From The Desk of #ADJD
3/17/2023 10:38:00 AM | General
TCU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jeremiah Donati discusses the hot topics around the Horned Frogs
Dear Horned Frogs:
March Madness is here and our Horned Frogs are once again dancing in the Big Dance! Congratulations to Head Coach Jamie Dixon, his staff, student-athletes and everyone who is part of our men's basketball program on a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. I know our team will be ready, and I could not be more excited about our seed and location. With our strong alumni and fan base in Denver as well as the ease in getting there, it is a perfect spot for us. We expect a lot of purple in the Mile High City as we face Arizona State tonight at 9:05 p.m. CT on truTV.
Coach Dixon has done an outstanding job in raising the bar and expectations around our program. We have now been in the NCAA Tournament in three of the last six years.
Being in Colorado provided a great start to our football season, and we hope that same magic now continues in the postseason for our men's basketball team.
RECAPPING KANSAS CITY
If you have not been yet, I very much encourage you to attend the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's and Women's Basketball Championships in the near future. It was already a very special week in Kansas City, and Commissioner Brett Yormark has been innovative in enhancing the experience even further. There is truly no better conference basketball tournament and atmosphere in the country.
As you saw at the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship, these are more than just games. They are events. With dramatic increases across the board in attendance, demand for premium seating, revenue and social media growth, this year's event was a major success and was capped by nearly 7,000 people attending The Big 12 Championships After Party featuring DJ Diesel.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, AGAIN
Congratulations as well to Head Coach David Roditi and our men's tennis program on a second consecutive ITA Indoor National Championship! We are the first school since 2011 to repeat as champions and just the seventh in the 50-year history of the tournament to go back-to-back. It was a dominant run to the title with three shutouts in our four matches in Chicago, including a 4-0 blanking of Texas for the championship.
FROGS UP
You may know that TCU is the only school in the country in this year's College Football Playoff and NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament; but the success we are enjoying does not stop there…it is widespread across our programs.
With beach volleyball, rifle and men's tennis, we had three sports simultaneously ranked No. 1 in the nation. Rifle finished as the national runner-up at the NCAA Championships. Beach volleyball is atop the polls for the first time in its young history. Keep in mind this is only the ninth season for the program. We are 12-0 with 10 sweeps which includes a 5-0 victory over No. 4 LSU on Friday, one of our two wins against the Tigers at this past weekend's Horned Frog Challenge. Speaking of undefeated teams, men's tennis has not slowed down since winning the ITA Indoor National Championship. Last weekend's 7-0 victory over UCLA improved our record to 14-0. Women's tennis is also off to a nice start with a 7-2 mark.
We are proud of swimming and diving's David Ekdahl on his second straight Big 12 Conference Championship on the 1-meter boards. He also broke his own school record in the process with a score of 419.80. David will be joined by fellow diver Alec Hubbard and swimmer Jadon Wuilliez at next week's NCAA Men's Championships.
Baseball is ranked as high as 11th in the nation and equestrian is No. 3 as it prepares for next weekend's Big 12 Championships. Men's golf won the GCU Invitational in Phoenix, edging North Dakota State and Grand Canyon by one stroke for the title. Track and field was represented at the NCAA Indoor Championships by Grace Anigbata and Jaren Holmes in the triple jump. Both finished in the top 10 in their respective events.
FACILITIES UPDATE
The momentum in our athletics program is mirrored in fundraising for our Athletics Human Performance Center Renovation & Expansion Project. We cannot thank our donors enough for their support as we are now over $44 million raised for the facility.
While in Kansas City for the Big 12 Conference Basketball Championships, I was able to visit the headquarters for Populous – the firm assisting us in the design of the new Football Performance Center, renovating our current space which will benefit our 21 other sports and building a state-of-the-art recovery, restoration and wellness complex. Construction is targeted to begin in January 2024. If you are interested in investing in this exciting opportunity for our more than 500 student-athletes, please call our Frog Club office at 817.257.7700.
SPRING FOOTBALL IS HERE
Spring football practice begins Monday, just another sign that our 2023 season is rapidly approaching. Our Spring Game is set for Friday, April 14, at 7:00 p.m. We look forward to seeing everyone in Amon G. Carter Stadium that night. If you cannot make it, it will be televised again on ESPN+. With a home baseball game at 5:00 p.m. against UNC Wilmington, it is a great Friday doubleheader on campus!
BIG 12 PRO DAY
This week's announcement of the launch of a Big 12 Pro Day next spring is the latest example of our conference being in a leadership role in collegiate athletics. In partnership with the NFL, the Big 12 will be the first league to hold a conference-wide pro day. It will replace the traditional on-campus pro day and be held at The Star in Frisco. With coverage by NFL Network and additional NFL media platforms, the exposure will maximize the experience for all student-athletes in helping them reach their goal of playing at the next level.
FROM THE TICKET OFFICE
We very much appreciate everyone who has renewed their football season tickets, and that means quite a bit of you. Our renewal numbers are currently more than double the pace of where we were at this time last year. As a reminder, the renewal deadline is April 21. If you are interested in new football season tickets, please click HERE to complete an interest form and place your deposit.
REPPIN' THE HORNED FROGS
As another way to show your support for our men's basketball program in the NCAA Tournament, we have some new gear available that includes this year's official NCAA bench tee that our players will be wearing during tonight's game. Click HERE to take a look.
WINNING IN THE CLASSROOM
The Big 12 Conference's highest academic honor is the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. To be eligible, student-athletes must have lettered at least once in their career while maintaining residence at their institution for at least one academic year. The honorees, who can only be recognized once, must have 100 hours of earned academic credit and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.80. We are very proud of our 13 student-athletes to receive this tremendous honor.
THANK YOU, JEFF
Jeff Williams has been the radio voice of our women's basketball program for the last 25 years. With the conclusion of this season, Jeff is stepping aside. For more than a decade, he also served as the sideline reporter on football broadcasts. He has also filled in on the radio call for baseball games. Jeff has truly been a staple at TCU. At our February 18 women's basketball home game versus Kansas State, Jeff was honored with custom shoes and other gifts while the team wore shooting shirts in recognition of him. Thank you, Jeff, for all you have done to promote TCU!
#PROFROGS
Congratulations to Tom Hoge on his third round 10-under 62 to set a record last weekend at TPC Sawgrass' THE PLAYERS Stadium Course! Tom finished in a tie for third, the best finish of his career at a major or PLAYERS. There had been nine previous 63s at Sawgrass with the most recent one being Dustin Johnson last year.
DID YOU KNOW?
While the final number will not be available until this fall, the TCU Admissions Office has received a record number of applications this year. It is another statement on how the TCU brand is strong and growing across the world.
Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
March Madness is here and our Horned Frogs are once again dancing in the Big Dance! Congratulations to Head Coach Jamie Dixon, his staff, student-athletes and everyone who is part of our men's basketball program on a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. I know our team will be ready, and I could not be more excited about our seed and location. With our strong alumni and fan base in Denver as well as the ease in getting there, it is a perfect spot for us. We expect a lot of purple in the Mile High City as we face Arizona State tonight at 9:05 p.m. CT on truTV.
Coach Dixon has done an outstanding job in raising the bar and expectations around our program. We have now been in the NCAA Tournament in three of the last six years.
Being in Colorado provided a great start to our football season, and we hope that same magic now continues in the postseason for our men's basketball team.
RECAPPING KANSAS CITY
If you have not been yet, I very much encourage you to attend the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's and Women's Basketball Championships in the near future. It was already a very special week in Kansas City, and Commissioner Brett Yormark has been innovative in enhancing the experience even further. There is truly no better conference basketball tournament and atmosphere in the country.
As you saw at the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship, these are more than just games. They are events. With dramatic increases across the board in attendance, demand for premium seating, revenue and social media growth, this year's event was a major success and was capped by nearly 7,000 people attending The Big 12 Championships After Party featuring DJ Diesel.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, AGAIN
Congratulations as well to Head Coach David Roditi and our men's tennis program on a second consecutive ITA Indoor National Championship! We are the first school since 2011 to repeat as champions and just the seventh in the 50-year history of the tournament to go back-to-back. It was a dominant run to the title with three shutouts in our four matches in Chicago, including a 4-0 blanking of Texas for the championship.
FROGS UP
You may know that TCU is the only school in the country in this year's College Football Playoff and NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament; but the success we are enjoying does not stop there…it is widespread across our programs.
With beach volleyball, rifle and men's tennis, we had three sports simultaneously ranked No. 1 in the nation. Rifle finished as the national runner-up at the NCAA Championships. Beach volleyball is atop the polls for the first time in its young history. Keep in mind this is only the ninth season for the program. We are 12-0 with 10 sweeps which includes a 5-0 victory over No. 4 LSU on Friday, one of our two wins against the Tigers at this past weekend's Horned Frog Challenge. Speaking of undefeated teams, men's tennis has not slowed down since winning the ITA Indoor National Championship. Last weekend's 7-0 victory over UCLA improved our record to 14-0. Women's tennis is also off to a nice start with a 7-2 mark.
We are proud of swimming and diving's David Ekdahl on his second straight Big 12 Conference Championship on the 1-meter boards. He also broke his own school record in the process with a score of 419.80. David will be joined by fellow diver Alec Hubbard and swimmer Jadon Wuilliez at next week's NCAA Men's Championships.
Baseball is ranked as high as 11th in the nation and equestrian is No. 3 as it prepares for next weekend's Big 12 Championships. Men's golf won the GCU Invitational in Phoenix, edging North Dakota State and Grand Canyon by one stroke for the title. Track and field was represented at the NCAA Indoor Championships by Grace Anigbata and Jaren Holmes in the triple jump. Both finished in the top 10 in their respective events.
FACILITIES UPDATE
The momentum in our athletics program is mirrored in fundraising for our Athletics Human Performance Center Renovation & Expansion Project. We cannot thank our donors enough for their support as we are now over $44 million raised for the facility.
While in Kansas City for the Big 12 Conference Basketball Championships, I was able to visit the headquarters for Populous – the firm assisting us in the design of the new Football Performance Center, renovating our current space which will benefit our 21 other sports and building a state-of-the-art recovery, restoration and wellness complex. Construction is targeted to begin in January 2024. If you are interested in investing in this exciting opportunity for our more than 500 student-athletes, please call our Frog Club office at 817.257.7700.
SPRING FOOTBALL IS HERE
Spring football practice begins Monday, just another sign that our 2023 season is rapidly approaching. Our Spring Game is set for Friday, April 14, at 7:00 p.m. We look forward to seeing everyone in Amon G. Carter Stadium that night. If you cannot make it, it will be televised again on ESPN+. With a home baseball game at 5:00 p.m. against UNC Wilmington, it is a great Friday doubleheader on campus!
BIG 12 PRO DAY
This week's announcement of the launch of a Big 12 Pro Day next spring is the latest example of our conference being in a leadership role in collegiate athletics. In partnership with the NFL, the Big 12 will be the first league to hold a conference-wide pro day. It will replace the traditional on-campus pro day and be held at The Star in Frisco. With coverage by NFL Network and additional NFL media platforms, the exposure will maximize the experience for all student-athletes in helping them reach their goal of playing at the next level.
FROM THE TICKET OFFICE
We very much appreciate everyone who has renewed their football season tickets, and that means quite a bit of you. Our renewal numbers are currently more than double the pace of where we were at this time last year. As a reminder, the renewal deadline is April 21. If you are interested in new football season tickets, please click HERE to complete an interest form and place your deposit.
REPPIN' THE HORNED FROGS
As another way to show your support for our men's basketball program in the NCAA Tournament, we have some new gear available that includes this year's official NCAA bench tee that our players will be wearing during tonight's game. Click HERE to take a look.
WINNING IN THE CLASSROOM
The Big 12 Conference's highest academic honor is the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award. To be eligible, student-athletes must have lettered at least once in their career while maintaining residence at their institution for at least one academic year. The honorees, who can only be recognized once, must have 100 hours of earned academic credit and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.80. We are very proud of our 13 student-athletes to receive this tremendous honor.
THANK YOU, JEFF
Jeff Williams has been the radio voice of our women's basketball program for the last 25 years. With the conclusion of this season, Jeff is stepping aside. For more than a decade, he also served as the sideline reporter on football broadcasts. He has also filled in on the radio call for baseball games. Jeff has truly been a staple at TCU. At our February 18 women's basketball home game versus Kansas State, Jeff was honored with custom shoes and other gifts while the team wore shooting shirts in recognition of him. Thank you, Jeff, for all you have done to promote TCU!
#PROFROGS
Congratulations to Tom Hoge on his third round 10-under 62 to set a record last weekend at TPC Sawgrass' THE PLAYERS Stadium Course! Tom finished in a tie for third, the best finish of his career at a major or PLAYERS. There had been nine previous 63s at Sawgrass with the most recent one being Dustin Johnson last year.
DID YOU KNOW?
While the final number will not be available until this fall, the TCU Admissions Office has received a record number of applications this year. It is another statement on how the TCU brand is strong and growing across the world.
Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
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