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1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Athletics

Sheilley inducted into Asbury Hall of Fame

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Holly Sheilley, Transylvania’s vice president for athletics and student affairs, has been inducted into Asbury University’s Hall of Fame. She graduated from the Wilmore, Ky., school in 1994. Read the exerpt below from the Asbury news release about Sheilley’s accomplishments. Received Asbury’s Gamble-Walker Award as a senior for the top graduating senior in athletics and academics while participating in volleyball, basketball, and softball for Asbury College. Led softball team in hits, doubles, triples, homeruns, RBIs and batting average her junior season and hit .543 as a sophomore. Four-time coach of the year during stints as the head volleyball and softball coach at Lindsey Wilson College from 1996-2001. Also became just the third female Athletic Director in the State of Kentucky when hired in the role at Transylvania.

Transylvania inducts three standouts into Pioneer Hall of Fame

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University inducted three alumni into the Pioneer Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 10, as part of the Celebration of Transylvania, which culminated in the inauguration of President Seamus Carey. Ethan A. Busald ’05 (pictured left), Carol Munson Caudill ’98 and John Mark Stuart ‘95 became the newest members of the 113-member fraternity. “Participation in athletics provides student-athletes with valuable life lessons including teamwork, perseverance and leadership, to name a few,” Vice President of Athletics Holly Sheilley said. “Ethan, Carol and John have translated these life lessons not only during their time as student-athletes at Transylvania but also into their professional lives. We are honored to have them inducted.” Busald made his mark as an exceptional tennis player, earning the title of HCAC Athlete of the Decade. His accomplishments also include being the first in conference history to earn four MVP awards; and he never lost a conference singles or doubles match, winning titles in both categories at No. 1 each of his four years. Additionally, Sports Illustrated recognized Ethan in its “Faces in the Crowd.” He went on to graduate from Northern Kentucky University’s Chase School of Law in 2009. Caudill took to the field for Transylvania in a variety of sports— from field hockey to softball to soccer. In field hockey, she was named MVP in 1997 and Most Improved Player her first year. And she earned spots on the KWIC Tournament field hockey and softball

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Hoops for a cause at Transylvania on Wednesday

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LEXINGTON, Ky. –Basketball will not be the only focus of the night Wednesday, as the 20th ranked Transylvania University women’s basketball team hosts Mount St. Joseph University at the Clive M. Beck Center. Transylvania University will accept donations in support of Torsie Haugli and Lauren Hill, two courageous young women battling cancer. Haugli, a 2014 Transylvania graduate, was diagnosed in May with acute large cell lymphoma and is undergoing treatment at the Cleveland Cancer Clinic. And Lauren, a member of the Mount St. Joseph women’s basketball team, battles diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a rare form of cancer that affects the nervous system. All proceeds from Wednesday’s game will benefit the Torsie Lymphoma Research Fund and The Cure Starts Now Foundation. Fans who donate a minimum of $1 will have an opportunity to help both causes with a halftime challenge—Layups for Lauren and Torsie. Each donor will spin five times before attempting a layup with their non-dominant hand. Fans can also purchase T-shirts to support the causes with a minimum $5 donation. Mount Saint Joseph University (2-2) enters the 7:30 p.m. game against an undefeated Transylvania team (4-0). “The opportunity for us to show our support for these two young ladies is something that I didn’t want us to miss and I hope our community can rally around,” Transylvania Athletics Director Holly Sheilley said. “The tenacity and strength that Torsie and Lauren have shown and continue to show is worthy to

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Transylvania sponsors forum on desegregation of athletics

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NOTICE: This event has been POSTPONED due to inclement weather affecting travel schedules. Check back for a new date, possibly in April 2014. LEXINGTON, Ky.—One who helped make it happen; two who experienced it; and one who chronicled this pivotal moment in the American story. The panel assembled to discuss “Integrating Athletics at Transylvania and Beyond” will bring poignant personal accounts to the Feb. 13 installment of the year-long celebration of Transylvania’s 50th year of desegregation, titled Still Overcoming: Striving for Inclusiveness. It was in the racially charged 1960s when these men together and as courageous individuals broke down the barriers of segregation in collegiate sports.  With award-winning sportswriter Billy Reed moderating, hear the stories of former Transylvania and Alabama coach and former UK Athletics Director C.M. Newton; Transylvania basketball star Jim Hurley ’69; and Wendell Hudson, the first African American scholarship student-athlete at the University of Alabama and the 1973 SEC Player of the Year. “Every day there was a reason for me to quit,” Hudson said in the video documentary “Stepping Through: A look at the past 50 years of desegregation at The University of Alabama.” “Every day my freshman year here, every day there was a reason for me not to be successful or to give up and to let that defeat me. And when I talk to young people, like, that’s no excuse, because, you know, everybody’s going to have a story…and it’s going to be

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Pat Deacon honored for her lifelong commitment to women’s sports

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—When Pat Deacon was a student at the University of Kentucky in the 1950s, there were no intercollegiate sports programs for women, at least not as we know them today. Women who enjoyed athletic competition could participate in sports organized under the auspices of the Physical Education Department. There were no uniforms, no training facilities and no coaches. But there were occasional games against nearby colleges, and Deacon took advantage of the opportunity to play basketball and field hockey. It was not until the passage of Title IX in 1972 that women slowly began to have equal access to sports programs, sports funding and regular competition. That was the same year that Deacon arrived at Transylvania University, where she blazed the trail for women’s athletics until her retirement in 1999. During that period, Deacon served at various times as women’s athletics director, associate athletics director, women’s intramural sports director and physical education professor, in addition to her head coaching positions. She pioneered the modern era of women’s basketball at Transylvania, leading the team through 16 seasons and more than 150 wins. Over 29 seasons, her field hockey teams set the standard among Kentucky colleges, especially with their 98-55-3 record from 1979-88, when they won eight state championships in a row. Deacon was elected to Transylvania’s Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2000. And on Sunday, Feb. 2—National  Girls and Women in Sports Day—the University of Kentucky, where Deacon earned both

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