Samford football Chaplain Rick Ousley is stepping down from his position after admitting to an extramarital affair. Ousley, 55, a nationally recognized evangelist that founded and recently retired from The Church at Brook Hills and founded Quixotic Ministries, released a statement on March 22.
President Andrew Westmoreland and Director of Athletics Bob Roller announced Samford will leave the Ohio Valley Conference and join the Southern Conference beginning July 1, 2008. "This speaks volumes about the progression of Samford athletics," Roller said in a statement following the announcement.
Thomas Corts retired May 2006, but his name will remain widely spoken at Samford. You will now hear the name 'Corts' in the context of athletic events and concerts on campus as well as the academic realm. The Thomas E. Corts and Marla H. Corts Arena is the honorary name recently given to the 5,000-seat arena in the new Pete Hanna Center at Hanna's request.
If Samford sports were a stock option, it's tripled and then split in the past two years. The Roller/Westmoreland/ Corts tandem would be three of the sexiest dudes on Wall Street. As a sign of respect, angles about the trio fudging numbers would show up on message boards and blogs, but an investigation of their jet propulsion upward would find none.
There is no question where the top tennis teams in the OVC are so far this season. Samford's men and women are undefeated in conference play and have high expectations to advance in the post-season tournament. The men's team started out the season with tough matches against Auburn and Texas Tech.
The Samford men's golf team is in full swing leading up to the end of 2006-2007 season. Samford wrapped up regular season play in the Wofford Invitational on Tuesday, their final tournament before the OVC Championship. The Bulldogs jumped three spots in the rankings during the final round and finished with a tie for fifth place.