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Roosevelt University continued its commitment to providing a complete range of activities for students as President Chuck Middleton announced the reinstatement of intercollegiate athletics. Michael Cassidy, who spent the last 11 years in the athletic department at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), has been appointed to the position of Athletic Director and will be responsible for reestablishing the program.

Cassidy, 34, was introduced at a press conference held on May 8 in the Congress Lounge of the University.

"Mike's enthusiasm, energy and experience make him the perfect person to lead the revival of an intercollegiate sports program at Roosevelt University," Middleton said. "The goals of our program are to have student-athletes graduate at or above the rate for the University as a whole, to be highly ethical . and to win games."

Plans for twelve varsity teams

Roosevelt, which will renew its old nickname of Lakers, plans to introduce a minimum of 12 varsity teams over the next five years with the first squads competing as early as the fall of 2010. Roosevelt will not offer athletic performance based scholarships to future student-athletes with the intent of progressing towards active NCAA Division III membership.

The Roosevelt Lakers baseball team

"This is an exciting time for me and for Roosevelt University," Cassidy said. "I am grateful to be given the opportunity to lead this department and to be a part of a place that is so committed to enriching the lives of students.

"I look forward to helping add to the Roosevelt experience," Cassidy continued. "Athletics is going to open the door to a wide array of opportunities for the student body and allow Roosevelt the ability to welcome to campus a new, diverse group of students, who have that burning desire to continue to compete athletically, by giving them a chance to take the field as Roosevelt Lakers."

During the past several years, Roosevelt's student body has changed. Strong increases in enrollment, especially among full-time undergraduate students, which saw a 70 percent increase in its freshman class in the fall of 2008, have caused a shift from a more predominantly adult population to a more traditional-aged student body.

The Lakers history

The athletic program was brought back in response to requests from students who listed athletics as one of their top priorities for the University. In a University-wide survey, students said a sports program would "foster team spirit and pride in attending Roosevelt" and "give students more activities to not only attend but participate in as well."

Roosevelt is reinstating an athletic program that has been dormant for the last 20 years. Intercollegiate competition in various sports date back to 1949 at Roosevelt, but by the 1988-89 academic year only three program's were competing — men's basketball, men's golf, men's soccer. At the end of that term, the decision was made to drop intercollegiate athletics in an effort to direct funds into other areas on campus. The men's soccer team remained for one more season with the final intercollegiate competition coming in the fall of 1989.

About Michael Cassidy

Cassidy takes on the initiative of bringing back athletics at Roosevelt after a successful tenure at UIC, serving most recently as the Associate Athletic Director for Communications and Marketing where he had oversight of the department's marketing, communications, licensing, broadcasting and ticket operations while also serving as the internal liaison for several sport programs. His resume also includes work in media relations support for the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) and as an executive producer in sports radio in Chicago.

About the varsity teams

Roosevelt University will be sponsoring 12 varsity teams. They are as follows:

Men's Sports
• Cross Country
• Soccer
• Golf
• Basketball
• Tennis
• Baseball

Women's Sports
• Cross Country
• Soccer
• Volleyball
• Basketball
• Tennis
• Softball