Fairbanks to host NCAA rifle championships

Submitted by Jamie Schanback
Phone: (907) 474-6807
11/28/06

FAIRBANKS, AK - The University of Alaska Fairbanks announced Tuesday that the eight-time and defending national champion Alaska Nanooks rifle team will host the 2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association championships March 8-10 at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range.

Forrest Karr, director of athletics and campus recreation at UAF, made the announcement during a Tuesday news conference. This is the first time Fairbanks has hosted the tournament.

"Hosting the rifle championships will help bring attention to this wonderful state and attract the best student-athletes to Fairbanks," Karr said. "This undertaking is a win-win situation which will exemplify what can happen when the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the university work alongside one another. The result will significantly benefit the sport and the greater Fairbanks community."

The event was originally scheduled to take place at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. An unforeseen challenge meant the event needed to be temporarily relocated.

"It’s going to be great to finally bring the competition to Alaska and our home range," said UAF rifle coach Dan Jordan. "It will really help to continue to elevate the program and the university to national prominence. It will also open up some avenues for some new shooters coming in."

While the E.F. Horton Rifle Range is already equipped to host the national event, Karr and Jordan are working to upgrade the facility with an electronic scoring system that has been used at each of the NCAA rifle championships in recent history and is comparable to ones used at major rifle events worldwide.

"It was an easy decision for the committee," said Valerie Booth, the Chair of the Men’s and Women’s Rifle Committee and head rifle coach at the University of Mississippi, "knowing the caliber of the program that Alaska has."

"Many of us have never been to Alaska and are excited about coming up. We know they’ll be a good host and put on a good event for us."

The Nanooks and Jordan just completed a five-match road trip in the Lower 48. They remain unbeaten this season, following wins over Murray State, Jacksonville State, Kentucky, the University of Texas-El Paso and Nevada.

Alaska faces a challenging schedule before the championships in March. The Nanooks will have almost two months without competition to train before their next road trip in January, which will see them compete in the Palmyra Invitational and shoot against Navy, Philadelphia Sciences and last year’s runner-up, Army. That four-match adventure will last a week, after which the Nanooks will return home to host the Navy in the NCAA Sectionals, Feb. 9-10.