Fort Hays State University Athletics

Founded in 1902 on the plains of western Kansas, Fort Hays State University is the second youngest of the state's six universities. FHSU has grown to a faculty of nearly 300, a support staff of 250 and a student body of 5,600. The university now offers hundreds of courses in each of its four main colleges -- Education, Arts and Sciences, Business and Leadership, and Health and Life Sciences -- and the Graduate School. FHSU is located in Hays, the largest city in northwest Kansas. Hays began as a wild frontier town and has grown into a progressive community of about 20,000 people. The old and new blend beautifully to form a city that is small enough to be comfortable yet large enough to provide abundant cultural, commercial and entertainment opportunities.

Students at FHSU may select a major field of study from 30 departments and study in an electronic environment throughout the campus. Enrollment is more than 6,000 students who come from 37 states and 30 foreign countries. However, more than 90 percent of our students are from Kansas. FHSU has a 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Many scholars and specialists are among the more than 300 faculty members at FHSU who couple superb teaching with a warm and caring attitude toward their students. More than half of the faculty have the doctorate or terminal degree in their disciplines.

The athletic teams at Fort Hays State University compete in the NCAA Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Recent Highlights:

• Tyler Strong on the Fort Hays State University football team was recently named to the second-team of The Associated Press Little All-America Team. Strong, a Medicine Lodge native who played left tackle, had already earned All-American honors from the American Football Coaches Association. He also was selected to play in the Cactus Bowl, an all-star game for seniors. Strong started eight games last season as the Tigers went 6-5, the school's first winning record since 1998. The senior also was a first-team all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference pick the last two seasons and a four-year letterman.



• Kelly Skidmore, a sophomore on the Fort Hays State University volleyball team, recently was named to the Daktronics All-Southwest Region volleyball team. Skidmore, a libero for the Tigers, was one of six regional players to earn first-team honors. Skidmore was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year for her work this season. She averaged 4.36 digs per game, which led the Tigers (25-7).



• Two Fort Hays State University seniors closed out their college cross country careers, earning All-America honors at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Dale Dexter, from Hoyt, finished 23rd out of 186 runners in the 10,000-meter race in a time of 32 minutes, 2 seconds, while Daryn Parker from Dodge City was 31st in 32:17. The top 30 American finishers in the race are awarded All-America status, and eight of the top 11 finishers were foreign runners.



• Freshman Helen Brooks became the first Fort Hays State University tennis player in school history to be ranked in the NCAA Division II North Central Region poll. Brooks was ranked 13th by in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.



• The Fort Hays State University women's golf team had two of its three golfers place in the top 30 at the University of Nebraska-Kearney Invitational in Gothenburg, Neb. Freshman Molly Copper paced the Tigers by carding a 190 to finish 34, and freshman Stacey Karl was 39th with a 200. Freshman Shannon MacDonald tied for 42nd with a 225.



• Fort Hays State University junior Cassie Cordell was named the East Division Player of the Week in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Cordell, a 6-foot-1 forward from Little River, led the Tigers to a 103-44 win over McPherson's Central Christian College Saturday by scoring a career-high 25 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. She also made all 13 of her free-throw attempts and collected two steals.



• Aaron Meister, the Fort Hays State University junior, worked his way into the championship finals of the 174-pound class at Saturday's FHSU-Bob Smith Open at Gross Memorial Coliseum.



• Fort Hays State University senior third baseman Ben Tinius has been selected to the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All-America first team. Tiger junior first baseman Cam Houston was named to the second team. Houston batted .412, with 12 homers and a team-high 79 RBIs.



• The Fort Hays State University 400-meter men's relay team defeated Abilene Christian (Texas) University at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Abilene was the only team in the country with a faster time than the Tigers.

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