From The Desk of #ADJD
4/12/2019 4:20:00 PM | General
TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Jeremiah Donati discusses the hot topics around the Horned Frogs
Dear Horned Frogs Fans:
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
We are beyond proud of our rifle program winning the 2019 NCAA Championship! Congrats to Head Coach Karen Monez, Assistant Coach Hannah Black and the student-athletes on bringing more championship hardware back to campus. In addition to the overall title, we were also smallbore champions while Elizabeth Marsh and Kristen Hemphill captured individual national championships in smallbore and air rifle, respectively. This is our program's third overall national title since 2010. We remain the only all-female squad in the coed sport to win a national championship. Making this year's accomplishment even more impressive is that it occurred in Morgantown, W.Va., with West Virginia having won five of the previous six NCAA Championships.
STADIUM CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
During our recent Board of Trustees meeting as well as Wednesday's luncheon and dinner for our Amon G. Carter Stadium expansion donors, we made the announcement that the east side premium addition will not be completed in time for our August 31 season opener versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The decision was made after much discussion with Turner Construction. Instead we are scheduled for the October 26 home date with Texas as our first game in the new space.
If you've been by the stadium lately, it's not uncommon to see construction crews working around the clock. Unfortunately, the record-breaking amount of rain(and wind) we incurred this past fall and through the winter provided delays we could not overcome. You only have one chance for a first impression, and our commitment to everyone is for the project to be in a finished state at its highest standards before its official opening. If we went to a temporary setup to have it available for the opening three games, it could jeopardize a full completion in time for October 26 and the Texas contest. While not guaranteed, we are confident about meeting our goal for the Homecoming game against the Longhorns.
We have developed a plan to take care of all project donors with a temporary solution until the premium addition is available. CLICK HERE for more information and FAQs. If you have any questions, please contact the Frog Club at (817) 257-7700. We thank you for your patience and understanding!
LT SCORES A TOUCHDOWN FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES
When you work in intercollegiate athletics, there's not much more rewarding than seeing former student-athletes give back to their alma mater. As I'm sure you saw from the great media coverage we received, Pro Football Hall of Famer and TCU Board of Trustees member LaDainian Tomlinson enhanced his already strong relationship with TCU by partnering with us in the creation of The Tomlinson Student-Athlete Development Endowment Fund.
Benefiting TCU's Student-Athlete Development Department, the fund will forever support student-athletes from all 21 of TCU's sports programs to help prepare them for their lives and careers after graduation. Like all endowed funds, it will grow in value every year and provide more and more support in perpetuity. For those of you who may not know, our Student-Athlete Development Department helps our student-athletes enhance their respective life-skill sets and awareness in areas such as: professional networking, resume building, media training, job interviewing, dinner etiquette, personal finance planning, addressing or recognizing drug/alcohol and mental health issues and community outreach.
A NIGHT WITH LT AT TCU
With our partnership on The Tomlinson Student-Athlete Development Endowment Fund, TCU Athletics and LaDainian Tomlinson will host the inaugural "A Night with LT at TCU" on May 16 in the Brown-Lupton University Union Ballroom. This invitation-only event will feature a dinner and auction. Sponsorship tables and individual tickets will be available on a very limited basis. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit TCU's Student-Athlete Development Endowment and the Tomlinson Touching Lives Foundation. This programming is KEY to the future success of our student-athletes, and I sincerely hope that you will consider supporting the event or making a gift through the Frog Club to directly support the aforementioned Tomlinson Student-Athlete Development Endowment Fund.
POSTSEASON SUCCESS ON THE HARDWOOD
The 47 combined wins we had this season in men's (23) and women's (24) basketball were the most in TCU history. Men's basketball made it to the postseason in three consecutive years for just the second time ever. Women's basketball was just one shy of a program record for wins, while its 10 Big 12 victories set a new TCU mark. Both programs made impressive runs with advancement to the NIT and WNIT Semifinals. For the men, it's a great experience and memory of a lifetime when you're playing in Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena. Our women were in the WNIT Semifinals for a second consecutive season. With Jamie Dixon and Raegan Pebley, we have two outstanding head coaches who are as good as they get in the country. I couldn't be more excited about the future of our men's and women's basketball programs.
THE BIG 12 CONFERENCE GOES DIGITAL ESPN
The Big 12 Conference has never been stronger, and our new expanded media rights agreement with ESPN is another indication. It illustrates our focus on being ahead of the industry trend and properly positions us for the future. As part of the new agreement, the Big 12 will have considerable content, including exclusive football and basketball games, on ESPN+ which is its direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service. These events will be produced and delivered by the conference institutions and branded under the Big 12 umbrella. Due to our specific third-tier existing contract with FOX, we'll join the ESPN+ lineup in the 2020-21 athletics season. Additionally, under this new agreement, the Big 12 Football Championship will air on ABC or ESPN annually through 2024.
ATTENTION: YOUNG ALUMNI
If you're graduating this spring or have in the past five years, please keep an eye out for a special football season ticket offer. We'll have New Young Alumni sections in 226-231 available at Amon G. Carter Stadium this fall with a special discounted price of $240 per ticket (maximum of 2 per account) for TCU graduates in the Classes of 2015-19. This is a great opportunity to start building your TCU Horned Frogs Priority Points. You can begin the process by submitting just $150 per seat to ensure your 2019 season tickets. We'll have seat selections in May. If interested, CLICK HERE to complete a brief questionnaire and a season-ticket representative will be in touch. You may also contact the Parrish Family Athletics Ticket Office at (817) 257-3764.
SPRING SALE SATURDAY
As a reminder, our Spring Sale is Saturday, April 13, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Visitors Locker Room on the west side of Amon G. Carter Stadium. The entrance is through the loading dock. Parking will be available in Lots 2 and 3.There's no better opportunity to begin your 2019 Holiday Season shopping. If you're not already, follow @TCU_Equipment on Twitter for all the latest promotions and info for our 2019 Spring Sale.
SPRING SPORTS UPDATE
The momentum from our fall and winter sports has carried into our spring sports as we have five programs currently ranked in the national top 25: baseball (19), equestrian (8), women's golf (24), men's tennis (10) and beach volleyball (17). Overall, nine of our 21 sports have been ranked in the top 25 at some point this season.
Equestrian has earned a bid to the National Championships for the 12th straight season, representing each year in its program history. Men's golf, which is eyeing its 30th-consecutive postseason appearance, has won two of its last three tournaments and set a program record with a 47-under-par 817 to capture the Lake Charles Invitational. David Ravetto set a TCU individual mark with a 19-under 197. Stefano Mazzoli then took medalist honors with a 17-under 199 as we won the Tiger Invitational.
STUDENT-ATHLETE RECOGNITION
Each week, we recognize departmental Student-Athletes of the Week. Please see below for our recipients last month:
March 5 – Nick Lodolo (baseball) and Jordan Moore (women's basketball)
March 12 – Du Mapaya (men's indoor track and field) and the TCU Rifle team
March 19 – David Ravetto (men's golf) and Ellie Douglas (women's tennis)
March 26 – Desmond Bane (men's basketball) and Molly Scheel and Taylor Bradley (beach volleyball)
Additionally, our March Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Month were Nick Lodolo (baseball) and Kristen Hemphill (rifle).
On the national front, élan McCall is our first volleyball student-athlete to be selected to the U.S. Collegiate National Team, while soccer's Yazmeen Ryan is the first student-athlete to represent us on the U.S. U-23 National Team. Additionally, we totaled 13 All-America selections in rifle and tied a school record with five in equestrian.
FIST BUMP
This month's Fist Bump goes to Assistant Athletics Director for Game Day Management Sassan Sahba and the outstanding facilities team he oversees with graduate assistants Sydney Hanes, Tanner Howard and Winn Walker as well as interns Jacob Hildebrandt and Tyler Jacobs.
We had an incredibly busy stretch of home events recently with as many as five sports (tennis, beach volleyball, basketball, track and field, baseball) playing on campus on the same day. This includes our simultaneous hosting of NIT and WNIT games in which, due to experimental playing rules, we had free-throw lanes and 3-point lines that had to be continually taped and redone in conjunction with which team was preparing to host its next contest. It was fun, and exhausting, to go to all the games as a spectator to support our student-athletes and coaches. Can you imagine putting all the events on? Well, they did that. It was not uncommon for them to have 16-hour days to have our venues ready for competition and for our fans to attend. Well done, guys!
DID YOU KNOW?
Our new Amon G. Carter Stadium video board, which will be ready in time for the 2019 season, will be 110 feet wide and 5,500 square feet, more than double the size of our previous board. No need to worry about reading the fine print!
FEEDBACK WELCOME
Thank you to all of you who provide feedback throughout the year. Via personal messages on Twitter (@JDonati_TCU) or Instagram (jdonati_tcu), please feel free to share feedback with me on any aspect of our athletics program or your game-day experience. If you're not on social media, my email address is j.donati@tcu.edu. I always look forward to hearing from you.
Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
We are beyond proud of our rifle program winning the 2019 NCAA Championship! Congrats to Head Coach Karen Monez, Assistant Coach Hannah Black and the student-athletes on bringing more championship hardware back to campus. In addition to the overall title, we were also smallbore champions while Elizabeth Marsh and Kristen Hemphill captured individual national championships in smallbore and air rifle, respectively. This is our program's third overall national title since 2010. We remain the only all-female squad in the coed sport to win a national championship. Making this year's accomplishment even more impressive is that it occurred in Morgantown, W.Va., with West Virginia having won five of the previous six NCAA Championships.
STADIUM CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
During our recent Board of Trustees meeting as well as Wednesday's luncheon and dinner for our Amon G. Carter Stadium expansion donors, we made the announcement that the east side premium addition will not be completed in time for our August 31 season opener versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The decision was made after much discussion with Turner Construction. Instead we are scheduled for the October 26 home date with Texas as our first game in the new space.
If you've been by the stadium lately, it's not uncommon to see construction crews working around the clock. Unfortunately, the record-breaking amount of rain(and wind) we incurred this past fall and through the winter provided delays we could not overcome. You only have one chance for a first impression, and our commitment to everyone is for the project to be in a finished state at its highest standards before its official opening. If we went to a temporary setup to have it available for the opening three games, it could jeopardize a full completion in time for October 26 and the Texas contest. While not guaranteed, we are confident about meeting our goal for the Homecoming game against the Longhorns.
We have developed a plan to take care of all project donors with a temporary solution until the premium addition is available. CLICK HERE for more information and FAQs. If you have any questions, please contact the Frog Club at (817) 257-7700. We thank you for your patience and understanding!
LT SCORES A TOUCHDOWN FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES
When you work in intercollegiate athletics, there's not much more rewarding than seeing former student-athletes give back to their alma mater. As I'm sure you saw from the great media coverage we received, Pro Football Hall of Famer and TCU Board of Trustees member LaDainian Tomlinson enhanced his already strong relationship with TCU by partnering with us in the creation of The Tomlinson Student-Athlete Development Endowment Fund.
Benefiting TCU's Student-Athlete Development Department, the fund will forever support student-athletes from all 21 of TCU's sports programs to help prepare them for their lives and careers after graduation. Like all endowed funds, it will grow in value every year and provide more and more support in perpetuity. For those of you who may not know, our Student-Athlete Development Department helps our student-athletes enhance their respective life-skill sets and awareness in areas such as: professional networking, resume building, media training, job interviewing, dinner etiquette, personal finance planning, addressing or recognizing drug/alcohol and mental health issues and community outreach.
A NIGHT WITH LT AT TCU
With our partnership on The Tomlinson Student-Athlete Development Endowment Fund, TCU Athletics and LaDainian Tomlinson will host the inaugural "A Night with LT at TCU" on May 16 in the Brown-Lupton University Union Ballroom. This invitation-only event will feature a dinner and auction. Sponsorship tables and individual tickets will be available on a very limited basis. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit TCU's Student-Athlete Development Endowment and the Tomlinson Touching Lives Foundation. This programming is KEY to the future success of our student-athletes, and I sincerely hope that you will consider supporting the event or making a gift through the Frog Club to directly support the aforementioned Tomlinson Student-Athlete Development Endowment Fund.
POSTSEASON SUCCESS ON THE HARDWOOD
The 47 combined wins we had this season in men's (23) and women's (24) basketball were the most in TCU history. Men's basketball made it to the postseason in three consecutive years for just the second time ever. Women's basketball was just one shy of a program record for wins, while its 10 Big 12 victories set a new TCU mark. Both programs made impressive runs with advancement to the NIT and WNIT Semifinals. For the men, it's a great experience and memory of a lifetime when you're playing in Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena. Our women were in the WNIT Semifinals for a second consecutive season. With Jamie Dixon and Raegan Pebley, we have two outstanding head coaches who are as good as they get in the country. I couldn't be more excited about the future of our men's and women's basketball programs.
THE BIG 12 CONFERENCE GOES DIGITAL ESPN
The Big 12 Conference has never been stronger, and our new expanded media rights agreement with ESPN is another indication. It illustrates our focus on being ahead of the industry trend and properly positions us for the future. As part of the new agreement, the Big 12 will have considerable content, including exclusive football and basketball games, on ESPN+ which is its direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service. These events will be produced and delivered by the conference institutions and branded under the Big 12 umbrella. Due to our specific third-tier existing contract with FOX, we'll join the ESPN+ lineup in the 2020-21 athletics season. Additionally, under this new agreement, the Big 12 Football Championship will air on ABC or ESPN annually through 2024.
ATTENTION: YOUNG ALUMNI
If you're graduating this spring or have in the past five years, please keep an eye out for a special football season ticket offer. We'll have New Young Alumni sections in 226-231 available at Amon G. Carter Stadium this fall with a special discounted price of $240 per ticket (maximum of 2 per account) for TCU graduates in the Classes of 2015-19. This is a great opportunity to start building your TCU Horned Frogs Priority Points. You can begin the process by submitting just $150 per seat to ensure your 2019 season tickets. We'll have seat selections in May. If interested, CLICK HERE to complete a brief questionnaire and a season-ticket representative will be in touch. You may also contact the Parrish Family Athletics Ticket Office at (817) 257-3764.
SPRING SALE SATURDAY
As a reminder, our Spring Sale is Saturday, April 13, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Visitors Locker Room on the west side of Amon G. Carter Stadium. The entrance is through the loading dock. Parking will be available in Lots 2 and 3.There's no better opportunity to begin your 2019 Holiday Season shopping. If you're not already, follow @TCU_Equipment on Twitter for all the latest promotions and info for our 2019 Spring Sale.
SPRING SPORTS UPDATE
The momentum from our fall and winter sports has carried into our spring sports as we have five programs currently ranked in the national top 25: baseball (19), equestrian (8), women's golf (24), men's tennis (10) and beach volleyball (17). Overall, nine of our 21 sports have been ranked in the top 25 at some point this season.
Equestrian has earned a bid to the National Championships for the 12th straight season, representing each year in its program history. Men's golf, which is eyeing its 30th-consecutive postseason appearance, has won two of its last three tournaments and set a program record with a 47-under-par 817 to capture the Lake Charles Invitational. David Ravetto set a TCU individual mark with a 19-under 197. Stefano Mazzoli then took medalist honors with a 17-under 199 as we won the Tiger Invitational.
STUDENT-ATHLETE RECOGNITION
Each week, we recognize departmental Student-Athletes of the Week. Please see below for our recipients last month:
March 5 – Nick Lodolo (baseball) and Jordan Moore (women's basketball)
March 12 – Du Mapaya (men's indoor track and field) and the TCU Rifle team
March 19 – David Ravetto (men's golf) and Ellie Douglas (women's tennis)
March 26 – Desmond Bane (men's basketball) and Molly Scheel and Taylor Bradley (beach volleyball)
Additionally, our March Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Month were Nick Lodolo (baseball) and Kristen Hemphill (rifle).
On the national front, élan McCall is our first volleyball student-athlete to be selected to the U.S. Collegiate National Team, while soccer's Yazmeen Ryan is the first student-athlete to represent us on the U.S. U-23 National Team. Additionally, we totaled 13 All-America selections in rifle and tied a school record with five in equestrian.
FIST BUMP
This month's Fist Bump goes to Assistant Athletics Director for Game Day Management Sassan Sahba and the outstanding facilities team he oversees with graduate assistants Sydney Hanes, Tanner Howard and Winn Walker as well as interns Jacob Hildebrandt and Tyler Jacobs.
We had an incredibly busy stretch of home events recently with as many as five sports (tennis, beach volleyball, basketball, track and field, baseball) playing on campus on the same day. This includes our simultaneous hosting of NIT and WNIT games in which, due to experimental playing rules, we had free-throw lanes and 3-point lines that had to be continually taped and redone in conjunction with which team was preparing to host its next contest. It was fun, and exhausting, to go to all the games as a spectator to support our student-athletes and coaches. Can you imagine putting all the events on? Well, they did that. It was not uncommon for them to have 16-hour days to have our venues ready for competition and for our fans to attend. Well done, guys!
DID YOU KNOW?
Our new Amon G. Carter Stadium video board, which will be ready in time for the 2019 season, will be 110 feet wide and 5,500 square feet, more than double the size of our previous board. No need to worry about reading the fine print!
FEEDBACK WELCOME
Thank you to all of you who provide feedback throughout the year. Via personal messages on Twitter (@JDonati_TCU) or Instagram (jdonati_tcu), please feel free to share feedback with me on any aspect of our athletics program or your game-day experience. If you're not on social media, my email address is j.donati@tcu.edu. I always look forward to hearing from you.
Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
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