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The National Association of Intercollegiate AthleticsBULLDOG BASKETBALLIn searching for the NAIA’s placein the history of sports and highereducation, several consistenciesare revealed. Among them is thededication to academic achievementabove athletic excellence. Alsoapparent is the organization’s roleas a trailblazer in providing equalopportunities for all student-athletes.Above all, there is an expectation ofethical behavior and a commitmentto scholarship, sportsmanship andleadership.It is paradoxical that such a lasting,dynamic contribution to collegiatesports began with a mundane notein the first recorded history of theAssociation: “The first general sessionof the ‘Organizing Convention’of the National Association ofIntercollegiate Basketball (NAIB)was held in the Phillips Hotel, KansasCity, Missouri, at 10 a.m., Sunday,March 10, 1940.”But the seed from which the NAIB sproutedwas planted two blocks away at MunicipalAuditorium. It was there in 1937 that a men’sbasketball tournament tipped off which hasbecome the longest continuous nationalcollegiate tournament in any sport. Further, outof that small-college basketball tournament,and the NAIB, grew an Association thatnow includes more than 360 colleges anduniversi ties and conducts two dozen nationalchampionship events.The tournament was the brainchild of EmilS. Liston, Dr. James Naismith, Frank Cramer,and a group of Kansas City business leaderswho wanted to provide Kansas City-area fanswith exciting amateur competition and toprovide a framework for small colleges anduniversities to determine a national basketballchampion.The original eight-team tournament expandedto 32 teams in 1938 and suspended play onlyfor World War II in 1944 before 16 teamswere invited the following year and the fieldgot back to full strength by 1946. Qualifyingtournaments became mandatory at the districtlevel in 1951.In 1948, the NAIB affirmed its commitmentto equality by becoming the first nationalorganization to offer intercollegiate postseasonopportunities to black student-athletes.Unprecedented action was taken in 1953 whenhistorically black institutions were voted intomembership.One year previous to the inclusion ofhistorically black institutions, another form ofTHE NAIA: A PROUD PAST, A DYNAMIC FUTUREexpansion occurred. In 1952, as a result of theexpressed desires of the member institutions,appropriate steps were taken by which theNAIB was transformed into the NationalAssociation of Intercollegiate Athletics(NAIA), and the first all-encompassing set ofrules and standards was adopted.With the Association’s new name came theaddition of national championships in golf,tennis and outdoor track and field. Football,cross country, baseball and swimming anddiving were added to the championshipscalendar in 1956. Wrestling (1958), soccer(1959), bowling (1962-78), gymnastics (1964-84), indoor track and field (1966) and men’svolleyball (1969-80) were added later.Another significant step occurred in 1957when the Association’s headquarters movedfrom the campus of George Pepperdine Collegein Los Angeles to Kansas City to better servethe membership from a centralized location.Two major changes were made during the1970s. An extensive study was completed in1970 which paved the way for two divisionsof football. In 1997, football was consolidatedto one division again as the Football CoachesAssociation cited a narrowing gap betweenenrollment size and philosophy of the twodivisions. In 1976, the men’s basketballtournament was moved from the confines ofthe Municipal Auditorium to Crosby KemperArena, also in Kansas City, marking the firsttime since 1937 that the tournament had beenheld in a different arena.The NAIA revolutionized national collegiateathletics with the establishment ofathletics programs for women onAugust 1, 1980. Official noticeon that date followed a mail voteby the membership on May 1that supported becoming the firstorganization to offer collegiateathletics to both men and women.Championships for women beganthat year with basketball, crosscountry, gymnastics, indoor andoutdoor track and field, softball,tennis and volleyball. Soccerwas added in 1984, and golf wasincluded in 1995.Another important chapter inthe history of the NAIA unfoldedin 1992 when the Associationvoted to move its headquartersfrom Kansas City to Tulsa. OnAugust 1, 1993, the NAIA openedits doors in Tulsa and began a newera. Moving with the nationaloffice was the Division I Men’sBasketball National Championship which hadbeen held in Kansas City for 56 years.During the 1993 NAIA National Conventionin Atlanta, the waves of change once againwashed over the Association. The membershipvoted to institute affiliated conference andregional groupings and discontinue the useof district play as a means of qualification fornational championships.Since 1937, the NAIA has administeredprograms and championships in proper balancewith the overall educational experience. In2000, the NAIA reaffirmed its purpose toenhance the character-building aspects ofsport. Through Champions of Character,the NAIA seeks to create an environment inwhich every student-athlete, coach, officialand spectator is committed to the true spiritof competition through five tenets: respect,integrity, responsibility, servant leadership andsportsmanship.Everything has come full circle. The NAIArelocated its National Office in July of 2001to Olathe, Kansas, just miles from Gardnerwhere the idea for the small-college basketballtournament gave rise to the NAIA. Now,nearly 65 years after that initial tournament,the NAIA Division I Men’s BasketballNational Championship returned to MunicipalAuditorium, the arena that was home to somany memories from 1937-74.In July of 2007, the National Office movedonce again, but not too far from Olathe. TheNAIA relocated its headquarters to downtownKansas City, Mo., as it returned to its roots.18 • Union College
2007-08 Season In ReviewSUCCESS AT ROBSION: Union wonnine games at home during the seasonand six were in conference play. Incomparison, the Bulldogs only lost threegames and all were AAC contests. The2007-08 Union squad improved by onegame at home after an 8-4 record in2006-07. Included was a four-game homeconference winning streak.UNION’S 1,000 POINT CLUBGROWS: Chris Stunson joined elitecompany in his senior season at Union. Hebecame the 26th player to wear a Unionuniform and score over 1,000 points.Stunson scored his 1,000th point againstLincoln Memorial (Tenn.) University inDecember. His career total of 1,155 pointsranks 23rd on the Bulldogs’ all-time list.During his senior season, he scored 327pointsgiving him two300- plus scoringseasonswhile atUnion.HONORS BESTOWED ON UNION:Aaron Dunaway was an All-AAC secondteam selection for his sophomore year.He also won the AAC Player of the Weekhonor in January. Dunaway led the teamwith a 15.1 points per game average.Stunson was named to the conference’sAll-Defensive team and Michael Hestermade the AAC’s All-Freshman team.Stunson created 30 steals with fourblocks. Hester led the team with 55 stealsand averaged seven points a contest. Heplayed in all 32 games, but only startedfour contests in his first year at Union.The trio of Stunson, Nathaniel Peytonand Hubertus von Heydon made thegrades to be a part of the AAC All-Academic team.NEUTRAL COURT FITSBULLDOGS: In seven games on neutralcourts during the season, Union wonsix of them. However the last game wasthe lone loss, at the AAC Tournament toBluefield (Va.) College, a 100-82 loss.STREAKINGBULLDOGS: Unionposted a six-gamewinning streak fromDecember 14 to January5. Of the six wins,four were on aneutralcourt and two wereat the Union CollegeHoliday Classic. Thatstretch was the longest winningstreak of the season. The next longestwinning streak occurred during aweek period in January when Unionknocked off conference foes Milligan(Tenn.) College, Bryan (Tenn.) Collegeand UVa-Wise.PLAY ANOTHER FIVE MINUTES: Inboth overtime games last season, Unioncame away with wins. The first was an87-81 victory over Johnson & Wales(Fla.) University and the last was a homeconference win over Bryan, 82-79. Unionimproved over the 2006-07 season whenthe Bulldogs had a 0-2 record in overtimegames.LINEUP SHUFFLES: To combat theinjury bug, Union head coach KellyCombs used 10 different starting lineupsduring the season.The lineup used the most was thecombo of Brian Kirk, Stunson, Dunaway,James Johnson and von Heyden. Whenusing that lineup, the Bulldogs went 7-3.With the different staring lineups, ninedifferent Bulldogs started at least onegame and six were in double digits.GETTING THE LEAD ANDKEEPING IT: In Union’s 32 games, theBulldogs had a halftime lead 15 timesand won every game but one. On theother side, when trailing after the first 20minutes, Union went 4-10. In the threegames that were tied at halftime, Unionwon one but lost the other two.KEEPING IT CLOSE: Union playedin a total of 18 games decided by 10points or less in 2007-08. The Bulldogswere victorious 13 times in the closegames.When the margin was more than 11points, Union went 5-8 with only one winin a game decided by 20 or more points.STRUGGLES AGAINST AAC’SBEST: Against the top two teams fromthe AAC last season, King and Bluefield,Union lost all five meetings to the twoNAIA Men’s Basketball Division IINational Tournament participants.However, against the next four teamsin the standings directly aheadof Union, the Bulldogs went5-3, including a season sweepover Milligan. Against thethree teams below Union, theBulldogs split the season serieswith each.Union College • 19WWW.UCBULLDOGS.COM
Page 1 and 2: Union College • 1WWW.UCBULLDOGS.C
Page 3 and 4: Quick Facts/Contents2008-09 QUICK F
Page 5 and 6: 2007-08 Union Athletics ReviewThe 2
Page 7 and 8: Media InformationThe Union College
Page 10 and 11: The 2008 BulldogsBULLDOG BASKETBALL
Page 12 and 13: Player Profiles - Juniors34-ANTHONY
Page 14 and 15: Player Profiles - Sophomores50-RAND
Page 16 and 17: BULLDOG BASKETBALLPlayer Profiles -
Page 18 and 19: Assistant Coach Jerry NicholsJerry
Page 22 and 23: 2007-08 Statistics & ResultsUnion C
Page 24 and 25: 2007-08 AAC Standings & StatisticsA
Page 26 and 27: 2007-08 All-AAC TeamRegular-Season
Page 28 and 29: 2008-09 Opponent InformationMILLIGA
Page 30 and 31: Bulldog HonorsNAIA NATIONAL TOURNAM
Page 32: BULLDOG BASKETBALL2008-09 BULLDOG S

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