena Football League teams.
The No. 5 rusher (3,116 yards) and No. 7 scorer (38 TDs) in Rock history, Coleman retired as a professional player in 2005 and subsequently earned a bachelor’s degree in sports leadership and sports humanities from The Ohio State University.
Coleman, who owns the Blue Racers and the Columbus Bills flag football team, also created a company called Run 42 Sports Group.
The Blue Racers will take a 9-2 record into Saturday’s game in Cincinnati against the unbeaten (10-0), hosting and defending champion Commandos. If the semifinal scores are any indication, Saturday’s game will be a true offensive shootout. The Blue Racers scored the final 51 points of the game to record a 53-18 win over the Dayton Silverbacks last Monday, while Cincinnati rolled to a 71-13 win over the Chicago Knights.
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Rochelle Coleman (no relation), who served as SRU’s women’s basketball graduate assistant in 2005-06, was recently named as head girls’ basketball coach at her alma mater, Paint Branch High School in Maryland. A former collegiate standout at Division I Syracuse University and professional player in Holland, Coleman had served the previous two seasons as head junior varsity and volunteer varsity assistant coach at the school.
• A closing “shoutout” to SRU senior
Anna Thorniley who is seeking to run 1,000 miles in one year to raise $10,000 for children at Akron Rotary Camp in Ohio. The camp offers children and adults with disabilities the chance to experience friendship and outdoor summer excitement.
As the president of the Slippery Rock Lions Club, which is part of the world’s largest service club organization that is dedicated to individuals in need of assistance due to physical ailments, it warms my heart to know one of our SRU students shares that compassion for others.
If you are interested in helping Anna reach her goal, please call the Akron Rotary Camp at 330.644.4512 and pledge to sponsor a mile. She will begin her first leg of the challenge Saturday by running 10 miles from Akron Rotary Camp to Camp Y-Noah. You can follow her progress at
http://www.akronymca.org/RotaryCampBranchStories.aspx.
Until we talk again …
GO ROCK!!
Bob McComas
Sports Information Director
