Columbia International University's first Athletic Director Kim Abbott demonstrated proper pitching form - and she's not even on the job yet. Abbott was introduced to CIU students at a chapel service April 29, as she joined CIU President Bill Jones in throwing stress balls to the students just ahead of final exams. The balls were in the form of basketballs and soccer balls that included a logo of the CIU mascot, the cougar.

Abbott will begin to lay out plans for CIU's first intercollegiate athletic program when she moves to Columbia July 1. She is currently the athletic director for the University of South Carolina-Beaufort, where she oversaw that school's entry into intercollegiate athletics. Abbott is also a former women's golf coach at the University of South Carolina, and a supporter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).