From The Desk of #ADJD
5/10/2024 3:14:00 PM | General
TCU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jeremiah Donati discusses the hot topics around the Horned Frogs
It is amazing how fast the academic year has flown by. Congratulations to the more than 2,500 TCU students who will take part in graduation ceremonies this weekend! That total includes 78 student-athletes.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEETING UPDATE
Throughout last week, I was in Arizona for Big 12 Conference meetings. Head Football Coach Sonny Dykes and Head Men's Basketball Coach Jamie Dixon were also present, as were their counterparts across the league.
As usual, we covered a lot of topics as it relates to the conference and our respective sports but I also wanted to point you in the direction of something you may or may not be following. There are currently four major antitrust lawsuits the NCAA and the Power 4 Conferences are named in which have major implications for not just us at TCU but all schools nationally. In short, it centers around Name, Image and Likeness and payments to former student-athletes who did not have NIL opportunities during their time in school. This has a lot of implications that could transform or reshape our collegiate model as we look forward. As you may also be aware, the topic of employment status for student-athletes, elimination of scholarship limits, and the involvement of the federal government in these issues – and others – continues to be a hot item of discussion.
While a significant amount of uncertainty remains it is pretty clear that big change is coming – and soon. A long way to go on this but certainly something to keep an eye on in the coming months.
WORLD CONGRESS OF SPORTS
Prior to the Big 12 Conference meetings, I had the opportunity to again attend the World Congress of Sports in Los Angeles. Much like college athletics, the sports industry itself is changing. It was fascinating to hear about the trends and evolution in the media space and also the meteoric rise in women's sports – specifically basketball, soccer and volleyball. All are positives for college athletics and for us at TCU where those sports in particular are well positioned for future success.
The World Congress of Sports included programming featuring industry leaders, ranging from professional sports commissioners to team owners and presidents, network television executives, Fanatics Founder and CEO Michael Rubin and leaders from Big 12 Conference partner World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
BIG 12 CHAMPION
Congratulations to men's golfer Gustav Frimodt on becoming our latest Big 12 Conference Champion! Gustav closed strong by going 4 under on the back nine in final round play. He birdied three of his last four holes, including a long putt on 18 to secure a share of the title with two others. Gustav joins Julien Brun (2014) and Hayden Springer (2019) as Horned Frogs to be Big 12 Men's Golf Champions!
SPORTS REPORT
With men's tennis hosting Duke in a Super Regional on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and baseball home for a three-game series against New Mexico State, we have another exciting opportunity to support your Horned Frogs on campus this weekend.
This is the ninth consecutive year in the Round of 16 for our men's tennis program. Against the No. 13 Blue Devils, we are seeking our first undefeated home record in Head Coach David Roditi's 14 seasons at the helm. Baseball will look to continue the momentum from last weekend's sweep of Baylor in Waco. With 13 baseball playing schools in the Big 12 this season, one team always has a bye in conference play each weekend. It just so happens ours came late in the year. The series with the Aggies opens on Friday at 6:30 p.m. with first pitch at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. Sunday.
Our men's and women's track and field programs are competing in Waco at the Big 12 Conference Championships. In our last meet at the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Iyana Gray won the 100 meters for the second straight year while Maria Bienvenu was the javelin champion. Our men's sprint medley team of Jayden Douglas, Kashie Crockett, Gianni Henry and Ryan Martin also captured gold at the Penn Relays for our first-ever championship in that event.
On the links, Lois Lau and Sofia Barroso Sá represented us at the NCAA Regional in College Station, while Big 12 Conference Champion Gustav Frimodt will begin postseason play Monday on the men's side in Austin.
Congratulations to our equestrian and beach volleyball programs on their very successful seasons! Equestrian was ranked No. 1 for most of the year and reached its national championship after an 11-9 win over Texas A&M in the semifinals. Beach volleyball won a conference title and made its fourth straight appearance at the NCAA Championship. We also closed the year with a fourth consecutive top-10 national ranking. Both programs continue to perform at a high level and have a lot of momentum going into next season!
DEFINING HORNED FROG SPIRIT
It is always rewarding to see your student-athletes recognized with postseason honors, and that especially holds true for beach volleyball's Anhelina Khmil. Her story goes well beyond being an All-American and recipient of AVCA Top Flight honors this year. A native of Kremenchuk, Ukraine, Anhelina had quite the journey to TCU. As a result of the war in Ukraine, her high school back home was destroyed along with her academic records and testing results. Although her mother worked tirelessly to provide for the family, they suffered significant financial hardship.
During the recruiting process, Head Coach Hector Gutierrez and Associate Head Coach Majo Orellana established a great relationship with Anhelina. With her home and school lost due to the devastation in Ukraine, Anhelina looked to find a new home and school in the United States. Thanks to support from Chancellor Boschini, with institutional aid provided to students in similar scenarios, and the NCAA granting relief under extenuating circumstances with her academic records not available, Anhelina was able to make it to Fort Worth with her expenses covered.
We are happy to have you here, Lina, with TCU as your home!
COACHES NETWORKING NIGHT
Men's Tennis Head Coach David Roditi first brought up the idea, and it was great to see it come to fruition Thursday evening as we held our inaugural Coaches Networking Night in the Founders Club at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Head coaches, assistant coaches and support staff from all 22 of our sports gathered for an evening to exchange ideas and strategies regarding recruiting and other best practices in how they operate their programs. It was also a perfect way for everyone to catch their breath and have a night of fellowship with each other.
TICKET OFFICE NOTES
Thank you to everyone who participated in our football season ticket upgrade process. New season sales opened on Monday. Please mark your calendar for Tuesday, June 18, when we begin our Family Weekend presale for the September 14 home football game versus UCF. It will also be our Big 12 Conference opener. Later this summer, we will have a three-game pick 'em mini-plan available for the group rate. All our home games, with the exception of the October 26 Homecoming contest versus Texas Tech, will be available in the mini-plan.
As a reminder for those planning to make road games and purchase tickets through us, please click HERE to buy before the Friday, May 24, deadline.
NEW FROG CLUB STAFF
Please join me in welcoming a new pair of Frog Club team members in Associate Athletics Director for Loyalty Giving Nick Parsons and Assistant Athletics Director for Major Giving Immanuel Kerr-Brown. Whether at the Coaches Classic or a recent home athletics event, many of you have already had the chance to meet Nick and Immanuel.
Nick oversees annual giving and planning strategy for the Frog Club while playing a significant role in premium seating, parking, sport-specific clubs and managing a major giving portfolio. He came to TCU after serving nine years at Georgia Tech as Director of Annual Giving for the Alexander-Tharpe Fund. Immanuel is our point person for the Investors Society and our 22 sports programs. He was a wrestling student-athlete at Duke and joined us after seven years at Penn State with the Nittany Lion Club.
BROADCASTER/FUNDRAISER
Congratulations to the United Way of Tarrant County on the great hire of Brian Estridge as its new Director of Development! There is no need to worry about Brian as our play-by-play voice for football and men's basketball games. He will indeed remain in that role! With his deep connections and numerous relationships in Fort Worth and throughout the Metroplex, Brian is such an outstanding addition to the United Way of Tarrant County team. I am very excited for my friend to continue to make an impact on our community.
COACHES CLASSIC
It was another great Coaches Classic on April 29 at Texas Star Golf Club. Thank you to everyone who participated in this very important annual event for us. It is a phenomenal way to support scholarships for our student-athletes. In addition to all of you making time in your schedule to benefit TCU, I am also appreciative of our many coaches and staff for their participation. They truly have fun seeing and interacting with all of you. While a fundraiser, it is a great social event for all of us to gather. A complete list of winning teams and photos from the day can be found HERE.
2024 HALL OF FAME CLASS
We have an impressive list of newcomers to the TCU Athletics Hall of Fame. Marcus Cannon (football), Jason Coats (baseball), Lisa Ford (track and field), Tom Hoge (men's golf), Helena Sverrisdottir (women's basketball), David Walker (track and field) and Tut Bartzen (men's tennis) comprise this year's class. Tut is our first-ever inductee strictly as a head coach.
These seven distinguished Horned Frogs will be formally inducted on Thursday, October 3, and then honored the following night at our football game when we host Houston on Friday, October 4.
FROGAPALOOZA RECAP
We very much appreciate everyone who attended our inaugural Frogapalooza event on April 27 in Amon G. Carter Stadium. It was a great turnout and much appreciated by the student-athletes, coaches and staff in our football program as we closed spring practice with an open scrimmage. We look forward to continuing to expand on the event next year.
RANAS CORNUDAS
As part of Hispanic Heritage Night with our baseball program, we debuted our Ranas Cornudas uniform and available merchandise. Yes, Ranas Cornudas is Spanish for Horned Frogs! The product has been extremely popular and very much in demand. Thank you to Assistant Director of Marketing Allison Reid and Director of Branding and Licensing Deanna Cardillo for their collaboration in putting this together for everyone to enjoy!
FLYING T CLUB
Through community partnerships with HOPE Farm, Cook Children's Hospital, Tarrant Area Food Bank and Starpoint School, Flying T Club ambassadors are using their Name, Image and Likeness to make an impact. We would also like to thank the Flying T Club for their recent contribution to the Zach Muckleroy Scholarship. Flying T Club has proven to be innovative and trustworthy in the NIL space. Visit flyingtclub.com to show your support by becoming a member, making a one-time commitment or being a corporate partner.
PRO FROGS
Congratulations to our latest additions to the National Football League as Brandon Coleman (Washington Commanders), Josh Newton (Cincinnati Bengals) and Jared Wiley (Kansas City Chiefs) were selected in the 2024 Draft. We also had five players sign free-agent contracts: Emani Bailey (Kansas City Chiefs), Millard Bradford (New Orleans Saints), Andrew Coker (Las Vegas Raiders), Willis Patrick (Los Angeles Chargers) and Mark Perry (Miami Dolphins).
We have had 11 Horned Frogs drafted in just the last two seasons with 31 players active in the NFL.
DID YOU KNOW?
I consider myself very fortunate to walk on this campus each day. It is the people that make TCU special as well as the unbelievable beauty of our campus. It was very rewarding to see U.S. News & World Report recognize TCU as one of 20 colleges nationally known for beautiful campuses that feature stunning architecture, picturesque settings or spectacular landscaping. A special fist bump goes to our Physical Plant department for its outstanding work in maintaining all our academic buildings, residence halls and campus grounds.
Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
