Three Join GCAA National Advisory Board
NORMAN, Okla. - Three new members have joined the GCAA National Advisory Board (NAB) effective July 1. Chris Winkel of Grand View and St. John Fisher's Bob Simms are beginning their elected terms as NAIA Representative at-Large and Division III Director, respectively, while Jimmy Stobs of Barry has been appointed Division II Representative at-Large.
Winkel will fulfill the final three years of the NAIA Representative at-Large term after being elected to the position at the GCAA's Annual Business meeting at its convention in December. Winkel just concluded his ninth season as head golf coach at Grand View. Under his leadership, the Viking men's golf program has grown to be one of the top programs in the nation, ranked in the top five in the NAIA and achieving a No. 1 Nike/Golf World ranking in 2010. Winkel led the Vikings to four national tournament appearances in 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012. In 2012, Grand View finished fourth at the national championships. Grand View won the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championship four-straight seasons and Winkel was voted by his peers as MCC Coach of the Year five times.
Simms was elected in December to fulfill the one year remaining on the Division III Director position on the NAB. He has served as St. John Fisher's men’s golf coach since 2000, and was named women’s golf head coach in the summer of 2008. Simms also guided the Fisher baseball team from 1988-2000. Under his tutelage, 10 golfers have received All-America honors, 18 have been named to All-Region teams, and the Cardinals, who have made showings in the NCAAs six out of the last eight years, have emerged as a contender on the national level. Simms is a five-time Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and seven-time Empire 8 Conference Coach of the Year who has led his teams to 10 conference championships in the last 13 seasons. He has served as chair of both the GCAA Division III All-America and Coach of the Year Committees.
Stobs rejoins the NAB after serving as Division II Director from 2008-12. He was appointed by the NAB to the position of Division II Reprentative at-Large after Steve Card resigned the post to take on interim athletic director duties at Western Washington. Stobs will serve in this capacity through June 30, 2013. A special election will be held at the GCAA Annual Business meeting in December to select the individual that will fulfill the final two years of the term.
Stobs will enter his 12th season at the helm of the Barry men’s golf program. Emphasizing discipline and course management, he has taken the men’s golf program to the next level. Stobs' teams have achieved national prominence by winning NCAA Division II National Championships in 2007 and 2013. A two-time Dave Williams Award recipient (2007 and 2013), Stobs previously served as chair of the Divison II All-America Committee and coached the United States in the 2008 USA vs. Japan Collegiate Golf Championship.