March 30, 2009
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today for this very special announcement.
Upper Iowa University has a long, rich tradition of excellence in athletics. For over 150 years, the principle of wellness through physical fitness and the development of leadership, discipline, and teamwork through athletic competition has been an integral part of this accomplished institution.
Along the way, Upper Iowa has made a name for itself as a determined competitor unafraid to chart its own course and take on all challengers (a reference to institutional character that goes beyond just athletics, by the way). The move to NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Conference serves as a testament to this legacy.
We successfully compete against institutions much larger and better resourced than us. Nevertheless, after only two years as a full member of the Northern Sun Conference, five conference championship banners hang in Dorman gymnasium. Know it or not, agree with it or not, like it or not, much of the general public forms a perception about the quality and prestige of an institution based upon its prowess on the field, court, and mat. It's sort of like an Iowa farm house. Many have porches that wrap around two, sometimes three, sides; each contributing to an impression. Along with our growing academic reputation, athletics is one of the porches on the UIU house.
But the road we have chosen is not going to get any easier. This year four new member institutions (formerly members of the North Central Conference) participated in the Northern Sun, some of which have student populations many times ours and resources to match. In just a few years, the Northern Sun Conference has become home to national champions in several sports. Today, the Northern Sun Conference is one of most respected in the country. The bar has been raised.
To build on the success of our former Athletic Director, Gil Cloud who led the transition at Upper Iowa from Division III to Division II and paved the way for membership in the Northern Sun Conference, Upper Iowa undertook a national search for a new leader who has the vision, experience, and character to help us reach a new level of excellence in athletic competition and academic success, and to build upon the legacy entrusted to us from such names as Dorman, McCready, Eischeid, Sanger, Exline, Bushkofsky, Day, Prochaska, Tierney, Heller, and a whole host of others. I am pleased to report that we have found what we were looking for.
It is an honor and pleasure to introduce an individual who comes to Upper Iowa with twenty years of progressively responsible athletic administration experience at the Air Force Academy, Truman State University, Ohio University, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Nebraska - Omaha where he is currently the Athletic Director. His broad base of experience includes success at external cultivation and fundraising, fiscal and budget management, strategic planning, conference and national committees, university relations, NCAA compliance, project management, sport management, marketing, Title IX compliance, facilities management and event management.
Under his leadership the athletic program at the University of Nebraska - Omaha has taken home six conference championships with 13 teams advancing to post-season play while accumulating an overall grade point average of 3.15. He is known for building organizations with a culture of respect, fairness, civility, honesty and responsibility.
Please join me in a warm welcome home to a native Iowan and newest member of the Peacock family, Mr. David Miller.
