To Joe Witten, recently hired IUS softball coach, the success his players have off the field is as important as the success they have on the field. “I believe in making the student-athlete a priority for achieving greatness outside the foul lines, before inside,” Witten said. Over the summer, Athletic Director Joe Glover hired Witten to fill the coaching position previously held by Todd Buckingham.

For the first time since 2004, the Student Activity Fee took a significant drop, with 11 percent of the budget being cut from the total amount. The SAF is a fee all students must pay and is determined per credit hour for up to 12 credit hours. This year, the budget for the SAF totaled $742,852 compared to last year’s $828,452 — a more than $85,000 difference. Anne Skuce, interim vice chancellor of Student Affairs, said the decrease was due to not only low enrollment rates in the spring, but also the discount on summer tuition this year.

As part of a new initiative to help the campus community, the IU Southeast Alumni Association is offering six scholarships to students for the 2012-13 school year. The scholarship amounts total $10,000, with six $1,000 scholarships and one $4,000 scholarship for Athletics. Of the six scholarships, each one will be divided between the six schools at IU Southeast. Jerry Wayne, vice chancellor of Alumni and Community Relations, said half of the scholarship amount for the individual schools came from the organization’s scholarship account. The other half was provided by Chancellor Sandra Patterson-Randles.

IU Southeast ,3-2, faced off against the Patriots of St. Catharine, 4-1, Aug. 21 in the Activities Building. The newly renovated crimson bleachers contained a fairly large crowd of St. Catharine and IUS fans for the first home game of the Lady Grenadiers season. During the summer session, the Athletics Department updated the bleachers in the gym to accommodate for a safer environment for the Grenadier fans.

The IUS intramural sports teams meet every Sunday in the Activities Building to play basketball, as well as other sports. The numbers of those who participate has risen over the past few years since Perry Brown, coordinator of intramural and the Fitness Center, started working at IU Southeast. Hired in 2006, Brown has been involved with sports since his high school years.

The Student Activity Fee distribution list was released during the summer and serves to outline exactly where students’ collective $827,351 is disbursed. Per the 2011-12 school year, the Student Activity Fee is $5.30 per credit hour, per student. The Student Life Committee — comprised of eight students, two faculty members, and two staff members — decides how much money is to be allocated in various group accounts. In order to receive money, the university’s accounts have to submit a request of the funds they wish to be allotted to them.

The money is distributed by the Student Life Committee. Ruth Garvey-Nix, vice chancellor of Student Affairs and chair of the SLC, said these decisions were made in the spring.