While the 2010 Campus Plan struggles through the regulatory process, one project from its predecessor is close to being realized. Final plans for a new practice facility for varsity athletics, first approved as an amendment to the 2000 Campus Plan in October 2007, will be submitted to the various regulatory boards over the coming months.

The Athletic Training Facility (also called the Intercollegiate Athletic Center) was last presented to the Old Georgetown Board in October 2011. (The OGB must approve the architectural design of buildings within the Georgetown neighborhood.) The board sent the plans back for modification, but administrators are hopeful that revisions incorporating the OGB’s feedback will be approved.

If all goes to plan, the ATF will go before the city Zoning Commission on April 26 to receive final approval. While the Zoning Commission has proved to be a quagmire for the 2010 Campus Plan, the process for the ATF should be smoother because its prior approval.

“This is a modification of a fully-approved building, so it’s not a full-blown-out hearing,” Vice President for Public Affairs Erik Smulson said. “It’s more of a bridge process.”

Since October, small changes have been made to the design of the building, which will be built on the site of the tennis courts adjacent to McDonough Arena. One of the OGB’s main concerns last fall was that the new building would obstruct the facade of McDonough, so the orientation of the ATF has been changed and a glass rotunda has been added to connect the old and new athletic facilities.

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And we thought that playing Syracuse once a year was bad.

Georgetown now faces a future where its most hated rival isn’t guaranteed to appear on the schedule at all. That might be the least of Georgetown’s concerns, however, after Syracuse and Pittsburgh submitted applications and were accepted to the Atlantic Coast Conference over the weekend. The move is a serious blow to both the tradition and competitiveness of the Big East, and it may only be the beginning of a drastic conference realignment.

This won’t be a clean breakup. Syracuse and Pitt will awkwardly linger on the Hoyas’ schedules for at least this year and possibly longer. The Big East requires departing members to pay a $5 million exit fee and give 27 months notice, but don’t be surprised if that timetable is negotiated down to avoid an extended lame duck period.

More importantly, Syracuse and Pitt are just the first dominoes to fall. UConn and Villanova are already trying to join them in the ACC, rumors abound about Rutgers and West Virginia, and the Big East will surely look to reload by poaching from other conferences. Just don’t expect Georgetown to be among the first defectors.

“As a founding member of the Big East in 1979, we have confronted challenging moments in the past and we are confident that as we work through the events of the past days we will maintain the high quality of the Big East Conference,” Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed said in a statement released Sunday night.

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Georgetown baseball and softball teams may soon have a new home field.

University officials are currently in talks with the city of Alexandria about signing a multi-year lease for the use of fields near Four Mile Run.

City Councilmember Frank Fannon told The Washington Post that under the deal, the University would pay for capital needed to renovate the fields—located near Cora Kelly Elementary School—and in return the city would give the University the lease.

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Earlier today, Director of Athletics Lee Reed named Jamie Holder as Georgetown’s new head coach of the swimming and diving program. Holder previously worked as an assistant coach of the Princeton’s mens’ swimming team for the last five seasons.

“I’m excited to work with the student-athletes and hit the ground running,” Holder said.

While at Princeton, Holder took part in a string of successes. The Tigers went 7-0 last season, bringing home the Ivy League Championship for the fourth time in five seasons. According CollegeSwimming.com, the Princeton had the nation’s 25th-best mens’ swimming and diving team last season. Georgetown was unranked.

Perhaps most importantly, Holder brings significant recruiting expertise to Georgetown. As Princeton’s main recruiter, he scouted prospective swimmers and divers exceptionally well; CollegeSwimming.com ranked Princeton’s incoming class of recruits as one of the five best in the nation.

Georgetown’s swimming and diving team is on the up-and-up itself. While breaking nine school records last season, the womens’ team had a dual-meet record of 10-2, the best in the school history. The mens’ team also broke five school records.

Holder replaces former head coach Steven Cartwright, who stepped down last spring. Cartwright, who served as head coach for three years, plans to attend the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia and study for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina.

As expected, Georgetown formally announced Lee Reed as its new Director of Athletics at a press conference this morning. Reed comes to the Hilltop from Cleveland State, where he held the same position, and replaces Bernard Muir, who left to take over the Delaware athletic department. Georgetown’s senior vice president for strategic development, Daniel Porterfield, held the position in the interim.

In eight years at Cleveland State, Reed developed the Viking program into a Horizon League power, with teams winning nine conference championships over the past two years. Cleveland State was awarded the James J. McCafferty Trophy in 2008 as the Horizon League’s all-sport champion.

“Lee’s successful tenure at Cleveland State provides many examples of his leadership and vision, including 11 Horizon League championships, and 15 NCAA championship trips,” President John DeGioia said.

Reed’s tenure at Cleveland State was his only experience running a university’s athletic program, but prior to joining the Vikings he worked in the athletic departments at Eastern Michigan and New Mexico. Prior to entering administration Reed also worked as a basketball coach at New Mexico from 1984-86, building off his experience as a four-year player at Cleveland State. He received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from New Mexico in 1992 and a master’s degree in sports administration in 1994 from the same school.

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