Thank you for your interest in employment with Louisiana Tech University.
Louisiana Tech University, a member of Conference USA, is seeking applicants for the position of Director/Assistant Athletic Director of Video Operations and Creative Services. This is a full-time, 12-month position with benefits. The annual salary range is from $40,000 to $50,000.00 based on experience. Bachelor's degree is required; Masters' degree is preferred. Demonstrated experience working in a collegiate athletic program is also preferred.
The successful candidate will serve as the primary contact and in-house producer for all of Louisiana Tech Athletics home games. The successful candidate will conceptualize, record, and edit professional video and motion graphic packages to serve the department's goals of brand engagement, fan experience, and revenue generation including most video board productions.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
The successful candidate will administer and monitor game day video production and creative services for the department.
1. Oversee the production of athletic multimedia content. Conceptualize, produce, shoot, and edit video content for LA Tech Athletics, including highlight, game day, and hype videos. Create journalistic, publicity, highlight and other featured multi-media content, including motion graphics for in-game scoreboard and web properties. Work with external team to coordinate and produce all video content for promotional, branding, and sponsorship purposes.
2. Manage game day marketing/in-arena productions for assigned sports. Recruit, manage and schedule student workers for event coverage for video board.
3. Develop, design, and implement multi-media marketing videos to enhance the LA Tech brand and generate revenue.
4. Supervision of video services staff, including two (2) full time interns, undergraduate and graduate student employees. Interviews, hires, trains, delegates and manages workflow. Performs evaluations, set goals and areas of improvement.
5. Budget management for video and creative services. Monitors program budget. Tracks expenditures in preparation for future budget planning.
6. Archiving all home games; cutting and uploading all game highlights to BOX (C-USA Digital Network); and cataloging and archiving photo and video content for historical and future use.
7. The candidate will also be responsible for the equipment inventory
Excellent oral and written communication skills along with advanced computer skills required.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES:• Proficient as a cinematographer / photographer including technical skill with DSLR cameras. • Expertise in managing full production process and producing hi-quality content, including proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud. • Ability to demonstrate creativity in both shooting and editing; produce innovative content without direct supervision. • Skills in motion graphics and After Effects recommended, but not required.
• Experience with Daktronics recommended, but not required.
This position will assist in athletic events as well as perform other duties assigned by the Associate AD of External Relations.
Louisiana Tech is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/ADA Employer and places a high priority on the creation of an environment supportive of ethnic minorities, women, veterans, and persons with disabilities.
Posting Close Date: This position will remain open until filled.Please Note: Applications must be completed by 11:59 p.m. on the Job Closing Date to ensure consideration.
Note to Applicant:
Applicants should fully describe their qualifications and experience with specific reference to each of the minimum and preferred qualifications in their cover letter. The search committee will use this information during the initial review of application materials.
References will be contacted at the appropriate phase of the recruitment process.
This position may require a criminal background check to be conducted on the candidate(s) selected for hire.
As part of the hiring process, applicants for positions at the Louisiana Tech University may be required to demonstrate the ability to perform job-related tasks.
The Mid Vermont Christian School girls basketball team withdrew from the Vermont Division IV state tournament because of a refusal to play against an opponent with a transgender student-athlete.
The No. 12 seed Eagles were scheduled to play a first-round game at No. 5 seed Long Trail on Tuesday night, but their withdrawal forfeited the game to the Mountain Lions.
"We believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players," MVCS head of school Vicky Fogg wrote in an email to the Valley News on Wednesday evening. "Allowing biological males to participate in women's sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women's sports in general."
Fogg declined a request for an interview.
Lauren Thomas, the assistant executive director for the Vermont Principals' Association, said MVCS sent her a letter stating that it would not be entering the tournament but did not elaborate on its decision.
Long Trail athletic director John Schneble did not respond to requests for comment. The Mountain Lions played their full 20-game regular-season schedule without any issues, finishing 14-6 with 11 wins in their last 12 games. The Eagles' forfeit sent Long Trail to the quarterfinals Friday against No. 4 seed Arlington.
Vermont law allows transgender female students to play on girls' sports teams. Among the goals of the VPA's Activities Standards Committee is to provide "proactive talk tracks for transgender athletes."
"I have received calls (from schools) asking for best practices and how to go forward knowing they were going to play a team with a transgender female on it," Thomas said. "We just supported our stance and our best practices through our inclusivity statement."
Earlier this year, Mid Vermont Christian School submitted a letter to the state Agency of Education seeking permission to receive public tuition funding while also asserting that it reserved the right not to follow all of Vermont's anti-discrimination laws.
"As a religious organization, the school has a statutory and constitutional right to make decisions based on its religious beliefs, including hiring and disciplining employees, associating with others, and in its admissions, conduct and operations policies and procedures," Fogg wrote in the Jan. 5 letter. "By signing this form, the Mid Vermont Christian School does not waive any such rights." To the extent state laws conflict with the school's beliefs, "including on marriage and sexuality, the school has not included that language in its handbook or online, nor can it affirm that particular aspect of the Vermont Public Accommodations Act."
Benjamin Rosenberg can be reached at brosenberg@vnews.com or 603-727-3302.
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- LSU accidentally overpaid Tigers football coach Brian Kelly by $1 million during the first year of a 10-year, $100 million contract, but discovered the error and has moved to correct it, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's office said Wednesday.
Kelly was overpaid $1,001,368 in supplemental payments in 2022 because of duplicate payments made both to Kelly's LLC and to the coach directly.
The double payments began in May and continued until LSU officials detected the errors in November.
"LSU management and the head football coach have enacted an adjusted payment schedule so the amount of overpayment will be recouped by the conclusion of fiscal year 2023," the Legislative Auditor's report stated.
Kelly, who previously coached at Notre Dame for 12 seasons, was hired by LSU after the 2021 season, when the Tigers went 6-7 for its first losing season since 1999.
LSU exceeded expectations in Kelly's first season in Baton Rouge, winning the SEC West Division and finishing 10-4 after a 63-7 victory over Purdue in the Citrus Bowl.
Posted: / Updated:
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WISH) — "Take a deep breath," said I-Team 8's Jasmine Minor.
Nervous, yet determined. For four former female Division I soccer players, this was the first time they've shared their stories publicly — and it's five years in the making.
"My doctor (and I), we discussed me going on antidepressants for any type of postpartum care in the future … when I become a mom," said Katie Webb, formerly Katie Wells, who played soccer on the Indiana State University Soccer team from 2015 to 2018. "When you've gone through a traumatic experience, when you've gone through an emotional experience, it all just seems amplified and to amplify that more with hormones that I can't necessarily control."
That trauma began in college, she says, stemming directly from the psychological, verbal and emotional abuse she and her 27 teammates say they suffered from their former head coach, Julie Hanley.
After the school announced the head coach was stepping down from her position in December, these former players felt empowered to tell their stories.
"(I was made to) weekly give every intake of food that I had. Like I would write down every single calorie, carb," said Pamela Silies, a former Indiana State University Soccer player from 2016 to 2019.
She was binging, she says, due to the pressure handed down by Hanley.
Their experience became one of many bullet points within 17 typed-up pages. It's now known as the "Binder" of 2017.
It read:
"We are here, 27 strong, to discuss an important issue with you. We have been told over and over that the soccer team is "our program", and we are here to voice concerns with "our program", specifically in regard to the coaching staff. Even after Julie reminded us this morning that we have our scholarships at stake, we still have this number wanting to come forward. There are additional supporters not present due to the finance threat. We come in a great number not to ambush you but to impress upon you the magnitude of the issue that is felt across our team. Like I said, the supporters for this action include even more girls that were unable to make it today. We know it is your job, not ours, to evaluate coaches, but we believe that there are things you are unaware of that you need to know…We don't want 27 people to leave, we want one person."
Then detailed the following reasons.
"We would receive a message, it was like at nighttime, the day before. And it would be the list of the girls who had to go in and run the next morning," said Carli Chiatto, another former ISU soccer player, 2016 to 2018.
The problem wasn't the workout. Chiatto says the issue was the workout was mandatory on their off day.
"We would basically just sprint on the treadmill until you would pass out."
NCAA Division I rules mandate at least one day off a week during the season. It was something the girls say was adding physical stress to their bodies on top of the heavy emotional stress they were facing.
"We would read. Like certain passages that we were sent," Webb said.
The passages were from a book describing what the women say were "difficult personalities," such as "The Lovable Slacker, The Accidental Mess-Maker, The Bulldozer."
"I think once that email came out with preconceived names and notions of what your personality was on this team, I think it broke some people," Webb said.
The Binder shows an email sent from Hanley to the team with those passages and players' names written down next to them.
Webb, Chiatto and Silies tell I-Team 8, the Breakfast Club and Book Club were only the beginning. They say life as an injured player was far more difficult.
"Some girls who are recovering from ACLs, the injured players were maybe not able to recover as much as they should be or were treated more like field managers in the moment, you know, fetching balls, grabbing cones," Webb said. "We're on a football field, you know, and it's turf, one ball gets hit too far. That's 100 yards of walking right there."
Webb says there was a level of guilt that came with being one of the healthy ones.
"I'd say overall, I was a pretty healthy player and to know that maybe I kicked that ball down there on accident," Webb told I-Team. "It's kind of gut-wrenching because you feel guilty of being a perfectly capable individual going to get that (ball). And you're either not allowed to, not encourage, and still participating in another drill."
The "Binder" included allegations of Hanley's "lack of presence at team events," "manipulative and destructive" behavior, "lying" to players and coaches," and "unprofessional behavior" such as asking to go to dinner with a player and her boyfriend.
They tell I-Team 8 they presented the "Binder" to the administration, including current ISU Athletic Director Sherard Clinkscales in the spring 2017.
A university spokesperson provided a statement to I-Team 8:
"Indiana State University is committed to protecting the health and welfare of student-athletes and takes any allegation of emotional or NCAA violations seriously. The university thoroughly and promptly investigated concerns raised in 2017 by student-athletes about the head women's soccer coach.
A 27-page report found no violations whatsoever of any NCAA rules, university policies, or state or federal laws or regulations. In particular, the investigation found no violations of governing rules on student-athlete physical and mental welfare, and it found no violations of NCAA time limits on team activities.
Nonetheless, ISU took significant measures to ensure the welfare of the women as students and athletes in the women's soccer program. A specific action plan was implemented for the head coach. An ISU board-certified psychologist ensured the student-athletes' well-being.
This fall, ISU and its women's soccer coach made the decision to part ways. The university will not comment on any personnel actions regarding current or former employees.
ISU encourages all students to come forward with any concerns that they may have."
The former players tell I-Team 8 they felt nothing had changed after their teammates presented the "Binder" — except for who was on the team.
"We're not 27, strong anymore," said Jazlyn Rowan, a former ISU player from 2016 to 2018. "A lot of the players who had something to do with that binder were released from the team."
According to roster records from 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, I-Team 8 found at least 16 players who did not play through their senior years under Hanley.
Rowan was one of those players.
Nearly eight months after 27 of her teammates presented the "Binder," Rowan filed a racial discrimination complaint against Hanley.
"One day we were walking in the mall as a team and some of my teammates came and brought me a clip-on blonde ponytail suggesting like if you wear this I guarantee you'll play," Rowan said, describing the moment her feelings were solidified in her mind. "Being able to just be like, 'Okay, like, this is real. This is happening. What can I do different? I can't change the color of my skin, but maybe I can be a better player.'"
Rowan was one of two Black players on the 2018-2019 roster.
Her complaint alleged a lack of playing time, direct comments on her hairstyles, and a "fear to touch the ball" and face consequences for making a mistake.
"I witnessed (her experience), too. But to hear it back and to kind of sit here and say like that was her experience. And that's what happened. It's wrong," said Silies, who is white.
"Do you two feel like Jazlyn deserved more playing time?" Minor asked Silies and Chiatto.
"Absolutely," Chiatto said.
"Of course. I think everyone deserves a chance," Silies said. "And she never got that."
An investigation by the university was completed in December 2018. In its conclusion, it found while there was "evidence that supports a general belief among the soccer team of favorable or differential treatment, such evidence does not support a finding that the differential treatment was based on (an) individual's characteristics."
"They asked me what I wanted from all of this, (like is this) about looking for more playing time. … I said, 'no.' I'm not looking for more playing time. I'm just looking for you all to get cultural competency training."
Rowan says they never got that training. Instead, she says, she was told she no longer "fit the culture" of the team.
One month after the final investigative report came out, she was cut from the team.
"It was a clear slap in the face," Rowan said through tears. "I don't remember the last time I touched a soccer ball. It was really hard. Sorry."
I-Team 8 followed up with the school to offer the opportunity for a formal interview, but the school declined and referred to their statement.
An October investigative report written by Sally Q. Yates, the former acting U.S. attorney general, which focused on the conduct of three former National Women's Soccer League coaches, found there were issues of systemic emotional and verbal abuse beyond the professional leagues.
"Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women's soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players," the report says.
Yates was quoted in a call with reporters, "from youth soccer on up, sexist or demeaning statements have been written off as 'tough coaching,'" according to NPR.
The report also found players' complaints were not always acted upon.
Silies, Chiatto and Rowan say after their own experience growing up in the soccer world they agree with the report's findings.
"Do you believe the university was trying to cover its tracks?" I-Team 8 asked.
"Absolutely," they said in agreement.
"The administration failed this team. And I believe that you know, they're still failing this team," Webb said.
I-Team 8 reached out to Hanley several times to address the racial discrimination and psychological, verbal and emotional abuse allegations by her former players.
She sent a text to Minor with a statement: "I'm grateful for my time at Indiana State and for those coaches and players I shared my time with as part of the program."
I-Team 8 also reached out to the NCAA to ask if the organization had ever separately investigated the allegations or was made aware of them.
A spokesperson for the NCAA said that "the NCAA has no comment."
For Chiatto, Webb, Rowan, and Silies, they say while there is lingering trauma years later, they've worked hard to build themselves and their life back up again. They say sharing their stories is about taking their power back.
"I can't give (Hanely) the power over my success," Rowan said. "Like I came through that. Like I really did that."
"We're going to tell you what we're going through. So listen to us," Chiatto said.
"Hear us."
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LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KTSM) – New Mexico State University police released a redacted report on Sunday detailing allegations of false imprisonment, harassment and criminal sexual contact made against three members of the Aggies men's basketball program.
Shortly after the police report was released to KTSM, NMSU chancellor Dan Arvizu announced the men's basketball program had been shut down for the remainder of the 2022-23 season and wouldn't play its final five games of WAC play.
"This action is clearly needed, especially after receiving additional facts and reviewing investigation reports related to the hazing allegations involving student-athletes on the team," Arvizu said in a statement. "Hazing has no place on our campus, and those found responsible will be held accountable for their actions. We must uphold the safety of our students and the integrity of our university. It's time for this program to reset. I have spoken with Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Brian Thornton earlier today and informed him of this decision."
First year head coach Greg Heiar and his entire coaching staff were place on paid administrative leave as a result of the allegations on Friday. As of Sunday night, a university official told KTSM that they were still employed.
The report states that on Feb. 10, the victim – a member of the NMSU men's basketball team – went to campus police wishing to file a report regarding a possible assault, but did not want to pursue criminal charges.
The police report cites three offenses for the three players: one count of false imprisonment, one count of harassment and two counts of criminal sexual contact. The victim told police that the incidents had been occurring since July or August of 2022.
In the witness report, the victim states that on Feb. 6, 2023, three members of the basketball team – whose names were redacted in the police report released to KTSM – allegedly, "held him down with him facing down, removed his clothing exposing his buttocks and began to 'slap his ass.' He also went on to state that they also touched his scrotum."
The victim also alleges in the report that the inappropriate physical and sexual touching by his teammates had been ongoing issues inside the locker room at both the Pan American Center and on road trips.
The victim stated to police that he "had no choice but to let this happen because it's a 3-on-1 type of situation." The victim also told police that the incidents would usually happen in front of the entire team and that no one ever intervened.
The police report also states that there could be another member of the NMSU basketball program that has been subjected to the hazing and inappropriate conduct.
No criminal charges have been filed against any of the three players as of Sunday afternoon.
NMSU police are still investigating the incidents, according to the report.
Meanwhile, an exodus from the NMSU program continued on Sunday due to the new hazing allegations. Guard Kyle Feit announced his exit from the team on Sunday, joining two players who announced Saturday they were leaving after the team arrived back to Las Cruces after being in California.
— Kyle Feit (@KyleFeit) February 12, 2023
The Western Athletic Conference issued a statement following the cancellation of NMSU's season, saying that the remaining 12 WAC teams would qualify for the WAC Tournament automatically. The conference said it was still evaluating how games that would have included New Mexico State would be addressed with regard to seeding for the WAC Tournament.
"The Western Athletic Conference is committed to both the mental and physical wellbeing of all of our student-athletes. We are saddened and disappointed that hazing continues to be a part of our society at any level," the league said in a statement. "Over the last 48 hours, our staff and membership have been working to find a solution that best protects every WAC student-athlete and institution. We fully support New Mexico State's decision to suspend the rest of its season, as they take this time to focus on the health and safety of their student-athletes."
WAC commissioner Brian Thornton also released his own statement regarding the shutdown and sent well-wishes to the alleged victim.
"My heart aches for the young man tied to these hazing allegations. The final decision is in the best interest of our conference as well as providing New Mexico State with an opportunity to heal and determine the future direction of their Men's Basketball program," Thornton wrote.
My heart aches for the young man tied to these hazing allegations. The final decision is in the best interest of our conference as well as providing New Mexico State with an opportunity to heal and determine the future direction of their Men's Basketball program. https://t.co/HdFRz7nx6q
— Brian Thornton (@BrianThornton2) February 13, 2023
All of these new accusations against the New Mexico State program are completely unrelated to a separate ongoing investigation into a deadly shooting in Albuquerque on Nov. 19, 2022, involving now-suspended Aggies basketball player Mike Peake and four University of New Mexico students.
Police allege that the four students conspired to lure Peake to the UNM campus on Nov. 19, with plans of assaulting him as retribution for a fight at the Oct. 15 UNM-NMSU football game in Las Cruces. Peake and NMSU were in Albuquerque for the Nov. 19 rivalry game with UNM that was eventually cancelled.
Brandon Travis was killed in a shootout with Peake and Peake was shot in the leg after police say Brandon Travis, Eli'Sha Upshaw and Jonathan Smith assaulted him in the early morning hours of Nov. 19.
Smith, Upshaw and a 17-year-old girl who helped lure Peake to campus that morning on the promise of sex were also charged with multiple felonies in relation to the case, including aggravated battery and conspiracy.
Neither Peake, nor anyone else associated with NMSU has been charged with a crime in that case as of now.
New Mexico State University is currently having Rodey Law Firm conduct an external, third-party investigation of the events of Nov. 19 and the response to it by NMSU coaches, players and administrators.
Police say that three players – Marchelus Avery, Issa Muhammad and Anthony Roy – can be seen on surveillance video aiding Peake in the moments after the shooting and placing the gun used by Peake, plus a tablet, into the trunk of a car.
Multiple sources told KTSM that Avery, Muhammad and Roy are not the players involved in the alleged hazing incidents that have emerged in the last few days. The three players who have left the program since Saturday were also not the alleged hazing perpetrators.
New Mexico State will see its tumultuous season under first-year head coach Greg Heiar end abruptly, with a 9-15 record, 2-10 in WAC play.
Heiar was hired by New Mexico State in April of 2022 and signed a five-year contract that pays him $300,000 annually. However, there are certain elements of Heiar's contract that the university could explore to potentially terminate Heiar and his staff for cause given what has transpired this season.
While the staff is currently still employed by NMSU and on paid administrative leave, Heiar's contract stipulates that he has a duty to monitor Institutional Control and Program Management.
"Coach recognizes and acknowledges the importance of maintaining and observing the principles of institutional control over every aspect of the Program," the contract reads in Section 1.1: Reporting and Institutional Control.
Under Section 1.2: Program Management, Heiar's contract reads, "Coach must faithfully perform the customary duties of a head coach, including managing and supervising the Program, and must perform such other duties University's athletics programs, consistent with his status as head coach, as the Director may assign."
Further down in Heiar's contract are 15 stipulations in which the university could terminate him with cause. Of those 15, two stick out in particular regarding the current state of the NMSU program.
One way the university could potential terminate Heiar for cause is a, "Failure by coach to report promptly to the Director any violations known to Coach of the Rules or University policy, rules or regulations, by assistant coaches, students, or other persons under direct control or supervision of Coach."
Hazing is prohibited by the NMSU student code of conduct.
A second way the school could presumably fire Heiar for cause, per his contract, is, "A serious or intentional violation (or if University has a reasonable basis for believing that a serious or intentional violation occurred) by Coach (or any other person under Coach's supervision and direction) of any law, rule, regulation, constitutional provision, bylaw or interpretation of University, the Conference or the NCAA."
It must be reiterated again that Heiar is still employed and on paid leave as of Monday, Feb. 13. However, the NMSU Board of Regents will meet on Tuesday to discuss personnel matters in a closed session.
The Board cannot make any decision to terminate an employee behind closed doors; it must be done in an open session. However, NMSU's chancellor does reserve the right to make personnel changes without Board approval, according to an NMSU spokesperson.
