Tuesday, September 8, 2015

PORTLAND, Ore. - The first episode of GNAC Insider for the 2015-16 year aired Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. Pacific with host Rob Lowery returning for his second year. Guests for the 65th edition were Tourism Burnaby’s Sport Tourism Manager Jennifer Scott, Azusa Pacific football player Jaylen Crutchfield and GNAC Commissioner Dave Haglund.

Scott is the Sport Tourism Manager for Tourism Burnaby, which focuses on bringing sporting events into Burnaby that create a positive economic, social and sport impact in the community. She is responsible for developing and sustaining partnerships with local sport group while acting as a liaison to other community partners such as venue operators, local hotels and City of Burnaby officials. Scott spoke about the GNAC partnership with Tourism Burnaby and the work they will be doing to promote the 2015 GNAC Women’s Soccer Championship at Simon Fraser University.

Crutchfield is a senior offensive lineman for the Cougars, having started 20 games combined as a sophomore and junior. Azusa Pacific’s running game has been their biggest strength the past couple seasons. In 2014, the Cougars ranked 10th in Division II with an average of 264.3 rushing yards per game. Crutchfield spoke about the loss of All-American running back Terrell Watson, the comeback victory over West Texas A&M and the upcoming matchup with Humboldt St.

Haglund is in his fourth year as commissioner. Since taking over, the conference has hosted multiple NCAA Division II tournaments including the 2013 Men’s Golf Super Regional, the 2013 Cross Country West Regional and the 2013 Cross Country National Championships. Haglund talked about the upcoming athletic year, the addition of Concordia and the high number of top-ranked teams in the GNAC in the early fall season.

GNAC Insider airs live at 7 p.m. Pacific every Tuesday and is produced by the conference office. All episodes become available as free podcasts via iTunes. To listen to archived episodes go to GNAC.TV.