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Waldorf College

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106 South 6 Street
Forest City, IA 50436
Contact: Anthony Cornelius
Phone: 800.977.8449 ext. 1570 (o)
Email: anthony.cornealius@columbiasouthern.edu

September 22,
2010 FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE

WALDORF TO LAUNCH HOCKEY TEAM


Liberal Arts College Hires Douglas G .Ross as First Hockey Coach
FOREST CITY, IOWA—Waldorf College announces the start of its men’s hockey program to be lead by famed collegiate
hockey coach Douglas G. Ross, a four-time national championship coach. The program will begin recruiting immediately
in preparation for its inaugural 2011-2012 season.
“I know there is a lot of good hockey here in Iowa -- over in Des Moines and Mason City and in Minnesota,” Ross said.
“There are some people who want to play hockey and get their education. This program is a good opportunity for high
school students, college transfers and junior hockey players.”
The team will start playing a club schedule and hopefully join a conference and play approximately 24 to 28 games at a
nearby city ice arena in Albert Lea, Minn.
“This might be really good marriage for Waldorf College and the youth hockey in Albert Lea because our boys will be good
role models for the younger players. We will work with them at clinics and we hope that the Albert Lea community comes
out and watches us play,” Ross said. He has more than 35 years of hockey camp and clinic experience. “We would love
to get lots of players from Minnesota and Iowa that are dedicated to earning their degree and have a passion to play
hockey for Waldorf.”
While recruiting is important to Ross, he does stress the importance of morals, academics, and being the best citizen you
can be both on and off the ice. “The most important goal is to build a team that will play with a lot of passion, character
and sportsmanship and develop a good reputation. We want them to achieve academically, too. I would love to have a
bunch of honor roll students,” Ross said. “I will work with them and give them 30 years of coaching and some 20 years of
playing experience.”
And that experience started when Ross played outdoor hockey as child and won several outdoor state hockey
championships on the Sunnyside Hockey Team. He transitioned to indoor leagues at age 14 and later played for the
Detroit Junior A Red Wings, Southern Ontario Hockey Association champions. Ross continued his pursuit of hockey at
Lake Superior State College in Michigan where he played on the NAIA National Championship winning team in 1972.
Ross transferred and earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Bowling Green State University in 1975 becoming
the highest scoring right wing in the nation. While there, Ross played hockey under the legendary coach Ron Mason and
went on to play the right wing position for the U.S. National Hockey Team in 1975. Ross then played for the 1976 U.S.
Olympic team competing in the XII Winter Olympic games which was coached by the legendary Bob Johnson.
Ross earned his master’s degree in education at Western Michigan University in 1979 while coaching Kalamazoo Central
High School where he worked for two years. Then, Ross went on to coach hockey for two years at Kent State University
before transferring to the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
“Everybody would say for years they didn’t know we had a hockey program in Huntsville, Alabama,” Ross explained. “But
we grew it up. We grew it up with a lot of support from the Huntsville community, especially the Huntsville Amateur
Hockey Association, UAH, and the players from the 1982 Championship Club Team. Together, we moved the program
forward.” The hockey program grew and thrived under his leadership from 1982 to 2006. The team won two club league
national championships and later two NCAA Division II championships. During 2006, the UAH Chargers competed in the
NCAA Division I Hockey tournament. Ross’ college hockey win-loss record is 510-294-43.
A top-ranked Division I hockey coach, Ross chose to take a break from hockey to spend time with family and watch one of
his sons, Jared, grow to become a NHL Philadelphia Flyers player. Jared now plays for the Atlanta Thrashers in the NHL.
After talking with Waldorf College President Dr. Joe Manjone, a former University of Alabama colleague, Ross “kinda’ got
hungry again and wanted to “get back in the game.” A year of talks with Manjone and visits to Waldorf finally lead to Ross’
return to men’s collegiate hockey and another opportunity to build a program into a national contender.
“The growth of hockey continues to rise in the U.S. Just about every state has hockey programs right now. I look forward
to growing a team from the ground up at Waldorf just as I did at University of Alabama-Huntsville. There will be a lot of
national recognition for Waldorf with the addition of the hockey team.”
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