Susan Bassett isn't looking to rebuild Carnegie Mellon's athletic programs when she officially becomes the athletic director in July, but she hopes to see a new building on campus in the near future that will replace antiquated Skibo Gym.

		Last Week Revisited Some of the top individual highlights by district college athletes: Grove City senior Erin Claxton, who set a school and meet record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 38:40.6 at Carnegie Mellon's West Penn Championships, is the ECAC Division III women's track and field runner of the week. Allegheny sophomore third baseman Jason Pape (Bethel Park), who was 5 of 9 with three RBI and five runs scored in two games, is the North Coast Athletic Conference baseball player of the week. Lock Haven senior Diana Strizki, who recently set a school record with 173 career goals, is the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference lacrosse player of the week. California senior outfielder Mike Larson, who was 4 of 7 with three runs scored, two steals and four RBIs in a doubleheader against Shippensburg, is the PSAC West baseball player of the week. Gannon (3-3) remained in sixth for the second consecutive week in the Intercollegiate Women's NCAA Division II Lacrosse Coaches Association Top 10. Mindy Richmond leads Gannon with 34 goals.

"CMU is at a critical point in their history," Bassett said yesterday from her office at William Smith College in Geneva, N.Y., where she has been athletic director the past 10 years.

"Athletics has been important and CMU is ready at this point to develop its programs further. They talked to me about expanding their facilities with a new field house. That's something that intrigues me. There's a real need there."

Skibo Gym has been the home of CMU's basketball teams and other winter sports since the 1920s.

"I wasn't actively in the market searching for jobs," said Bassett, who replaces David Belowich, the interim athletic director since John Harvey retired after 15 years in May. "I made a promise to myself that when openings came up I'd stay open-minded. I've made my career in Division III.

"The Division III values are clean, not about money, not about winning."

Bassett stopped in midthought, then added, "But I love to win. We keep score, don't we? What I value most in Division III is the approach; we always have the best interest of the student at heart."

CMU, a member of the University Athletic Association, offers financial aid based on need, not athletic ability.

"We want to compete at the highest level we can," Bassett said. "I believe you can pursue excellence in athletics as well as excellence in the classroom. I would like to change the notion that because we're in Division III we're not serious about athletics."

CMU's football team has had 31 consecutive non-losing seasons and the men's basketball team set a school records for victories last season with a 19-7 record and reached the second round of the ECAC Division III Southern tournament.

"I'm sure [football coach] Rich Lackner wants to be in the NCAAs and I know the same is true in men's basketball," Bassett said. "I would like to see if we can get some NCAA bids periodically. I also would like to see CMU improve it's women's programs."

Before becoming the athletic director at William Smith College, Bassett coached the school's swimming and diving team and was an assistant lacrosse and field hockey coach. She was the head men's and women's swimming coach at Union College and was named the NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1993.

"I'm a coaches' athletic director," she said. "I'm a coach at heart, but I won't be second-guessing the coaches."

PAC expands

Thomas More College, in Crestview Hills, Ky., a suburb of Cincinnati, will become the seventh member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference in the 2005-06 academic year, joining Bethany, Grove City, Waynesburg, Washington & Jefferson, Waynesburg and Westminster. The Thomas More Saints will begin scheduling conference teams in all sports this fall to become immediately eligible for conference titles.

Thomas More has been competing as an independent in NCAA Division III.

The seventh team is important because it gives the PAC the minimum number of schools to qualify its champions for NCAA Division III tournaments.

Although the NCAA has a mandatory waiting period of two years for a conference to gain automatic qualification status, the PAC plans to appeal the NCAA to waive the rule so its champions can receive bids to the tournaments beginning in 2005-06.