MURFREESBORO – When Meredith Long played softball at Chowan College her leadership skills were undeniable.

Six years after joining the school as head softball coach and assistant sports information director, Long’s skills are being put to use by the school again.

Earlier this year, Chowan Athletic Director Debbie Warren tabbed Long as Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information.

Long has served as Senior Woman Administrator at the school for the past two years and will continue in that dual role this season.

&uot;We are indeed fortunate to have Meredith Long as our Senior Woman Administrator,&uot; Warren said. &uot;She is a well-organized, efficient and caring member of our Chowan family.

&uot;As Assistant Athletic Director, she currently has responsibilities as our Sports Information Director, Marketing and Promotions Director, Certified Pool Operator and assists with special projects,&uot; she continued. &uot;Meredith is involved with major decision-making on department policy.&uot;

Warren said she was pleased that Long was a part of the Chowan family.

&uot;Meredith is probably best known as the Braves’ very successful head softball coach and she’s a wonderful teacher,&uot; Warren said. &uot;She and her husband, Mark, are family and we are truly blessed that they have chosen to make this their home.&uot;

Long said that being at home was one of the best parts of the promotion.

&uot;I feel honored to be in this position after having been a student-athlete here and then coming back after teaching in a school system for two years,&uot; Long said. &uot;Now, being in administration at the school that you hold close to your heart means a lot to me.

&uot;I hold this college close to my heart,&uot; she continued. &uot;Everything that goes on at this college means a lot to me. I take a lot of pride in calling this place my alma mater.&uot;

During her six years with the Braves, Long has remained head softball coach and has been busy rebuilding the program she played for during her days in the Columbia Blue and White.

She has moved from assistant SID to Sports Information Director and was named Senior Woman Administrator early last year.

At this point, Long is also the longest-serving coach in the athletic department at Chowan.

During her tenure as SID, the school has made tremendous improvements in their web site, changed to scoring all games home and away on stat crew software and does a better job of updating stats after every event.

The athletic department has also increased publications 10-fold and expanded to a national market.

Long is a graduate of Chowan College where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education in 1996. She received her master’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002.