The Southern Ohio Copperheads are excited to welcome Jake Lietzow as the team’s new executive director! Lietzow, a longtime member of the Copperheads organization, takes over for Annie Valeant, who is stepping down after more than a decade of leadership to focus on her growing family and professional career.

Valeant expressed her confidence in Lietzow, saying, “I’m really proud of Jake. He proved himself last summer while I was on maternity leave.” Although stepping away from her leadership role, Valeant will continue to be involved as a board member. She offered Lietzow some advice for his new position: “Be Jake, have fun. And keep the community and students at the forefront and everything will work out.”

Lietzow started his Copperheads career in 2014, when he served as a gameday staffer during his undergraduate experience at Ohio University. Since graduating, he has worked as a ticket sales representative, a teacher, and most recently he found his way back to the Copperheads last year as the Interim Executive Director. In addition to stepping in as the Executive Director of the Copperheads, he serves as an Assistant Director of Signature Academic Experiences at Ohio University.

Lietzow is excited to announce a newly formed partnership with Ohio University which was spearheaded by University College. The relationship with Ohio University is through University College, which houses academic experiential learning opportunities for students across the university. David Nguyen, the Dean of University College spoke about the significance of this partnership saying, “University College's role is to support the Learning Lab, where students have a structured internship experience. University College wants to continue to enhance these efforts alongside the Copperheads leadership”.

Barb Remsburg, the Assistant Dean of Learning Communities and Signature Academic Experiences spoke about the excitement for this partnership and the season saying “Copperheads games, I think, are a great opportunity for community members to come together and, not only cheer on the players, but cheer on the students who are developing by working the game.”

Lietzow is eager to continue serving in his new role and help the Copperheads grow. “The Copperheads serve as a bridge between the university and the community which I think is really powerful.”

The Copperheads will kick off the season with their first game June 6th, 2025 at 7:05 at Bob Wren Stadium. Don’t miss this opportunity to support this new chapter of the Copperheads!

By: Caroline Merritt

The Southern Ohio Copperheads is a community-owned, student-operated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Established in 2002, the Copperheads is a summer collegiate wooden bat baseball team that competes in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League and plays its home games at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens, OH. The Copperheads organization strives to provide the most affordable means of family-friendly outdoor entertainment in southeast OH. Tickets to the Copperheads games are $5 and children under the age of 5 receive free admission. Staffed by Ohio University students, the Southern Ohio Copperheads also serve as a “learning lab” for student interns looking to work in the sport and entertainment industry.