When Alderson-Broaddus College first announced the addition of five new programs to the athletic department, it seemed like a big step. The Battlers just kept right on going and are now up to 11 news sports. Football, men's volleyball, women's tennis and men's and women's lacrosse will all begin competing in the 2012-2013 season. Acrobatics & Tumbling, wrestling, men's and women's golf and men's and women's swimming have been added to the mix and will start playing in the 2013-2014 season.

A-B Athletic Director Denny Creehan recently announced the hiring of a head coach for the wrestling team. Mitch Smith will take on the inaugural Battler program and it will be his first Division II head coaching job.

Smith is a Ripley High School graduate and spent to previous two seasons as an assistant coach at West Liberty University. He also wrested for the Hilltoppers. As a coach, Smith helped lead the WLU wrestling team to a 17th place national finish in 2011 and 2012. The Hilltoppers had three All-Americans and seven national qualifiers while Smith was an assistant coach.

In his own career, Smith had a 190-3 record while wrestling at Ripley and he won three Class ‘AAA' State Championships. Smith also earned seven National High School Wrestling All-American awards. After Ripley, Smith began wrestling at West liberty where he was a two time NCAA All-American, finishing second and fourth in the Division II Tournament.

A-B will continue to announce hires for the coaching positions available in the new programs. The Battlers plan to hold a press conference to introduce all new staff members.