FORT MYERS, Fla. - FSW Director of Athletics Carl McAloose announced on Tuesday that Melissa Miller has been hired as the Student Success Advisor for Athletics. She officially joined the department on Oct. 17.
"We are very excited to get Melissa on board at FSW," said McAloose. "She comes highly recommended as someone that has a great work ethic and someone that puts a lot of pride and energy into everything she does. I think Melissa will be a valuable asset to our student-athletes and our athletic department."
“I am extremely grateful to be a part of such an exciting time at FSW and hope to contribute to the continued growth and success,” said Miller. “I look forward to being able to work with the tremendous student-athletes, coaches, faculty and staff and the FSW community.”
As Student Success Advisor, Miller will provide direct service, support and advising to FSW student-athletes, while also serving as the primary point of contact for all academic interests related to the student-athlete population, including issues related to admissions, registration, advising, athletic compliance, satisfactory academic progress, transfer eligibility, faculty progress reporting, and more.
A former FGCU women's soccer player and assistant coach, Miller comes to FSW from FGCU, where she was a student-athlete, an assistant coach and most recently Coaches Administrative Support. In her role as Coaches Administrative Support, Miller's primary responsibilities were to assist with team travel and PCARD reconciliations, game contracts, FGCU Outdoor Sports Complex daily operations and special projects as assigned.
Miller spent the 2015 season as an assistant coach with the women's soccer program, helping lead the club to its first NCAA Tournament win following another Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship and ASUN Regular Season Title.
Miller, a winter 2014 graduate of FGCU and a four-year member of the women’s soccer team began her career with the Eagles in 2011, where she earned a position on the ASUN All-Freshman Team after tallying 11 points in her rookie campaign. Miller went on to record 30 points with six goals and 18 assists as a four-year starter. She led the team with eight assists as a junior and added five assists and a goal last season to finish her career with 18 assists and six goals. The 18-assist mark ranks fourth all-time in Eagles’ program history, while her performance as an upperclassman earned her a position on the All A-Sun Second Team following the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
A native of New Jersey, she started 71 games for FGCU and appeared in 82 contests, mostly with the back line, to rank second among all-time players for FGCU. She also ranks second in minutes, having played 6,500 minutes. While with the Eagles, the three-time team captain led the squad to four-straight Atlantic Sun Regular Season Championships and helped the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances in its first four years of eligibility.
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FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN
The Florida SouthWestern State College athletic program is a member of the Florida College System Athletic Association (FCSAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Buccaneers are one of 25 schools in the NJCAA Region 8 and are one of six schools in the Suncoast Conference. Florida SouthWestern State College currently supports four intercollegiate athletic programs (Baseball, Softball, Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball), with Volleyball coming in the fall of 2017.
Baseball and Softball began their regular season competition in 2016 at the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. Located on the Thomas Edison (Lee) Campus in Fort Myers will be the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena (set to be completed by fall 2016), where FSW’s men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams will compete.
THE NJCAA
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America’s two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA’s rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.
On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.
The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association's website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA's rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.
For more information on the NJCAA log on to www.NJCAA.org.
THE FCSAA
The Florida College System Activities Association, Incorporated (FCSAA) is a statewide non‑profit corporation regulating, coordinating, and promoting intercollegiate activities in: Athletics, Brain Bowl, Forensics, Music, Student Government, Student Publications, and Theatre.
Membership in the Florida College System Activities Association is open to any of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each member institution is represented in the policy‑making deliberations of the Association through that institution's President or other designated representative. The institutional representatives constitute the FCSAA Presidents Assembly, the ultimate authority in FCSAA.
For more information on the FCSAA log on to www.TheFCSAA.com.
NJCAA REGION 8, THE SUNCOAST CONFERENCE & THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Member colleges of the NJCAA are allotted to a specific NJCAA Region upon membership to the association. Unlike other collegiate organizations that defer to conference affiliation, the NJCAA guarantees each member college's membership within the regional structure of the association. In most cases, region assignment is based upon geographic location of the college.
The region structure of the NJCAA is the primary method used by all sponsored sports of the association in determining qualification for national championship tournaments. In certain sports, two or more regions are partnered to form a competition 'district', which is then used for national championship qualification. The organization of districts varies per sport and is formulated every two years under the authority of the association's board of directors.
FSW is in Region 8 and is joined by ASA College Miami (Region 8 only; non-FCSAA member), Broward College, Chipola College, College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Pensacola State College, Polk State College, Santa Fe College, Seminole State College of Florida, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Tallahassee Community College.
The Bucs are also in the Suncoast Conference with Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.
The women’s basketball program is Southern Conference with Broward College, Eastern Florida State College, Indian River State College, Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College.
For more information on Region 8 log on to www.TheFCSAASports.com.