March 4, 2026 – Athletic Board – Minutes

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Time: Wednesday at 8:30 AM on Teams
Attendees:  Kathy Litzau, Peter Baran, Jim Cleary, Jennifer Haas, Jen Earl Boehm, Cathy Rossi, Amanda Braun, Mandy Sheriff, Bella Lipski, Josie Johnson, Clare Faurote, Adam Ahearn, Thomas Gamboa, Isabel Roloff, Monna Arvinen-Barrow, Kevin Keenan, Qingsu Cheng

Guest: Annika Martensson

  1. Called to order at 8:30 AM
  2. Approved the February 2026 meeting minutes
  3. Guest:  Annika Martensson, Associate A.D – Facilities and Event Operations
    • Shared her background; she is from Wisconsin, played D3 Soccer at Carleton and worked within their athletic department through work study, went to UNC – Chapel Hill for grad school and had an internship working events.
    • Position has evolved, originally was events focused but with the addition of the OHOW Center it has grown to include more facility responsibilities.  She also hires student staff to assist with the running of events.  Rentals, camps and clinics are also in her purview.
    • Reviewed where all our teams train, some facilities are off-campus and are rented by our department.
  4. Updates from the Athletic Department:
    1. Report from Director of Athletics, Amanda Braun
      1. Proud of winter sport programs,
        1. Swim & Dive – Women finished 2nd, Men 4th
          • Sam Lorenz qualified for NCAA’s in 100 Back
        2. Track and Field – Women and Men both finished 2nd
        3. Women’s Basketball – concluded Monday night as the 10-seed, lost the play-in game to #11 Detroit.
        4. Men’s Basketball – play at Detroit tonight as the 8-seed playing the 3-seed.  Our team is 2nd in the country in lost minutes to injury.
          Highlight game operations and the great job done by our external staff, especially for the men’s Green Bay game and the women’s school day game.  As well as the connection to the academic units on campus to bring groups to the games.
        5. Baseball home opener is March 20th.
        6. Tennis is well under way; we are home this weekend Friday at 3 PM. 
        7. Outdoor Track and Field kicks off at the end of March.
        8. First Kentucky Derby Tailgate on May 5th at 4 PM in the OHOW Center.  It is a scholarship fund raiser. Group pricing for larger groups.
    2. Athletics Report (written) discussion
      1. Cathy thanked Jen Earl Boehm for her and her staff supporting us while we are down 2 Athletic Trainers.
      2. Clare highlighted the Golden Panthers in May, the board is invited to attend.
  5. Student-Athlete Updates
    1. MKE SAAC & Horizon League SAAC – Belle Roloff, Zach Schmidt, Josie Johnson and Bella Lipski
      MKE SAAC – Belle Roloff provided an update.
      1. February meeting had a guest from Minlopro and made Valentine’s Cards.
      2. March will have Dr. Monna to discuss Sport Psych.
      3. April – Zach from NIL
      4. Encourage student-athletes to go to each other’s games.
    2. HL SAAC – Bella Lipski provided an update. 
      1. Working on a mental health webinar with a former student-athlete from Notre Dame discussing his mental health struggles.
         
  6. Report from – By-Laws, Governance and Compliance, Student Appeals – Chair, Bo Zhang – reviewed the notes.
  7. Closing announcements
    1. Academic Integrity meets after
  8. Adjourned at 9:03 AM