As students start another year on the Hilltop they will find some new faces in Cornell Athletics and two familiar faces in new roles. Additions to this year’s team include an interim director of athletics, new head and assistant coaches, and an enthusiastic sports information director.
 Entering his 17 th year at Cornell, Dick Simmons will serve as interim director of athletics for the 2007-2008 academic year. Simmons, who graduated from William Penn with a degree in Physical Education, has served as Cornell’s Head Athletic Trainer since 1991. For the past eight years, he also held the role of assistant athletic director.
Simmons has already been busy filling the interim director’s role, stating “I’m excited about the direction our athletics program is going and want to continue the positive things that are happening here.”
 There are new faces in several head and assistant coach positions. Patrick Cote was named as the head men’s and women’s tennis coach. Cote graduated from Graceland University in 2002 with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Physical Education.
Before coming to Cornell, Cote worked as an admissions counselor at Graceland and was also an assistant tennis coach. Cote is “excited to take over both teams” and make the tennis program a “dominant program in the conference and eventually in the nation.” Cotes is a native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
 April Elsbernd was named as an assistant volleyball coach for the Rams. Elsbernd graduated from Coe College with a degree in Sociology, Public Relations, and Speech Communication. From there, Elsbernd worked for Cornell’s Department of Student Affairs in the Leadership and Service Office as well as the Residence Life Office (2003-2006). Elsbernd is back at Cornell to fulfill the requirements for her Master of Science in Sport Administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She also coached volleyball at Western Technical College last fall while attending La Crosse.
Elsbernd is “very excited to be back at Cornell and working in a different capacity.” Elsbernd will be also working on different projects for the athletic department involving alumni relations, recruiting and community relations. She is appreciative of this opportunity and is looking forward to a great year at Cornell.
Justin Decker ’05 was hired as the assistant men’s basketball coach/athletic recruiting assistant. Originally from Independence, IA, Decker graduated from Cornell with a degree in Psychology. After Cornell, Decker attended Barry University in Miami Florida where he received a Masters Degree in Sport Management. Decker was the Riceville High School Varsity Boys Basketball coach while he substitute taught.
Decker believes that returning to Cornell was a good opportunity and feels that as a former player and team captain, he can “offer leadership skills and create some intensity throughout the season.” Decker is “looking forward to basketball season and has high hopes for this team.”
 And, to manage the data and publications associated with athletics, Kerry Kahl joined Cornell in July as sports information director. Kahl was a 1995 graduate of Clarence-Lowden High School and 1999 graduate of Central College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications. Kahl was a sports editor for The Mount Pleasant News (1999-2000), a sports writer at The Hawk Eye in Burlington (2000-2005), and the sports information director at Iowa Wesleyan College in Mount Pleasant, Iowa (2005-2007) before making the move to the Hilltop.
Kahl is “happy to be back in the Iowa Conference, one of the top leagues in the country.” He is using this homecoming as an opportunity “to bring enthusiasm to all athletics at Cornell.” Kerry and his wife Melissa are expecting their first child in March and also live with their golden retriever, Charlie.
The addition of these staff members to the Athletics team at Cornell will continue to improve upon the quality of experience our student-athletes have on the Hilltop, and their efforts will undoubtedly help move Cornell forward in having a competitive program within the Iowa Conference.
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