Schell Tabbed CCC Athletic Director of the Year
LA GRANDE, Ore. – Oregon Tech Director of Athletics, Michael Schell, has been named the 2011-12 Cascade Collegiate Conference Athletic Director of the Year, the conference office announced Thursday.
Schell, who began working as OIT’s Athletic Director in 2003, receives the annual honor voted on by his conference peers. He was named the CCC Athletic Director of the Year in 2003-04 and 2005-06. Schell was named the NAIA Region 1 Athletic Director of the Year in 2005-06. Under his leadership in 2011-12, the Oregon Tech men’s basketball team won its third NAIA Div. 2 national title, hosted the Cascade Conference Track and Field Championships, raised funds for athletics, made facility improvements, and saw student-athletes excel in the classroom.
“The 2011-12 academic year provided Oregon Tech with many successes including a National Championship in men's basketball and successfully hosting major CCC events on its campus,” CCC Commissioner Rob Cashell said. “The OIT family also endured the devastating loss of one of its student-athletes. Mike’s leadership and guidance through the wide spectrum of joy and sorrow at Oregon Tech is well respected by his colleagues in the CCC.”
After an unprecedented fourth-straight regular season championship and fourth-straight Cascade Conference tournament crown, the Oregon Tech men’s basketball team topped off a banner season earning their third NAIA Div. 2 National Championship. Tech set a new school-mark in wins during a season, as the Owls finished the year with a 34-4 overall record.
The Oregon Tech women’s basketball team pushed their way back into postseason play after missing a berth to last year’s conference playoffs for the first time since resurrection in 2002. The 2011-12 squad also finished with 21 wins after not hitting the 20-win plateau since the 2007-08 season. The Oregon Tech softball team earned back-to-back Cascade Collegiate Conference regular-season and CCC tournament crowns, including a second-straight berth to the NAIA National Softball tournament where the defending NAIA softball champions fell to eventual champion, Shorter Georgia. The Tech softball team finished with a second-straight 40-plus win season and sixth overall.
Tech student-athletes combined for a 3.15 GPA in 2010-11 with 10 of the 11 varsity teams meeting NAIA Team Academic Honors. Numbers for 2011-12 were not available in time for this release. A total of 19 Oregon Tech athletes were named NAIA Scholar-Athletes in the 2011-12 year. In the previous seven years OIT athletes have not combined for less than a 3.10 GPA.
Oregon Tech hosted three games of the CCC men’s basketball tournament en route to the conference title. OIT hosted the CCC softball championship tournament in 2011 and 2012. Schell assumed the primary duties of organizing, overseeing and running the 2012 conference track and field championship meet. All of the events went without incident providing a very positive championship atmosphere for the conference.
Like most, Oregon Tech has seen significant financial reductions. The Oregon Tech program has operated with an allocated budget or through prudent reductions, efficiencies and fundraising 15 of the past 16 years that he has overseen the budget. In 2009 and 2011, he served on the campus Program Reduction and Elimination committee and co-chaired that committee in 2011. Under Schell’s leadership coaches are given the authority to operate programs along with the responsibility to operate within a budget.
In 2011, under Schell’s leadership, OIT raised over $200,000 in seven months to replace Oregon Tech’s aging basketball floor. A feat that many said could not be done in this economy. He has served on numerous committees including the Facilities Planning committee. Schell currently serves as the liaison to the Sports Information Directors and has been on the Constitution and Bylaws committee for many years. He recently agreed to re-join the Finance Committee.
Schell led an effort years ago to partner with the campus student health center to provide annual and ongoing education in the area of alcohol and other drug abuse. He is very active in the eligibility processing of every athlete. OIT offers free tutoring to every student and Schell encourages athletes to seek these services as needed or in some cases to help provide them. Oregon Tech maintains a library consisting of every pamphlet available through proactive coaching and provides them to coaches and students.