Homecourt

by Tegan Ruhl '24

FOR DECADES, coaches of all sports could only guess the physical exhaustion of their players. They relied on their own judgment to take a player out of the game if they looked tired but could never see the full physical exertion the players were experiencing. Now, coaches can track their athletes' physical wellbeing thanks to advancements in technology.

Eric Schoenstein '93, Head Coach of the Women's Soccer Team, requested GPS vests for the 2024 season, believing they would improve his player's skillfulness on and off the field. He estimated that at least 80% of Division I programs have some form of a tracking system for athletes. The University agreed to invest in 30 of these vests, which have become a popular option for enhancing athletic performances around the world. Typically, a tracker is placed in a front or back pocket of the vest to collect an athlete's performance data, improving athletic skills and injury prevention.

"We felt that this would be a [great] way of tracking their health. We're probably the largest contact sport at the University, and we felt like this was a better way of tracking injury prevention and having data that shows them how successful they are on the field," Schoenstein said.

Players can access data collected by the vests through an app called GameTraka, which visualizes a player's physical exertion and recovery through a numerical system and the colors red, yellow and green. "Say a player is sitting in the red," Schoenstein said. "We know if we were to train today, they would almost need to take the whole day off to heal their body for the next game. The data also helps us know when to sub a player off the field."

Coaching staff can track the data and know when a player is wearing down on the field. Schoenstein said he hardly sees any players in the red any more because they've learned how to utilize the data.

Now that players can track their workload, they can see the progress they're making and know when to rest. "It's been a lot easier to communicate with them about protecting themselves because they always want to play through injuries," Schoenstein said. "They can also see where they're at with an injury and how their recovery is progressing. That helps with the mental side of things as well because mental health is just as important as physical health."

After one season in use, Schoenstein is thrilled with the insight the vest delivers. "The GPS vests turned out to be an incredible asset to the program. We were able to track each studentathlete's physical performance in every game and training session, which lead to being able to manage each player's performance."

by C. L. Stambush

IN FEBRUARY, USI decided to pursue an expedited reclassification path to Division I athletics, which would allow the University to become a full-fledged Division I member a year earlier.

"Our campus community will work extremely hard this spring to fulfill the necessary criteria to be eligible for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships beginning in 2025-2026," said Jon Mark Hall, USI Vice President and Director of Athletics.

Previously, USI Athletics would not have been eligible until 2026-2027. During the first two-and-a-half years of the transition process, USI has been successful in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), Horizon League (men's tennis) and the Summit League (swimming and diving). The Screaming Eagles captured the OVC Women's Basketball regular season and conference championships in 2024 before taking the league titles in Men's and Women's Cross Country last fall. USI Cross Country and Track and Field runners also have garnered 13 individual crowns. Academically, USI Athletics earned the OVC Institutional Achievement Award during the first two years in the OVC.

Screaming Eagle Accolades

Mike Hillyard '94, Head Coach Men's and Women's Cross Country, was named the OVC Men's and Women's Coach of the Year in 2024.

Chris Crawford '05, Head Coach Men's Tennis, was named Horizon League Men's Tennis Coach of the Year.

Hadessah Austin, Women's Cross Country/Track & Field, food and nutrition, was named the OVC Indoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year after winning the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters at the OVC Indoor Championships in February. USI's women had six podium finishes and won three titles at the league meet, while USI's men earned one title and three podium finishes.

Meredith Raley, Women's Basketball, business administration, was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team for the second year in a row. She was the OVC tournament MVP last year during USI's run to the tournament championship title.

Jordan Mackey, Softball, freshman, was named All-OVC Second Team and OVC All-Newcomer Team.

Caroline Stapleton, Softball, psychology, was selected AllOVC Second Team for the second year in a row.

Kylie Witthaus, Softball, freshman, was named All-OVC Second Team and OVC All-Newcomer Team.

Brady Terry, Men’s Cross Country, finance, was named the OVC Runner of the Year before winning the OVC individual championship.

Jason Bannister, Men's Golf, business administration, was named to the All-OVC First Team for his second All-OVC selection in his career.

Sam Vertanan, Men's Golf, English, was named to the All-OVC Second Team for his first career All-OVC honor.

USI's 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame Class members are Angie Gries '00 (Women's Soccer 1996-99); Julia Kohnen '14 M'15 (Women's Soccer, Cross Country, Track & Field 2010-15); Travis Marx '95 (Men's Soccer 1989-92); Greg Tassios '85 (Men's Soccer 1981-82); Chris Thompson (Men's Basketball 2004-06); Rodney Watson (Men's Basketball Head Coach 2009-20); and the 2014 NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship Team.