Columbia Cougars to add five new sports

Three years ago Columbia College President Gerald Brouder challenged a newly formed committee to come up with suggestions for possible new sports that would be a good fit for the college.
A committee of students, staff, faculty and Cougar Club members suggested a number of sports, but the college board of trustees decided it was not the right time. That soon changed, however, when the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics passed a measure that every NAIA member had to sponsor six sports starting by the fall of 2015.
The board then decided to add the top five sports from the committee’s task force report: men’s and women’s cross country, women’s soccer and men’s and women’s golf. These new sports will begin competing in the 2012-2013 school year.
Tim Cornell will head the men’s and women’s cross country coach. Cornell previously was director of operations for the University of Missouri track and field program. He competed for the University of Missouri while completing a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. Cornell was an Academic All-Big 12 recipient and captain of the cross country and track and field squad for three seasons.

Teeing up

A native of West Plains, Mo., John Utley comes to Columbia College as the men’s and women’s head golf coach. Utley is a 1990 graduate of the University of Missouri and holds a bachelor of science in design management and merchandising. While attending Missouri, Utley was a four-year letterman with the men’s golf program, earning honorable mention All-American accolades as a senior. Following graduation, Utley competed as a professional golfer, including membership in the Nationwide Tour in 1992.
“The great thing about Columbia College is that they expect you to do the job and they give you the resources to do it,” Utley says. “Starting from scratch allows me to put my stamp on this program, which is very attractive.”
Utley was the volunteer assistant men’s golf coach at the University of Missouri-Columbia since 2009. He is also the director of instruction at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia. The team likely will call the University of Missouri’s A.L. Gustin Golf Course its home, but Utley says he intends on practicing on different courses to simulate real playing conditions.

Soccer kicks in

“Women’s soccer was the easy add,” says Cindy Fotti, associate director of athletics. “Having John Klein coach both [men’s and women’s soccer teams] will do wonders. He coaches lots of youth teams. He’s not a stranger to coaching girls’ soccer and has great contacts.”
Klein will take on additional responsibilities coaching the new women’s soccer team. Considering his success with the men’s team, expectations will be high. He began his tenure as head men’s soccer coach at Columbia College in 2000. Klein served as the assistant coach at Columbia College during the 1995 and 1996 seasons while pursuing a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri.
A native of St. Louis, Klein played two seasons at Duke University in 1983 and 1984 before returning to complete his bachelor’s degree at St. Louis University in 1985.
In his first season coaching men’s soccer at Columbia College, Klein led the Cougars to American Midwest Conference regular season and postseason tournament titles. The last two seasons have been the most successful in Cougar soccer history. In 2010 the team earned an AMC tournament title and competed in the opening round of the NAIA National Championships.