MSUBSPORTS.COM - Key Persons

Aaron Champenoy

aa..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Head Men 's Soccer Coach

Champenoy was the 2016 NAIA National Coach of the Year after leading Hastings College to the national title with a record of 24-0-1. In his most recent stint as a collegiate head coach, Champenoy compiled a cumulative record of 43-3-2 during his two seasons in charge at Hastings from 2016-17. Champenoy's successful tenure at Hastings included seven All-Americans, 10 United Soccer Coaches all-region pics, four Great Plains Athletic Conference Players of the Year, and a dozen first-team all-conference selections. Prior to his career at Hastings, Champenoy was tasked with starting the men's soccer program at University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas in the fall of 2007. Eight years later he had compiled a record of 82-61-11, won a pair of Red River Athletic Conference championships, and was twice named the conference coach of the year. Champenoy also served as the strength and conditioning coach during his time at St. Thomas, while directing the soccer program's fundraising efforts and corporate partnerships. Champenoy's collegiate coaching career began at his alma mater in 2003, when he assumed the head coaching position at Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb. In four seasons he compiled a record of 50-27-6, made the postseason each year, and led the team to the 2006 Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference title while garnering conference coach of the year honors. In total, Champenoy owns a record of 180-100-22 (.632) in his 16 collective seasons as a head coach at the collegiate level. Success on the field as a player preceded his accomplishments on the sideline, as Champenoy led the Bellevue men's soccer team to a record of 51-25-4 and a pair of Region IV tournament appearances during his four-year playing career from 1998-2001. An honorable mention All-American selection his senior season, Champenoy was a three-year team captain and two-time all-region and all-MCAC selection playing primarily as a center back and holding midfielder. Champenoy graduated from Bellevue cum laude in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in biology, and is currently completing his master's degree in athletic administration and coaching from Concordia University Irvine. Champenoy has remained highly involved in the soccer coaching scene for the last five years, working as the club director for the Nebraska Bugeaters since 2017, and serving as the athletic director at Durango High School in Durango, Colo., from 2018-21. He comes to MSUB having spent the past year as the assistant athletic director for external relations at fellow NCAA Division II Fort Lewis College, where he was primarily responsible for the athletic department's fundraising and corporate partnership efforts.

Abiye Jack

ab..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Interim Head Women 's Soccer Coach

Jack previously served as assistant coach for MSUB wo men's soccer for two seasons, joining Steven Cavallo's staff ahead of the 2021 season. Jack previously served as the men's and women's assistant coach for two seasons from 2019-21 at CCBC Essex. Jack helped CCBC to two women's national tournament appearances, in 2019 and 2020-21, and a men's national finalist appearance in 2021. In addition to his duties at CCBC Essex, Jack served as the director of goalkeeping and head coach at Coppermine Soccer Club during 2020-21. Jack's coaching career also includes four-years as a head coach for FC Frederick from 2016-20. He began his coaching career as the Brunswick high School boys varsity assistant and head junior varsity coach from 2014-18. While at Brunswick, he was part of the team's Class A Maryland state title in 2014. A native of Baltimore, Jack competed at Frostburg State University from 2009-2012 where he had a career record of 23-6-10 with 13 shutouts as a goalkeeper. Jack graduated with his bachelor's degree in economics and enjoyed a career in the National Premier Soccer League from 2017-19. He also holds a United States Soccer Federation National D License."

Adam Buie

ad..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Head Men's and Women 's Golf Coach

With 12 total years of collegiate coaching experience under his belt, Buie completed his third year in charge of the men's and women's golf teams at fellow NCAA D2 University of Arkansas at Monticello in the spring of 2021. During his tenure at UAM, Buie led the men's and women's programs to success both on the course with multiple top-five finishes at events, and in the classroom with a men's team grade point average of 3.33 and a women's team GPA of 3.74 during the 2019-20 academic year. Prior to his time at UAM, Buie had eight years of previous college experience including starting the men's and women's golf programs at the University of West Alabama. Building the program from the ground up, Buie spent four years at the helm at UWA. His other stops included an assistant coach role at University of North Carolina Pembroke, and head coaching roles at Lyon College and Tusculum College. A native of Denton, North Carolina, Buie completed his undergraduate degree in sport management from North Carolina State University in 2009 and completed his master's degree in sport administration from UNC Pembroke in 2012. He competed in golf at Lees-McRae College and Montreat College, before finishing his degree at North Carolina State. Buie and his wife, Marigayden, moved to Billings, MT in the summer of 2021.

Alisha Breen

al..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Head Women 's Basketball Coach

Alisha Breen begins her sixth season on the coaching staff for MSUB's women's basketball team in 2023-24, and is in her third with the title of associate head coach.

Amanda Roben

Job Titles:

Assistant Women 's Soccer Coach

Roben begins her first season as an assistant coach for MSUB women's soccer ahead of the 2023 season.

Ana Diaz

an..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Professor of Philosophy at Montana State University Billings
Title

Ana Diaz begins her fourth year as the NCAA diversity and inclusion designee for the Yellowjacket athletic department in 2023-24. Diaz is an associate professor of philosophy at Montana State University Billings, where she teaches courses in medical ethics, ethics, introduction to philosophy, and political theory. Her research interests are in philosophy of mind, where she has published several papers, in feminism and critical race theory. She is a public member and the president of the Montana Board of Medical Examiners and is the Lead for Native American, Veteran and Hispanic Outreach at MSUB. She is also a member and coordinator of MSUB's Hispanic Outreach Committee that has been working on several initiatives to highlight the presence of the Hispanic community in Billings and MSUB. For three years, she was a member of the American Philosophical Association's Committee on Hispanics, which is charged with assessing and reporting on the status of Hispanics and Latinos/as in the profession as well as identifying unfair or discriminatory practices affecting Hispanics and Latinos/as philosophers in their profession. She was born in Lima, Peru and moved to the United States at the age of six. She is married and has two young daughters, ages 11 and 5.

Anders Epperly

Job Titles:

Men 's Basketball Student Assistant

Andrew Bonner

an..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Athletics Director for Operations & Communications

Andrew Bonner begins his fourth year at MSUB in 2023-2024 and is the Associate Athletic Director for Operations and Communications - a title he recieved in July of 2023. Previously, he held the Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations title. He is in charge of the Yellowjackets' gameday operations, athletics facilities, managing the department's staff of student workers, and overseeing the communications department. In 2022, Bonner has been the sports supervisor for both of the men's and women's golf programs. Prior to MSUB, Bonner served as the graduate assistant for athletics facilities and operations at Northern Arizona University, which is a member of the NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference. In the fall of 2017, Bonner started his master's degree in educational leadership in higher education at Northern Arizona University. During his time at NAU he was responsible for managing all home athletic and non-athletic events and being the direct point of contact for all student event staff. Bonner worked directly with five different facilities and 12 varsity sports at NAU, where he graduated in December of 2018. Bonner attended Johnson and Wales University where he was an all-conference award winner on the men's basketball team and graduated with a bachelor's degree in sports, entertainment and event management in 2017. At JWU, Bonner worked in athletics as a student assistant where he helped manage all home sporting events for nine varsity sports. Bonner and his wife Casey (Williams) Bonner - MSUB's head volleyball coach - reside in Billings.

Brittanee Fisher

Job Titles:

Assistant Softball Coach / Sports Performance

Caitlyn Saunders

ca..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Head Co - Ed Cheer and Stunt Coach

Caitlyn Saunders begins her second year as the head coach for MSUB's co-ed cheer and stunt team during the 2023-24 academic year. MSUB's co-ed cheer and stunt team was put on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic; Saunders was tasked with restarting the program in 2022-2023. A native of Billings, Saunders spent one year as the cheerleading coach at Skyview High School. She graduated from Rocky Mountain College with a degree in psychology, and was on the cheer team for four years including captaining the team from 2018-20. Saunders also competed with Billings All-Star Cheer for one year. Saunders also works full time as a social worker, and owns her own photography business specializing in wedding photos and high school senior photos. She and her husband each also attended MSU Billings, and they now reside in Billings.

Casey (Williams) Bonner

Job Titles:

Head Volleyball Coach
MSUB 's Head

Casey Williams, a Billings native, begins her eighth season as the head volleyball coach for the Yellowjackets in the 2023-24 academic year. Williams previously served as the head volleyball coach at Southern Academy High School (Alabama), after earning a bachelor's degree from the University of West Alabama in 2012. She was the 2013 Alabama Independent School Association Coach of the Year after leading her prep team to a third place finish in the state tournament.

Christine Funk

Job Titles:

Student Assistant Women 's Basketball Manager
Student Assistant Women 's Basketball Manager / Choteau, MT

Christine Funk begins her first season as a student assistant with the MSUB women's basketball team in 2022-23. Funk is a sophomore on the Yellowjacket volleyball team. Full player bio page online here.

Coach Bruce Chavka

Job Titles:

Assistant Men 's Basketball Coach
Coach at Montana State University Billings

Coach Chavka comes to MSUB from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College where he served for four years as the assistant men's basketball coach/director of student activities. Coach Chavka's first season with the Norseman he assisted in helping the Norse to a 27-7 overall record and a 14-2 conference record. The 2018-19 team won the OCAC conference, the Region 2 tournament and qualified for the prestigious NJCAA National tournament in Hutchinson Kansas. During his second year (2019-2019), Coach Chavka was vital in assisting the Norsemen to back-to-back OCAC conference titles going 15-1 the Norse went 25-7 overall. The sophomores from that team went 29-2 in two years of conference play and went undefeated in two years at home going 23-0. Coach Bruce Chavka enters his first season as assistant men's basketball Coach at Montana State University Billings. Coach Chavka served as the head coach at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. Coach Chavka has over 20 years of coaching/teaching experience. Prior to his time in Oregon, he was the head basketball coach at Napa Valley Community College in California. Coach Chavka has been fortunate to travel and coach in China on two separate occasions (2014, 2016) where he coached a team of post-graduate collegiate players. His team competed against teams from around the world through Net-Scouts basketball.

Dan Levy

Job Titles:

Head Triathlon Coach

Danny Desin

dd..@mtpeakperformance.com

Job Titles:

Sports Psychologist
Title / Sports Psychologist

Danny Desin is in his fourth year as a mental performance consultant with MSUB, starting in the fall of 2020. He provides mental performance sessions for all student-athletes and teams within the MSU Billings athletic department. Desin works with and educates student-athletes and teams on a variety of topics within sport and performance psychology. Desin was a member of the MSUB Men's Basketball team and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from MSUB in 2015, a Master of Science degree in Psychology-Sport Psychology from California Southern University in 2018, and an EdD. from the University of Western States in Sport and Performance Psychology in 2021. He is also a member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and has been a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) since 2019, and is listed on the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry.

Denise Wynia

dw..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Administrative Assistant - Business Operations
Administrative Assistant at MSU Billings
Administrative Assistant for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics
Title / Administrative Assistant - Business Operations

Denise Wynia enters her 21st year as administrative assistant for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in 2023-24. She graduated from Eastern Montana College in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration, office administration option. Wynia has been an administrative assistant at MSU Billings since 1986, working in the biology, physical sciences, and the counseling and human services departments. She also served in the office of the Dean of the College of Education and Human Services and was the special programs assistant to the Dean's Office. Wynia and her husband Kevin live on the west end of Billings and have four children, Josh, John Michael, Brittany and Kolten. They also have two grandchildren, Kendra and Ethan. In 2020, Wynia received an MSU Billings Staff Recognition Award for her outstanding work for the Yellowjacket Athletic Department.

Derek Waddoups

de..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Head Baseball Coach

In the spring of 2022, Waddoups guided the Yellowjackets to the GNAC Championships tournament with a third-place finish in the league standings at 26-27 overall and 16-16 in conference play. Cooper Dulich was the first player in program history to earn the GNAC Freshman of the Year award.

Dr. James S. Elliott

Job Titles:

Team Doctor / Orthopedic Surgeon

Dr. James S. Elliott is the team doctor for the MSU Billings athletic department. He is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with foot and ankle and sports medicine fellowships. In addition to his duties with the Yellowjackets, Elliott also is the team doctor for the Billings Mustangs, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds that operates during the summer months. Dr. Elliott received his undergraduate degree from Carroll College in Helena, attended medical school at the University of Washington School of Medicine, WAMI program, and did his residency at the University of Chicago, Department of Orthopedics. Elliott is associated with OrthoMontana, PSC, and specializes in the trauma of sports related injuries.

Dr. Tom Rust

Job Titles:

Faculty Athletic Representative

Dr. Thomas Rust begins his fifth year as the faculty athletic representative in 2023-24. He is a professor of history at MSUB and a native Montanan. He graduated with a Bachelor of Art in history in 1992 from the University of Minnesota. He received his master's degree in history from the University in Denver in 1995 where his work in American military history, more specifically Fort Ellis, has been published in the journal "Military History of West" and recently the monograph Lost Fort Ellis: A Frontier History of Bozeman, Montana. He went on to receive a M.Ed. from MSUB in 1999 before completing his Ph.D. at the University of Leicester in 2006. He has conducted and published both historical and archeological research in a variety of areas from ancient Rome to the American West. He has been the primary investigator on more than 20 archeological projects and from 2011 to 2014 he led the multidisciplinary effort to verify the location of the Clark Canoe Camp on the Yellowstone River near Park City, which was published in the journal Archeology in Montana and We Proceeded On. He currently has a book on the U.S. Army's administration of Yellowstone Park under review with the University of Kansas press. Dr. Rust has taught at MSUB since 1999. Outside of his time at the university, he has earned national recognition as a scholar and has impacted the campus community, the community of Billings, and the state of Montana. Last Thursday, Dr. Rust was honored at the MSUB Faculty Excellence Awards. Dr. Rust's commitment to the university, service, and scholarship endeavors demonstrates his overall excellence and the reason why he was selected as one of the recipients of the Faculty Excellence Awards.

Hayden Foltz

ha..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Assistant Athletic Director for Communications ( M / W XC, VB, Triathlon, MBB, Baseball, M / W Golf )

Hayden Foltz begins his first year as Assistant Athletic Director for Communications in 2023-24. He is in charge of the Yellowjackets' gameday operations, sports communication, and media relations. Prior to his position for MSUB Athletic Administration, Foltz graduated from MSU Billings with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration-Accounting. During his time as a Student-Athlete he completed an internship for the Athletic Department in operations and communications. Foltz played on the baseball team for the Yellowjackets and was GNAC All-Conference for all three years he competed. He was also awarded Academic All-GNAC all three years, and Academic All-West Region in 2023. Foltz was a member of Student Athlete Advisory Commitee (SAAC) and was awarded Male SAAC Athlete of the Year in 2022 and the Yellowjacket Award for Service in 2023 for the Atheltic Department Awards. Before attending MSUB, Foltz graduated from the College of Southern Idaho with an Associates of Arts Degree while playing baseball. He was made the CSI President's List as well as the Dean's List in (2017-2019).

Hollie West

ho..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Associate Athletic Director for Marketing & Development

Hollie West begins her seventh year as the associate athletic director for development and marketing in 2023-24. In her first year directing the MSUB Athletics Scholarship Dinner Auction, the event raised north of $61,000 in funds to be directly contributed towards scholarships for student-athletes. Last year, the event brought in $62,163 in donations to MSUB student athletes. West also oversaw the athletics raffle, the scholarship golf tournament, and all other fundraising activities for the department throughout the year. West comes to MSUB after a four-year stint as the marketing assistant at the University of Wyoming from 2012-16, where she spearheaded the annual Walk for Women fundraiser and created specific marketing plans surrounding athletics. West completed both a bachelor's and a master's degree in communication from the University of Wyoming. West has worked for the Billings Adult and Community Center since leaving Wyoming in 2016, serving as one of the organization's marketing and advertising coordinators. A native of Park City, Mont., and a graduate of Park City High School, West is in charge of maintaining and growing MSUB's athletic department's corporate partnerships and coordinating all fundraising events and efforts for Yellowjacket student-athletes. West resides in Park City with her husband Ben, son Bennett, and daughter Layla.

Jacob Hom

ja..@msubillings.edu

Job Titles:

Assistant Baseball Coach

Jake Hom is entering his first season as an assistant coach with the baseball team in 2023-24. Hom comes to MSUB from Holy Names University (Oakland, CA), where he primarily oversaw the hitters and also worked defensively with the infielders. Hom was a graduate assistant coach and pursued a Master's degree in Applied Sport and Performance Psychology. HNU closed its doors at the end of the Spring 2023 semester. Despite it being the final season for the program, Hom helped the HNU Hawks set the program record for highest number of wins in a single season, and the team qualified for postseason for the first time in program history. Hom led the hitters to program best single season records for batting average, extra-base hits, walks, steals, and runs per game, while reducing strikeouts by 25%. Hom is a Bay Area native out of Brentwood, California. He attended Heritage High School and returned to the area following his college graduation to pursue coaching professionally. He now resides in Billings with his wife, Darien, and their yellow lab, Tucker.

Jamie Sluys

Job Titles:

Assistant Baseball Coach

Jamie Sluys is entering his first season as an assistant coach with the ‘Jackets baseball team in 2023-24. Sluys comes to Montana State Billings from Brewster School District in Washington, where he worked as an activities administrator, grant director, coach, and director of the boys and girls club. He received his NIAAA National Certified Athletic Administrator certificate in 2016. Jamie has thirteen years' experience as an athletic director and twenty three years in education. His baseball journey has taken him around the United States. Sluys coached for 3 years in the prestigious Alaska Collegiate Baseball League under hall of fame coach Jim Dietz. Prior to his time with the Alaska Goldpanners, Jamie coached with the Everett Merchants collegiate baseball club, was the head coach at Everett High School, and an assistant coach at Everett Community College. Coach Waddoups has a common tie to Coach Sluys as they both finished their college playing careers competing for legendary hall of fame coach Mike Evans at Bellevue University (Nebraska). Jamie was a contributing member of the 1995 NAIA National Championship team. He was inducted into the Bellevue University hall of fame along with his National Championship team. He began his college career at Edmonds Community College in the NWAC, where he was an all-league player and named to the all star team. Sluys was a standout multi-sport athlete as he prepped at Everett High School. Sluys earned his Bachelors Degree from Western Washington University with concentrations in sports management, business, and native studies. Jamie has two children Julia and Jamison.