NCAA

Schar School’s Aly Rayle Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 14:24:37 +0000

Schar School’s Aly Rayle Nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year Andrew J Schappert Thu, 07/13/2023 - 10:24

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Schar School of Policy and Government student athlete Aly Rayle has been nominated for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Rayle, who is enrolled in the Schar School’s Global Commerce and Policy master’s program, is a standout pitcher on ��ӽ紫ý’s softball team, which won its first-ever Atlantic 10 conference championship in the season that concluded in June. She is the first Schar School student to be nominated for the honor.

Rayle, who was named A-10 Pitcher of the Year, helped the team to the championship with a 19-9 record, posting a 2.01 ERA. She set the all-time single-season strikeouts record and became the only Patriot pitcher to have struck out 200 batters in a single season. She led the conference in overall strikeouts (242) and looking strikeouts (72). She finished the A-10 tournament with a 4-1 record, pitching 33 innings and recording 39 strikeouts to earn the A-10 Championship's Most Outstanding Player award.

The NCAA Woman of the Year Award was created in 1991 to celebrate the achievements of women in intercollegiate athletics. Now in its 33rd year, the award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

Rayle, who came to Mason after an undergraduate career at the University of Virginia, has set softball records in her one year as a Patriot. She is tied for first in no-hitters pitched (3) alongside Lisa Davis (1997-2000) and Marsha Boyd (1990-93), who both took four years to reach the same goal. Her 2.01 ERA puts her tied for seventh all-time with Shannon Hiltner (1997-99).

In addition in her master’s degree studies, the Herndon, Virginia native has been a leader in the softball program’s community relations efforts, donating countless hours of to a variety of causes, including mentoring students in Mason softball's partnership with Willow Springs Elementary.

In her four years at UVA, Rayle volunteered with Virginia's youth at the Madison's House, the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia at summer camps, and as a “buddy runner” at the local Girls on the Run races. She has been involved with the Capital Area Food Bank at both schools, packaging boxes of food for families in need.

Rayle has experiences on leadership councils and advisory committees, having been elected to Athletics Advisory Council for the 2019-20 school year and served on the team Leadership Council for two years.

—Additional Reporting by Buzz McClain/Schar School of Policy and Government

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Retro Mason: Women's Soccer Championship 1985

Colleen Rich — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 17:01:47 +0000

Retro Mason: Women's Soccer Championship 1985 Colleen Rich Thu, 04/28/2022 - 13:01

On Nov. 24, 1985, ��ӽ紫ý women's soccer defeated North Carolina 2-0 to claim the first-ever NCAA National Championship at Mason. Pictured here from left, women’s soccer team members Sis Koskinen, Pam Baughman, and Meg Romaine lift the trophy. Mason was the host for the Final Four championship games, and the team played in front of a record crowd of 4,500. Baughman, who was voted MVP, said of the tournament, "I wanted to win the championship, but I really wanted my teammates and my coaches to be champions and they all deserved it. This was my motivation to work hard in training and to play my best in the games."

Find out more about the championship here. Read an interview with Baughman here.

Kim Crabbe played right fullback for the Mason women’s soccer team that season. It was during that championship game that she caught the attention of Anson Dorrance, head coach of North Carolina, the opposing team, who also happened to be scouting for the women's national team. In 1986, Crabbe became the first Black woman called up to the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Read more about her story.

Photo credit: Image was originally published in the Mason Magazine. ��ӽ紫ý Archives, University Publications, University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center.

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Supreme Court ruling against NCAA is limited in scope, Mason professor says

Colleen Rich — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 17:36:19 +0000

Supreme Court ruling against NCAA is limited in scope, Mason professor says Colleen Rich Tue, 07/06/2021 - 13:36

Craig Esherick

The unanimous U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling limiting the NCAA’s ability to restrict education-related benefits to athletes won’t have as broad an impact as some news outlets are reporting, said Craig Esherick, former Georgetown University men’s basketball coach, lawyer and associate professor in ��ӽ紫ý’s College of Education and Human Development.

“The Supreme Court found that the NCAA is subject to the Sherman Antitrust Act and permitted schools to award more educationally related expenses,” said Esherick, associate director for Mason’s Center for Sport Management and academic program coordinator for Mason’s sport management program. “But on the news, they are making it out like it is a broad ruling. The justices specifically recognized that college athletics is an intricate business relationship and gave wide berth to the NCAA and colleges’ business judgments.”

Esherick said that Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, made a narrow decision that still allows for the NCAA to create limits on benefits unrelated to education.

“Certainly, the ruling will permit colleges to award their athletes more educationally related expenses, like graduate school scholarships or technology used for school work, but the justices also specifically said that doesn’t mean a college can buy someone a Lamborghini to drive to class,” Esherick said.

Esherick also commented on the NCAA’s recent decision to officially suspend rules that prohibited athletes from selling the rights to their names, images and likenesses. The new rules represent a major shift for the NCAA. The decision came hours before laws or executive orders in six states that would have had the same impact were set to take effect.

“There are going to be some athletes that will be able to make a large amount of money now,” Esherick said. “It will be interesting to see what that dynamic brings to athletes playing a team sport.”

Esherick also warned that student athletes shouldn’t ignore the most important financial benefit they get—for those on a full scholarship, a free education.

“The concern I have is that athletes will be spending so much time building up their social media presence that it will detract from their work in math or English class,” Esherick said.

To reach Craig Esherick directly, please contact him at cesheric@gmu.edu

For more information, contact Anna Stolley Persky at apersky@gmu.edu

About ��ӽ紫ý
��ӽ紫ý is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls 39,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity and commitment to accessibility. Learn more at gmu.edu

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Podcast - Craig Esherick: Why we go mad for March Madness

khanse2 — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 21:11:03 +0000

Podcast - Craig Esherick: Why we go mad for March Madness khanse2 Tue, 03/10/2020 - 17:11

Mason sport management professor Craig Esherick, a former head coach at Georgetown, tells John Hollis why the tournament might be the best it's ever been, has a new story about Mason's 2006 Final Four run, and discusses different paths to the NBA for high school players. Just don't ask him to fill out a tournament bracket.

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