Paul Ratcliffe Named Head Women's Soccer Coach
Stanford University announces today that Paul Ratcliffe has been named the head women's soccer coach. Ratcliffe, who coached at Saint Mary's the past five seasons, takes over the Cardinal program that has appeared in the postseason 12 of the last 13 years. "We are very excited to have a coach of Paul Ratcliffe's caliber join the Stanford Athletic Department and work with our student-athletes," said Athletic Director Ted Leland. "We are extremely proud of our women's soccer team and their recent accomplishments and are looking forward to even greater accomplishments under Paul's leadership."

New Employees

• Brooke Mckinney, Assistant Field Hockey Coach, 1/1/03
• David Taylor, Operations Intern, 1/15/03
• Paul Ratcliffe, Head Coach Womens Soccer, 2/15/03

Position Changes

• Lesley Irvine, Head Coach Field Hockey

Good-byes

• Sheryl Johnson, retirement 12/31/02
• Mike Sanford, accepted a coaching position at the University of Utah
• Falene Nieves, accepted another position for the City of Los Altos

Announcements

• Dr. Ted Leland, Director of Athletics will be on a "Special Reserve Leave" from March 1 May 19, 2003. Debi Gore-Mann, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Finance and Business Affairs will assume the temporary role of Interim Athletic Director during Leland's absence.

Open Positions

• Receptionist/Kronos Administrator
• Marketing & Operations Assistant for Soccer
• Quarterbacks Coach
• Director of Rugby

Stanford Athletics Nominated for Amateur Sports Organization of the Year
The 3rd Annual Horizon Awards for sports business will be presented on February 6 at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel and Stanford Athletics is nominated in one of the eight categories. Stanford is one of five nominees in the category, "Amateur Sports Organization of the Year" along with the United States Golf Association, USA Hockey, Inc., USA Swimming and the United States Olympic Committee.

Facility Construction...

• Encina Tennis Courts - Rumor has it that a few students couldn't wait for the nets to be installed and were seen rallying over the tops of their bikes...Well the nets are now in and play began in earnest last week as Couch Gould and Whittlinger led the men's team across the street for a "look see"...Rec play is now on - with just a few landscaping odds and ends to complete this project.
  
  
• Boathouse - The RWC Boathouse shell is complete and we are on schedule to take occupancy near the end of March. The picture attached shows the progress as of the end of January.

Travel Updates...
In the ever changing world of travel rules, the Bob Dylan line "Oh, the times they are a changin" continues to ring true. The latest:

• No more stand by fees. As quickly as the airlines started them, they are no longer. Most all the majors (including American and United) have dropped the $100 standby fee that started in the fall. Check to make sure, but whoever you fly probably no longer charges this fee.
  
  
• Paper bag it. Airlines are starting to cut back on food for travelers. America West is now charging for meals on all its flights. None of the majors have followed suit, but watch this trend as they all continue to lose $$$.

Sports Medicine...For those of you who do not know all of Stanford's team doctors, physical therapists, and trainers, we have made a site for Stanford Sports Medicine which has each person's head shot, their position, and the teams they work with. You can get to the Stanford Sports Medicine page, by going to the Directory page or the Links page or by clicking on the link below:
/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30600&ATCLID=208445378

Athletic Director Ted Leland to Take Special Research Leave March 1

The new promotion video made for Stanford Wrestling... check it out

Congrats, Monty! Kudos to Coach Mike Montgomery who logged his 500th career victory when the Men's Basketball team went to Las Vegas and downed UNLV, 77-66. Coach Monty was honored later in a brief ceremony after the men's basketball team's home victory over Oregon State. After celebrating the comeback victory over the Beavers, Ted presented Mike with the game ball from the UNLV game (check it out down in the Hall of Fame room) and a special citation commemorating the milestone.