Since returning to Christopher Newport University in 1984 as head basketball and golf coach, C.J. Woollum has played a key role in some amazing transformations in the school’s athletic department. Mr. Woollum was an assistant basketball coach at CNU in the 1970s before leaving for Marshall University.

“The last 10 years have been extraordinary for the athletic department as well as the entire University,” said Mr. Woollum, now CNU’s director of Athletics. “We now have some of the finest facilities in the nation in Division III, we’ve added a successful football program, and our teams are competing at a national level on a consistent basis.”

And Mr. Woollum recognizes that in addition to succeeding on the fields and courts, CNU athletes also must succeed in the classrooms. CNU continually renews the emphasis on developing all areas of the student-athlete’s life.

“Athletes are required to maintain high standards, and our academic support program has grown tremendously,” Mr. Woollum continued. “All athletes have mentors at their disposal, and coaches receive continuous progress reports on their athletes. Our coaches recruit fantastic young men and women, and while they are here, they are required to work hard in every aspect of their lives.”

The hard work pays off, as CNU athletes excel in the classrooms and on the playing fields and courts. Here are just a few graduates who are truly CNU athletic department success stories.

Casey Taylor, track

Casey Taylor

“Casey Taylor was one of the very best to ever graduate from our department,” Mr. Woollum said. “Her achievements academically and athletically boggle the mind, and she is a special young lady and a great friend.”

While track was always her main event, Ms. Taylor was gifted in other athletic areas as well. She played basketball and volleyball in high school, and while she was wooed by several Division I programs, she opted for CNU because of the emphasis on her education. “I knew Christopher Newport had high expectations from me, not just as an athlete but also as a student,” Ms. Taylor said. “I was expected to be a positive role model. Of course I dreamed about competing in the Olympics and winning gold medals, but I wanted to pursue my education more than athletics.”

Her career at CNU was extraordinary, to say the least. She became a two-time National Champion, winning the triple jump in 1999 and the long jump in 2000. From 1998 to 2000, she was named All-American 19 times, and selected regional athlete of the year several times.

While dominating in her track events, she was also successful in the classroom. Ms. Taylor earned academic All-American honors her junior and senior year, was on the Dean’s List and a CNU Presidential Scholar all four years, and was also in the Honors Program. She was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, and served as the group’s president her senior year. She was also inducted into Sigma Tau Delta, an English honor society.

She graduated with honors with a major in English and a minor in women’s and gender studies. She also earned an NCAA post-graduate scholarship, the first-ever for a CNU student. She has since earned her second master’s degree in education at the University of San Francisco. She is now passionately involved in a literacy program for young children in California and looks forward to being in the classroom as a teacher in the near future. She also hopes to someday return to Virginia.

“I want to be a more active Alum,” Ms. Taylor said. “It’s hard to do that living on the opposite coast. I want to see CNU football and go tailgating and be a part of homecoming.”

“Talking about CNU is one of my favorite pastimes,” Ms. Taylor continued. “Once people meet me, they know all about Christopher Newport University. The relationships I made with my professors, particularly with Dr. Douglas Gordon and Dr. Virginia Purtle, have become lifelong friendships. CNU is where I developed my passions and interests and where I began growing into the woman I am today.”

Ms. Taylor was inducted into the CNU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

Jenny Nuttycombe, tennis and basketball

Jenny Nuttycomb, left, is now CNU's director of Academic Support for Athletes.

Jenny Nuttycombe’s love for sports was a given. Her father was a very successful coach in the Newport News Public Schools, her mother was a national AAU Olympic swimming champion, and her four brothers were all involved in sports as well.

“I got involved in sports because of my whole family,” Ms. Nuttycombe said. “My brothers all competed in sports, and I watched how much they loved it. I spent time with my dad at all of his coaching events, starting when I was only 5 or 6. I also heard from my relatives and parents’ friends about my mom. She would beat everyone in her swimming events.”

Ms. Nuttycombe came to CNU as a student in 1984 and played both tennis and basketball. Her incredible run as a CNU tennis player saw her post a 35-11 singles record and a .761 winning percentage that still ranks fourth-best in the history of CNU women’s tennis. She was also the Dixie Conference’s singles champion at #5 in 1984 and won again at the #3 spot in 1985.

Over the years, this notable athlete won many accolades, but she is most proud of being selected for the USA South’s Anniversary Team as one of the best tennis players in the 25-year history of women’s athletics.

Ms. Nuttycombe graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history. She worked as a supervisor for circulation at the Daily Press and also coached tennis and basketball at Peninsula Catholic High School. She returned to her alma mater in 2001 as the head tennis coach and assistant basketball coach, and she was named director of Academic Support for Athletics in 2004, giving her the opportunity to place value not only on athletics but academics as well. “My biggest goal is to continue to work with the Academic Support Program and see that these athletes graduate.”

What drives Jenny Nuttycombe?

“I worked very hard to be the best athlete I could be,” Ms. Nuttycombe said. “I knew I had to work hard like my brothers did if
I wanted to be as good as they were in their sports. I try to be like my dad in coaching. I want the athletes to feel as though I am not only their coach but a mentor as well.”

“I want to be there for them in any way, shape or form,” Ms. Nuttycombe continued. “I want them to be able to look back and say that I taught them not only the game but how to be an outstanding citizen and role model. I love all athletics and enjoy watching sports. Athletics is just instilled in me, and I love competing.”

Her oldest brother, Ed, is the head track coach at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She aspires to reach the level of success her brother has had, noting that his teams have won more than 30 championships. She is heading in the right direction as her squads have posted a 39-15 overall mark and a .722 winning percentage over the past four seasons. She is now the top women’s tennis coach in school history.

Ms. Nuttycombe was honored with the Coach of the Year Award in the USA South Athletic Conference in 2003 and last year led the Lady Captains to a 16-1 overall record and a 6-1 conference mark. Her team beat Methodist College to take the conference tournament title and earn its first regional ranking.

“The opportunity to coach and work at such an outstanding and growing university is just awesome,” Ms. Nuttycombe said. “President Trible has done wonderful things with the university, and I am privileged to be a part of it. My school has really come a long way since I started here as a freshman.”

Paul Babcock, basketball and track

Paul Babcock gives CNU credit for the success he's had in his career and life.

“I was a bit of an enigma because there weren’t many jocks playing basketball and running track in the ’60s who were also sociology majors,” explained Paul Babcock, a graduate of Christopher Newport College, as it was then known.

Personal circumstances were the reasons he came to CNU. It’s a decision he has never regretted.

Mr. Babcock’s family had moved to the state of Washington, leaving him to fend for himself. The college and students rallied to help him, and he was introduced to Professor Robert M. Usry, a confirmed bachelor who rented out rooms in his house at a nominal price to deserving young students. The school also helped by obtaining work-study grants to ease his financial burdens.

“In basketball terms, we were young and developing then, and the school was relatively unknown,” Mr. Babcock said. “Our successes and notoriety on the court and track gave us credibility and gave the school a lot of positive attention. We consistently beat the likes of James Madison and George Mason back then.”

He also remembers that all Christopher Newport athletics, including basketball, had a shoestring budget in those days. That meant they traveled to various games in a beat-up old bus, which they nicknamed “Big Blue.” They once had to push the bus after it stalled on the James River Bridge at 3 a.m. returning from a road game.

After graduating, Mr. Babcock moved to Washington to be with his family. Even there, CNU continued to reach out to him. He received a call from The Arc of the Virginia Peninsula, a nonprofit organization that serves the disabled.

A CNU psychology professor had recommended Mr. Babcock for a position. He returned to Newport News after getting the job and has been there since. With more than 25 years of direct care and management experience in the field of developmental disabilities, Mr. Babcock is now senior vice president of the organization. His relationships from college still are fresh in his mind.

“We shared a great camaraderie, the coaches and athletes back then,” Mr. Babcock said. “All the success in my life and career is a direct result of the wonderful people from Christopher Newport. Faculty members, fellow students, advisors and coaches all helped me. Whatever I am today is because of the family-like atmosphere that existed in the college. The values I gained helped kick-start my life and made me the success I am.”

Mr. Babcock was inducted into the Christopher Newport University Athletic Hall of Fame last year.