KENT, Ohio - After three consecutive MAC Championship seasons by both the baseball and softball teams, Kent State Athletic Director Laing Kennedy recently announced four-year contract extensions for Scott Stricklin and Karen Linder.

Both coaches were originally under contract through the 2009 season, but the new four-year contracts which began on Monday (Sept. 1) extend their time in Kent through 2012.

"It’s a great pleasure to be in a position to extend the contracts of any of our coaches and in this case, Scott and Karen certainly represent the quality and character that bring pride and national recognition to Kent State," Kennedy said. "Both have been coaches of the year, directed their programs to NCAA competition and have built their programs with exemplary student-athletes."

In his first four seasons as head baseball coach, Stricklin has guided the Golden Flashes to a pair of Mid-American Conference regular season titles (2006 & 2008) and a MAC Tournament crown in 2007. Following the 2006 season, he was named MAC Coach of the Year. In four seasons, Stricklin’s teams have a combined 140-86 record.

"I’d like to thank Laing for his continued support of this program," Stricklin said. "It’s been a great four years and I look forward to continue building on this program’s storied tradition. And it’s always exciting to be able to coach at my alma mater."

Linder’s extension comes on the heels of the best season in KSU softball history. The Golden Flashes became the first MAC school in six years to win both the conference’s regular season and tournament titles in 2008. Kent State’s 46-12 mark broke the school record for wins in a season. During the Flashes’ MAC Tournament run, Linder earned career victory number 600, just two days after being named MAC Coach of the Year for the second time in five seasons. Other recent milestones during her 12 years at Kent State include a 2006 MAC Tournament title and a 2007 MAC regular season championship.

"I feel the contract extension is a demonstration of the University’s commitment and desire to keep our softball program competing at a national level," Linder said. "It will also help us in our recruiting efforts throughout the country. Our goal is to put Kent State softball in the top 25 in the country. Personally, I am thrilled and honored to have a long term commitment from the University. It has been a joy to work with our administrative staff and I look forward to even more success in the future."