• Clemson fired gymnastics coach Amy Smith with cause in April 2025.
• The firing followed multiple program reviews, athlete complaints, and meetings with Clemson administrators, according to documents obtained via open-records request.
• Clemson hired Elisabeth Crandall-Howell and Justin Howell in May as the program’s new co-coaches.

CLEMSON — Clemson fired former gymnastics coach Amy Smith with cause in April, according to documents obtained by The Greenville News via an open-records request.

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Seven members of the Union College women’s hockey team were named Krampade All-American Scholars for the 2024-25 season, the American Hockey Coaches Association announced on Wednesday.

The seven honorees are the second-most in a season in program history, behind only the eight All-American Scholars in 2019-20, and the septet also ranked Union third among all ECAC Hockey institutions this season. To qualify, a student-athlete must have attained a 3.75 GPA for each term of the school year and had to appear in at least 40 percent of the team’s games.

Senior Maren Friday led Union by earning the honor for the fourth straight season, as the College Co-Valedictorian becomes the third player in program history (joining Meredith Killian ’24 and Allison Smith ’24) to be selected in all four years.  Three teammates – seniors Emma Hebert and Maya Jones and junior Amanda Quan – earned the honor for the third time, while seniors Ashley Adams and Maddie Suitor as well as first-year Lauren Johnson were recognized for the first time.

The seven honorees increase the program’s total number of All-American Scholars to 42 in the nine years of the program, including 36 in the last six seasons alone.

A total of 360 Division I women’s student-athletes earned the honor for the 2024-25 season.

 

The $50 million renovation of the University of Maine’s Alfond Arena in Orono is ahead of schedule, and UMaine director of athletics Jude Killy said there will be “substantial completion” when the school’s men’s and women’s hockey teams play their first games at the arena on the weekend of Oct. 10-11.

He also said the New Balance Track and Field and Soccer Complex is on schedule and should be completed this fall.

Killy said the original target date for the completion of the Alfond Arena renovations was “no later than the end of December.’’

But things progressed smoothly to the point where Killy said when the fans show up on that Oct. 10-11 weekend, it will feel like the renovation is complete to them because any remaining upgrades will be behind the scenes and not noticeable to them.

The Shawn Walsh Hockey Center will include a 42-seat film room, state-of-the-art locker rooms for the men’s and women’s teams; a player development center with first-class sports medicine and strength and conditioning areas; expanded lounges and equipment rooms and new and renovated offices for the coaches and support staff.

The 48-year-old Alfond Arena will have a new entryway and an expanded concourse area with enhanced ticket and concession sales spaces, the UMaine Hockey Hall of Fame and the team store.

The Shawn Walsh Hockey Center and Alfond Arena are undergoing 31,000 square feet of renovations and 21,000 square feet of additions.

“It’s awesome,” said Killy.

The Harold Alfond Foundation gave the university a $170 million gift to upgrade its athletic facilities, and the estate of late UMaine alums Pierre and Catherine Labat supplied the university with a $16 million gift.

The construction of the New Balance Track and Field and Soccer Complex is going along “really well” said Killy.

“The soccer team will still be playing soccer on Mahaney Diamond at the beginning of the year but they will play some home games (on the new field) in October,” said Killy. “The track will be done this fall but track is a spring sport so they will be able to use it for competition in the spring.”

The defending two-time America East champion UMaine women’s soccer team has four league home games in October: Bryant on Oct. 2, Vermont on Oct. 12, the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Oct. 19 and New Hampshire on the 30th.

Killy said they expect to break ground on the Morse Arena for the basketball teams this winter.

The facility is targeted to be ready for the 2027-28 season.

It is named in honor of Phil and Susan Morse, who donated $10 million to the university’s athletic program.

In addition to the arena, which will seat approximately 2,500 people, there will be offices, locker rooms, a sports medicine area, a strength and conditioning center for the whole athletic department and office space and room for football operations.

The basketball teams currently play in the archaic Memorial Gym, better known as The Pit, which was built in 1933.

CLINTON, N.Y. — Gavin Mosher, 14, a hockey player on the Clinton Comets 16U team, plays by the mantra of “Win Each Battle.” Now, he faces the biggest battle of his young life.

The local hockey community is banding together to help him win this battle at all costs.

Mosher, who also competes on the modified track and field team at the Clinton Central School District, was recently diagnosed with a form of Leukemia after a mass was discovered behind his heart via chest X-rays during a visit to the emergency room.

He is currently undergoing inpatient treatment at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse, beginning last Thursday, and will remain there for at least the next 30 days as he continues the process.

In order to help offset the cost of travel, child care and medical bills, the Clinton Youth Hockey Association—led by Danielle Furlong—started a GoFundMe page, which has quickly accumulated over $20,000 via more than 200 individual donations in just two days.

Donations have come from all over the local hockey community, with Whitestown Youth Hockey, New Hartford Youth Hockey, Oneida County Hockey Club, Mohawk Valley Jugglers Varsity Ice Hockey, Hamilton College Men’s Ice Hockey, and more, joining the effort on social media to spread the word about fundraising efforts.

Plans to raise funds in other ways, including “Win Each Battle” wristbands, benefit hockey games in the coming winter and more, are also in the works.

To make a donation, visit the GoFundMe Page here.  

According to those close with the Mosher family, Gavin is responding well to early treatment efforts and remaining in high spirits despite his battle.

NEWSChannel 2 has been in contact with Gavin’s family directly as well, and will continue to provide updates on this developing story.

Off the field, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is channeling his NFL roots into a clever playbook for modern college football. With the transfer portal wide open and NIL dollars flowing fast, Rhule is treating name, image, and likeness agreements much like NFL contracts.

In a recent discussion with Greg McElroy on the Always College Football podcast, Rhule pointed out how his professional experience is becoming Nebraska’s secret weapon in the NIL era.

Matt Rhule Explains How His NFL Experience

Rhule’s NFL tenure may not have ended with a Super Bowl ring, but the lessons he learned in roster management, cap strategy, and player valuation stuck with him.

On the podcast, he emphasized how the NFL forces teams to weigh each player’s contract value, even when every athlete on the roster is talented: “I think the biggest thing you learn when you’re in the NFL is really evaluation. Before, in college football, it was like, ‘Yeah, he’s a good player, let’s offer him, let’s take him.’ You get to the NFL, they’re all good players. It’s just, ‘Hey, what’s the financial value we put on this person and put on this position?’ Every year in the NFL, you go through free agency, and you see teams walking away from it with really good players because of their contract situations.”

Cornell won the first men’s lacrosse national championship when the Big Red took down Maryland 12-6 in 1971. Since that inaugural NCAA DI men’s lacrosse national championship game, 11 teams have won a national title.

Let’s take a look at the eight teams that have won at least two national championships: 

Men’s college lacrosse history: Programs with the most national championships

1. Syracuse — 10 
 

Larry French | NCAA Photos

Members of the Syracuse University Men’s Lacrosse team celebrate after defeating Cornell at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. Syracuse defeated Cornell 10-9 in overtime for the national title.

Championships: 1983, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009

Syracuse has been a commanding force in men’s college lacrosse for many years. The program took home its first title in 1983, and then dominated for three straight years from 1988-1990. Twin brothers Paul and Gary Gait played for the Orange and set numerous records and popularized behind-the-back passing and scoring. Syracuse won the 1990 championship that was later vacated because of NCAA violations. The last championship came in 2009, but the Orange was national runner-up in 2013 to Duke. 

2. Johns Hopkins — 9

Larry French | NCAA Photos

Johns Hopkins defenseman Ben O’Neill (with trophy) celebrates with his teammates after defeating Duke 12-11in the 2007 championship at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD.

Championships: 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2005, 2007 

While Johns Hopkins is a decorated program with nine national championships, it hasn’t taken home the title in the past decade. The Blue Jays took home the 2007 championship and then lost in the 2008 title game to Syracuse, 13-10. 

3. Virginia — 7

Larry French | NCAA Photos

The Virginia Cavaliers players celebrate afterdefeating Yale 13-9 in the national championship held at Lincoln Financial Field.

Championships: 1972, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2019, 2021

The most recent national champions are tied for third with six total national titles. In the 2019 NCAA tournament, it took the Cavaliers two overtimes in the national semifinal game to advance to the championship, but just 60 minutes to capture the title. Virginia goalkeeper Alex Rode had 13 saves and was named the championship most outstanding player. 

4. Princeton — 6 

Larry French | NCAA Photos

Rob Torti (1) of Princeton University held the championship trophy over his head after his team defeated Syracuse University 10-9 in the 2001 championship held at The Rutgers Stadium.

Championships: 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 

Princeton is another program that has not been in the championship mix in recent years, and its last NCAA tournament appearance was in 2012. The Tigers did, however, win five national championships in seven years and three in a row from 1996-1998 under head coach Bill Tierney. 

5. North Carolina — 5

Larry French | NCAA Photos

UNC players celebrate their 15-14 overtime win over Maryland during the national championship held at Lincoln Financial Field.

Championships: 1981, 1982, 1986, 1991, 2016

The Tar Heels’ last championship came in a memorable way. Not only did they beat Maryland in overtime, but they were unseeded that year. Only seven unseeded teams have made it to the championship game, and UNC was the last to do it. And they did it on the 25th anniversary of their last title in 1991. 

6 (tie). Maryland — 4

Championships: 1973, 1975, 2017, 2022

The Terrapins took home the title in 2017 after 42 years and nine championship game losses. They defeated Ohio State 9-6, and Tim Rotanz led with a hat trick. Matt Rambo and Connor Kelly led the Terrapins in that year that brought the title back home to Maryland after a long, long drought. Maryland had a shorter wait for their next championship, toppling Cornell in the final to complete a perfect 18-0 season in 2022. 

 6 (tie). Cornell — 4

1977 Cornell men’s lacrosse championship team

Championships: 1971, 1976, 1977, 2025

Cornell added a title in 2025 to its three championships from the 1970s. Even during the title drought, Cornell continued to be a strong college lacrosse program. The Big Red were the national runner-up in 2009. 

8. Duke — 3

Larry French | NCAA Photos

Myles Jones of Duke University celebrates their 11-9 victory over Notre Dame for the national championship at M&T Bank Stadium.

Championships: 2010, 2013, 2014

The Blue Devils have been a college lacrosse power in this last decade, with their three championships all coming since 2010. Their last championship came against Notre Dame where they won a second consecutive lacrosse title and third in five seasons. Jordan Wolf led the Blue Devils with six points.

National champions from 1971 to now