Darrell Bailey, Director of Athletics
Capital University Athletics has had quite the year so far as we have enhanced our facilities, won awards, broken records, added sports, and much more. We are extremely excited for the end of our spring season and we look forward to a prosperous summer where we will focus on plans for the 2024-25 school year.
During the summer of 2023, Bernlohr Stadium received a facelift, as the old turf surface was replaced with a brand new turf supplied by Hellas Construction Inc. – the same company that provides the turf at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. So far, our football, men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s lacrosse teams have enjoyed this new surface and are looking forward to many years to come playing on this amazing surface.
Throughout the fall of 2023, Capital saw many great things happen on the playing surfaces as numerous student-athletes earned postseason awards and a 48-year old school record was broken. A big congratulations to Donovan Slattery for setting the new 8K record in cross country, a record that had stood since 1975! Additional congratulations go out to our 19 All-Conference, 33 Academic All-OAC, and three All-Region performers so far this school year!
As is the case throughout all of our programs, serving our community remains one of our key pillars as a department. Our coaching and administrative staff took some time this past December to serve the community at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective in Grove City by distributing food items to those in need. Additionally, our student-athletes organized a winter clothing drive that benefitted shelters within our community as well. This service project was even highlighted by the NCAA Division III on social media. Other service activities our student-athletes completed this year included reading to youth, teaching sportsmanship in schools, hosting food drives, coaching youth sport clinics, and much more.
As we flipped the calendar to the New Year, our sights turned toward the expansion of our department as we announced the addition of men’s and women’s bowling as the 21st and 22nd varsity sports here at Capital. Bowling will begin competition in fall of 2024 and will primarily compete within the Ohio Bowling Conference. We are also excited to announce our new head coach, Lance Gordon, who will help us establish our program right here in Central Ohio. Coach Robinson began his tenure with us in May.
During the middle of March, our campus and athletic department were on the national stage as we hosted the 2024 Women’s Basketball Division III National Championships at The Capital Center. Our administrative staff, coaches, and campus community all came together to make this a fantastic event that represented our university and program extremely well. We are very proud to have served as this year’s host and we are looking forward to the opportunity to do so again in future years.
In late March, our Athletics Department was able to take part in the university’s Day of Giving. As a department, we hold three key standards at the forefront, all of which go into our initiatives on the Day of Giving. Those key standards include setting a standard, providing the best possible student-athlete experience, and creating a winning culture. Our goal with the funds generated on the Day of Giving is to continue to strive toward these objectives and maximize our student-athletes’ experience. Each of our teams also was able to create its own initiatives, all centering around their student-athletes’ experiences while competing here at Capital. We are excited to continue to build this out as we move forward as a department.
We have some exciting opportunities on the horizon as we continue to keep up with the trends of collegiate athletics today. The Name, Image and Likeness marketplace (Capital NIL) is becoming an increasingly important area of the student-athlete experience both as a prospect during the decision-making process and as a current student-athlete. We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for our student-athletes in this space.
