Mr. Sliger is the athletic director here at Miami University Middletown, and his office is located in Johnston Hall room 9. After stepping into Mr. Sliger’s office and comfortably sitting in a chair, I told him that I only had a few questions to ask. I wanted to find out the details of Miami University Middletown’s sports programs.

  The first question to ask was quite simple actually. What sports do we have at Miami? The answer was as easy as the question: In the fall we have women’s volleyball only while wintertime brings men’s and women’s basketball. Things get busy in the spring because Miami Middletown has teams for baseball, softball, men’s golf, and a tennis team for both men and women. Along with these seasonal teams, there is also a dance team which cheers at basketball games.

  Miami Middletown is not apart of the NCAA or NAIA although this may change in the near future. Our school is in a conference with nine other schools. It is the Ohio Regional Campus Conference (ORCC). Each sport has its conference champion and, depending on the sport, sometimes a statewide tournament is played for a regional campus state champion.

  Other schools in our conference include regional campus schools such as Ohio State, University of Cincinnati and University of Akron’s. These schools range greatly in size. Thereare no divisions to separate the schools that have a larger enrollment. A few of the schools even merge together to form one single team for various sports. Other regional campuses also have on-campus housing as well. This creates a bigger student body and therefore should allow these schools to have an advantage for athletes. However, this does not prove to be true. Just this year, Miami Middletown has competed very well in conference play, including a 2nd place finish for our men’s basketball team.

  To play sports for Miami Middletown, an athlete must maintain at least a 1.7 GPA unless they have 30 credit hours. After 30 credit hours, a 2.0 GPA must be upheld. There are try-outs for most of the sports, however in some cases, no cuts are made. Sometimes a regional campus student also can go on to play for the Oxford team as well. However, they are usually like a walk-on, having to try-out for the team. There are not scouts or recruiters usually at regional campus games.

  "Well, Mr. Sliger, thank you very much for your time," I said. I got up, shook the man’s hand. He was all smiles as he told me I was welcome. I had good feelings as I walked out the door. My first task as a KAOS writer was successful and I had taken part in one of my most favorite pastimes in the process: talk sports.

  "Oh, and Ben…" called Mr. Sliger, "call me coach!"

  You got it Coach.

** If any person is interested in playing sports for Miami Middletown next school year, they are more than welcome to contact Jim Sliger by e-mail at sligerjf@muohio.edu or by visiting his office in Johnston 9. You may also check out the Miami Middletown sports website at http://www.mid.muohio.edu/sports **

GO THUNDERHAWKS!