PEORIA, Ill. -- As he prepares for his 12th year as the Director of Athletics at Bradley University, Ken Kavanagh has been appointed the chairman of the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Committee, which will be responsible for selecting the 48 teams that will compete in the 49th annual NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship next fall and will oversee the administration of the entire tournament.
The 2007 College Cup will be contested Dec. 14-16 at SAS Soccer Stadium in Cary, N.C., and will be co-hosted by North Carolina State University, the Capital Area Soccer Leage and the Town of Cary.
Kavanagh, 46, has served on the 10-person NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Committee since 2004 and he will complete his four-year term in September of 2008. Among his other committee assignments at the national and conference level, Kavanagh was a founding member of the I-AAA Athletic Director's Association and currently serves as the treasurer of the organization, which represents the 93 non-football-playing NCAA Division I member institutions. He previously chaired the Missouri Valley Conference Championship Committee and he currently is a member of the league's Sportsmanship Committee and chairs the MVC Officiating Committee.
In Kavanagh's 10th year at Bradley in 2005-06, the Braves enjoyed one of the most successful years in athletic department history as the school sent a record three teams to the postseason, beginning with the soccer team's third at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament field. Following the memorable men's basketball run to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, the women's golf team capped the year with their fourth Valley title in eight years and a third appearance in the NCAA Women's Golf Regionals. In his 11th year, Bradley has followed up with a repeat Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship for the soccer team, as well as a 22-13 performance by the men's basketball team that concluded with a second-round showing in the 2007 MasterCard National Invitation Tournament.
In addition to the recent athletic accomplishments, the women's golf, softball, track and field and volleyball teams all were recognized last year for ranking among the national leaders in their respective sports for team grade point averages. Bradley continues to lead The Valley in NCAA graduation rates and four teams -- men's golf, soccer, women's tennis and volleyball -- received public recognition from the NCAA last week for their multi-year, high level of performance in Academic Progress Rate scores. Individually, soccer players Zach Bell (2006), Chris Dunsheath (2005), Adam Hage (2005) and Todd Reedy (2006) all have earned national scholar-athlete awards the last two years.
Additionally, Bradley continues to see achieve record fund-raising levels with the continued growth of the Braves Scholarship Society and Braves Club membership. Last fall Bradley University announced its plans for a new athletics performance arena to replace Robertson Field House, as well as a campus recreational facility, the Markin Family Student Recreation Center, to replace Haussler Hall. Work began on those projects earlier this month with the demolition of the Alumni House and the Haussler Hall pool.
