By Gabe Katz

As most of the Tennessee Wesleyan sports teams have concluded their season in the 2023-2024 academic year, there have been other noteworthy shakeups in the Bulldogs’ athletic department that has, on its face, not much to do with the success of any one team. Inside of the TWU athletic realm, there are vacant positions, shifting of employees from one coaching job to another, and undecided new faces set to assume a number of roles. One of these roles is Assistant Athletic Director, a position filled by former TWU men’s basketball coach Ray Stone.

Stone has been a long-time staff member at Tennessee Wesleyan, assuming roles in admissions, head coach for men’s and women’s cross country, assistant coach for men’s basketball, and head coach for men’s basketball, all after obtaining his degree from TWU.

“Counting admissions and counting coaching, that’s twenty-three years” according to Assistant AD Stone when asked to put a number to his tenure in Athens.

Making the shift from coach to administrative staff member, Stone said that he is excited for his “growth” and the “opportunity to see things from a different side”.

Stone’s internal transfer is not the only action taken place within the athletics department. Former women’s basketball coach Jeff Rice assumed the position of Director of Golf for the men’s team while the TWU men’s soccer team promoted Codi Crippen to the head role after his lengthy tenure as an assistant for the Bulldogs.

These changes leave Athletic Director Donny Mayfield with both basketball head coaching jobs to fill as well as the assistants for men’s and women’s basketball as well as an assistant for the men’s soccer program. The old faces in new positions could be very beneficial for the athletic department as a whole in keeping with the rich athletic history that TWU has been so privileged to have.

Edited by Jack Shaw
Audio by Elijah Lovelady
Audio Editing by Jackson Lollis
Interview by Willie Foreman and Noah Lones