From The Desk of #ADJD
3/26/2020 3:29:00 PM | General
Hello Frogs Fans:
I sincerely hope this message finds you and your family healthy and safe. I typically send this monthly newsletter after the first of the month but felt compelled to send this now to give you an update on everything in the TCU Athletics world you might not already be aware of. As you can see by the picture above from my home office, I am also working remotely and, like you, managing our new short-term reality as well as possible under the circumstances!
As I know you are aware, we have taken drastic measures at national and local levels to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of many in the worldwide, national, and local communities in light of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. At TCU, I am proud to say that we have met this challenge with great coordination and planning thus far. I am very thankful to Chancellor Victor Boschini for his guidance and leadership at this time. There are many other university administrators and TCU Board of Trustees members who have been instrumental in our collective efforts on our campus thus far. THANK YOU!
Many of you have reached out and shared your thoughts, stories and support as we navigate these uncharted waters. I really appreciate you taking the time to do so. With the cancellation of all competitions for the spring semester, it has been incredibly disappointing for all of us - especially our student-athletes, coaches and support staff. They have worked tirelessly and have made countless sacrifices for their opportunity to compete. To have it cut short does not seem fair. However, I would also say that I am impressed with the strength and positive attitude they have shown. It has been inspiring to us all.
Now, on to business...and as usual there are many athletics updates to share!
CONGRATULATIONS, HORNED FROGS!
As you know, many winter sports were cancelled abruptly as our student-athletes were competing in their respective sports. As I said above, while it is very disappointing, let's take a moment to look back on some amazing performances and achievements!
TICKET OFFICE UPDATES
Baseball season-ticket holders should have received an email to respond by April 10 with a refund request for the remaining value of your season tickets and season parking. Thank you for your support this season! FROGBALL USA will be back next year!
You may have also seen that we extended the renewal deadline for football season tickets to April 17. We have also put in place a payment plan through July 2020 if that is more convenient for you. We realize these are unusual times and we want to work with you! If you have any questions about your tickets account, please contact the Parrish Family Athletics Ticket Office via phone (817-257-3764), email (tickets@tcu.edu) or Twitter (@TCUTickets).
HORNED FROG CLASSICS
Many of you are home working remotely. We thought showcasing some of our finest moments on our TCU Athletics YouTube Channel could help you pass the time and keep your spirits up! Please CLICK HERE to see the latest classic. We will upload a new Horned Frogs Classic every day. Winning the Rose Bowl, beating No. 1 Kansas in men's basketball, College World Series heroics…What is your favorite moment?
SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT OUR FROGS
There are many local restaurants who have been tremendous supporters of TCU Athletics. Let's make sure we are supporting them as well at this time! Below is a list of our restaurant sponsors and their take-out and/or delivery options. Thank you to all of our loyal sponsors!
2020 FOOTBALL SEASON
I know it seems like a ways off, but a few things to start thinking about:
As you can see below…March was a great month when it came to postseason honors for our student-athletes.
Desmond Bane became our first men's basketball player to be voted first-team All-Big 12. He was recognized by both the conference head coaches and the media. He also received all-district honors from the NABC and USBWA.
After its great season, it was nice to see our women's basketball program represented well on the All-Big 12 teams. Lauren Heard became our third first-team All-Big 12 selection in the last five seasons, while Kianna Ray was a second-team recipient and also on the All-Defensive Team. Additionally, Jayde Woods was honorable-mention All-Big 12.
Rifle had six student-athletes total 13 All-America honors with Stephanie Grundsoee and Kristen Hemphill tabbed unanimous first-team All-Americans. Casey Lutz captured three All-America nods and closed her great career as an 11-time All-American. Elizabeth Marsh received two All-America honors, while Grace Taschuk and Abigail Gordon were also recognized as All-Americans.
Equestrian's Raegan Rast earned second-team All-America honors and was the Big 12 Rider of the Year in Fences. Anna Hauter was an honorable-mention All-American, while Elena Hurd joined Raegan on the All-Big 12 team.
Internally, we recognized TCU Student-Athletes of the Week each week. Please see below for our March recipients:
March 3 – Desmond Bane (men's basketball), Alastair Gray (men's tennis) and the men's indoor track and field 4x400 relay team (Jostyn Andrews, Simbarashe Maketa, Tinotenda Matiyenga and Derrick Mokaleng)
March 10 – Mattie Dukes (equestrian), Luc Fomba (men's tennis) and Olivia Beyer (beach volleyball)
COODY & COACHES CLASSIC RESCHEDULED
We have rescheduled this year's Coody & Coaches Classic presented by Sodexo from April 27 to June 11 at Texas Star Golf Course. Please CLICK HERE to register and for sponsorship opportunities. The event is named in honor of our 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody and provides scholarship support for more than 500 student-athletes at TCU. This is always a fun afternoon and a good reason to take the day off from work and enjoy time on the links with our head coaches and other Horned Frogs.
FIST BUMP
This month's Fist Bump goes to Darla Reger and Jodie Scott, our Anthony Travel account managers. One of the trademarks of their job is flexibility, and they were never challenged more than when we had our sudden sport cancellations due to COVID-19. We had eight sports spread across the country who we needed to immediately bring home. Men's and women's basketball were in Kansas City, beach volleyball in Myrtle Beach, rifle in Lexington, KY, men's and women's swimming and diving in Cleveland and men's and women's indoor track and field in Albuquerque. We also had numerous staff at several of these locations who also needed to return to Fort Worth separate from the sports. Darla and Jodie teamed up well into the night, showing their rock star status, to get everyone home safely and incredibly quickly. Thank you very much, Darla and Jodie!
DID YOU KNOW?
With virtual instruction beginning this week on campus, TCU has more than 3,000 online classes. As faculty and staff work remotely, the university is also hosting over 2,000 Zoom calls per day. We may be at home, but we are all staying very busy!
STAY CLOSE
During this time we, more than ever, are focused on keeping our alums, fans, and constituents engaged in many new and meaningful ways. If you are not already on social media, use this time as an opportunity to connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter. It's free and we promise to continue to find ways to keep you entertained and engaged.
Please continue to share your unique experience you've had at a TCU game or a special athletics experience – or even a picture of you wearing purple in your home office. I'd love to share it and receive others (@JDonati_TCU/JDonati_TCU).
Stay healthy and safe…Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
I sincerely hope this message finds you and your family healthy and safe. I typically send this monthly newsletter after the first of the month but felt compelled to send this now to give you an update on everything in the TCU Athletics world you might not already be aware of. As you can see by the picture above from my home office, I am also working remotely and, like you, managing our new short-term reality as well as possible under the circumstances!
As I know you are aware, we have taken drastic measures at national and local levels to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of many in the worldwide, national, and local communities in light of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. At TCU, I am proud to say that we have met this challenge with great coordination and planning thus far. I am very thankful to Chancellor Victor Boschini for his guidance and leadership at this time. There are many other university administrators and TCU Board of Trustees members who have been instrumental in our collective efforts on our campus thus far. THANK YOU!
Many of you have reached out and shared your thoughts, stories and support as we navigate these uncharted waters. I really appreciate you taking the time to do so. With the cancellation of all competitions for the spring semester, it has been incredibly disappointing for all of us - especially our student-athletes, coaches and support staff. They have worked tirelessly and have made countless sacrifices for their opportunity to compete. To have it cut short does not seem fair. However, I would also say that I am impressed with the strength and positive attitude they have shown. It has been inspiring to us all.
Now, on to business...and as usual there are many athletics updates to share!
CONGRATULATIONS, HORNED FROGS!
As you know, many winter sports were cancelled abruptly as our student-athletes were competing in their respective sports. As I said above, while it is very disappointing, let's take a moment to look back on some amazing performances and achievements!
- Rifle was in Lexington, KY, at the NCAA Championships set to defend its 2019 National Championship when they were called home. At the time, we were ranked No. 2 nationally and had come off multiple record-setting school and individual performances this season.
- Women's Basketball was 24 hours away from taking the court at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Women's Basketball Championship as the No. 2 seed. This is the highest seed we have entered the tournament as and were projected by major media outlets to be as high as a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. This tournament appearance would have been our first since the 2009-10 season.
- Men's Basketball lost in the conference tournament but was a virtual lock to receive a National Invitational Tournament (NIT) invitation. This would have marked the first time in program history to play in the postseason four straight years. Senior guard Desmond Bane set our all-time record for most wins by a player with 84.
- Equestrian was ranked eighth nationally and had recently celebrated its Senior Day with a 10-9 victory over No. 6 Georgia.
- Swimming & Diving was in Cleveland and completed the opening day of the CSCAA NIC. We were leading the field with the most overall team points (504) at the time of cancellation.
- Track & Field had a strong showing in Big 12 Indoors with our 4x400 team of Jostyn Andrews, Simbarashe Maketa, Tinotenda Matiyenga and Derrick Mokaleng taking first place with Jill Johnson (high jump), TJ Brock (60m), Du Mapaya (triple jump), Derrick Mokaleng (400m) and Destiny Longmire (long jump) earning silver. We had eight Horned Frogs qualify for NCAA Indoor Nationals and were in Albuquerque before the championships were cancelled.
- Beach Volleyball was 11-4, ranked No. 15 nationally and in position to earn our first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.
- Baseball was also nationally ranked, won 8-4 at No. 2 UCLA and set to start Big 12 Conference play this month.
- Men's Golf was in contention for a 31st consecutive postseason appearance and will return its entire roster next year.
- Women's Golf had back-to-back runner-up finishes in its last two tournaments with Sabrina Iqbal on pace to shatter the school record for season stroke average at 72.0.
- Men's Tennis was ranked seventh nationally with a nine-match winning streak. Included in that stretch were four victories over teams ranked in the top 14.
- Women's Tennis was led by the return of standout Marie Norris, who posted a 6-1 record in coming back to action after being sidelined by injury for 14 months.
TICKET OFFICE UPDATES
Baseball season-ticket holders should have received an email to respond by April 10 with a refund request for the remaining value of your season tickets and season parking. Thank you for your support this season! FROGBALL USA will be back next year!
You may have also seen that we extended the renewal deadline for football season tickets to April 17. We have also put in place a payment plan through July 2020 if that is more convenient for you. We realize these are unusual times and we want to work with you! If you have any questions about your tickets account, please contact the Parrish Family Athletics Ticket Office via phone (817-257-3764), email (tickets@tcu.edu) or Twitter (@TCUTickets).
HORNED FROG CLASSICS
Many of you are home working remotely. We thought showcasing some of our finest moments on our TCU Athletics YouTube Channel could help you pass the time and keep your spirits up! Please CLICK HERE to see the latest classic. We will upload a new Horned Frogs Classic every day. Winning the Rose Bowl, beating No. 1 Kansas in men's basketball, College World Series heroics…What is your favorite moment?
SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT OUR FROGS
There are many local restaurants who have been tremendous supporters of TCU Athletics. Let's make sure we are supporting them as well at this time! Below is a list of our restaurant sponsors and their take-out and/or delivery options. Thank you to all of our loyal sponsors!
2020 FOOTBALL SEASON
I know it seems like a ways off, but a few things to start thinking about:
- Our first home football game versus Prairie View A&M is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff on September 12. We are all excited to be under the lights for the first game with the Amon G. Carter Stadium expansion project complete. The new east side Legends Club & Suites donors and season ticket holders are in for a long-awaited treat. Thank you to all the donors who have supported this project and who have been so patient!
- A NEW Frog Alley – that's right! Now that the east side expansion construction is behind us, we will have a new and improved Frog Alley layout and many new experiences. Stay tuned for details!
- This fall also marks Gary Patterson's 20th season as head coach! He is the nation's second-longest tenured head coach and has won 22 national coach of the year honors. His program-best 172 victories are the most by an active head coach nationally at his current school. He is tied for second among current FBS head coaches in most AP Top-10 finishes with six (2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017) and is also second in most top-25 finishes with 11.
As you can see below…March was a great month when it came to postseason honors for our student-athletes.
Desmond Bane became our first men's basketball player to be voted first-team All-Big 12. He was recognized by both the conference head coaches and the media. He also received all-district honors from the NABC and USBWA.
After its great season, it was nice to see our women's basketball program represented well on the All-Big 12 teams. Lauren Heard became our third first-team All-Big 12 selection in the last five seasons, while Kianna Ray was a second-team recipient and also on the All-Defensive Team. Additionally, Jayde Woods was honorable-mention All-Big 12.
Rifle had six student-athletes total 13 All-America honors with Stephanie Grundsoee and Kristen Hemphill tabbed unanimous first-team All-Americans. Casey Lutz captured three All-America nods and closed her great career as an 11-time All-American. Elizabeth Marsh received two All-America honors, while Grace Taschuk and Abigail Gordon were also recognized as All-Americans.
Equestrian's Raegan Rast earned second-team All-America honors and was the Big 12 Rider of the Year in Fences. Anna Hauter was an honorable-mention All-American, while Elena Hurd joined Raegan on the All-Big 12 team.
Internally, we recognized TCU Student-Athletes of the Week each week. Please see below for our March recipients:
March 3 – Desmond Bane (men's basketball), Alastair Gray (men's tennis) and the men's indoor track and field 4x400 relay team (Jostyn Andrews, Simbarashe Maketa, Tinotenda Matiyenga and Derrick Mokaleng)
March 10 – Mattie Dukes (equestrian), Luc Fomba (men's tennis) and Olivia Beyer (beach volleyball)
COODY & COACHES CLASSIC RESCHEDULED
We have rescheduled this year's Coody & Coaches Classic presented by Sodexo from April 27 to June 11 at Texas Star Golf Course. Please CLICK HERE to register and for sponsorship opportunities. The event is named in honor of our 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody and provides scholarship support for more than 500 student-athletes at TCU. This is always a fun afternoon and a good reason to take the day off from work and enjoy time on the links with our head coaches and other Horned Frogs.
FIST BUMP
This month's Fist Bump goes to Darla Reger and Jodie Scott, our Anthony Travel account managers. One of the trademarks of their job is flexibility, and they were never challenged more than when we had our sudden sport cancellations due to COVID-19. We had eight sports spread across the country who we needed to immediately bring home. Men's and women's basketball were in Kansas City, beach volleyball in Myrtle Beach, rifle in Lexington, KY, men's and women's swimming and diving in Cleveland and men's and women's indoor track and field in Albuquerque. We also had numerous staff at several of these locations who also needed to return to Fort Worth separate from the sports. Darla and Jodie teamed up well into the night, showing their rock star status, to get everyone home safely and incredibly quickly. Thank you very much, Darla and Jodie!
DID YOU KNOW?
With virtual instruction beginning this week on campus, TCU has more than 3,000 online classes. As faculty and staff work remotely, the university is also hosting over 2,000 Zoom calls per day. We may be at home, but we are all staying very busy!
STAY CLOSE
During this time we, more than ever, are focused on keeping our alums, fans, and constituents engaged in many new and meaningful ways. If you are not already on social media, use this time as an opportunity to connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter. It's free and we promise to continue to find ways to keep you entertained and engaged.
Please continue to share your unique experience you've had at a TCU game or a special athletics experience – or even a picture of you wearing purple in your home office. I'd love to share it and receive others (@JDonati_TCU/JDonati_TCU).
Stay healthy and safe…Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
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