From The Desk of ADJD
9/13/2024 11:32:00 AM | General
TCU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jeremiah Donati discusses the hot topics around the Horned Frogs
Dear Horned Frogs:
Amon G. Carter Stadium will be the loudest place in Fort Worth on Saturday night! There has definitely been a buzz on campus throughout the week for our sold out Big 12 Conference opener against UCF at 6:30 p.m. With the game televised on FOX, we will also have the nation's eyes on us.
Saturday night is a Black Out, so please dress accordingly to match our team on the field.
Led by the TCU student section, we look forward to another great atmosphere. For our home opener last weekend, the 6,153 at the game represented the fourth-largest student attendance in our history and nearly 50 percent of our total enrollment. We anticipate an even larger student crowd, perhaps a record, tomorrow evening.
For those still looking to come to the game, standing room only tickets will be available Saturday at the Parrish Family Athletics Ticket Office which will open at 1:30 p.m.
THANK YOU, SONNY AND KATE
Head Football Coach Sonny Dykes and his wife Kate have donated $1 million to TCU Athletics.
The Dykes' gift will be split between honoring former TCU offensive lineman Jamal Powell with his name in the weight room in the new Mike and Brenda Harrison Football Performance Center as well as recognizing Shirley Enis, late wife of TCU Trustee Hunter Enis, with an endowment in her name to support women's athletics at TCU.
Jamal was a three-year letterman (2000-02) for us, earning First-Team All-Conference USA honors his senior season. He then began a collegiate coaching career with Sonny hiring him as his offensive line coach at SMU in 2018. They worked together for three years until Jamal's passing in April 2021 at the age of 39.
Sonny and Kate are thoughtful and selfless leaders who represent all the values that define TCU. This commitment illustrates how they are more than just about football. For them it is always about others and the big picture for TCU. Sonny and Kate choosing to honor Jamal and Shirley speaks volumes of their respect and admiration for two individuals who were and are very special to our campus community and who made a lasting impact during their respective lives. With great pride we will watch our football student-athletes call the Jamal Powell Weight Room their home inside the Mike and Brenda Harrison Football Performance Center for the next generations of Horned Frogs. The Dykes have also sent a strong message with their focus on sustaining women's sports success into the future. Shirley would be honored to know our women's sports programs are being enhanced through a gift carrying her name.
Construction on the Mike and Brenda Harrison Football Performance Center, Simpson Family Restoration and Wellness Center and the renovation of the Bob Lilly Performance Center continues on schedule for a July 2025 opening.
SPORTS REPORT
Our 2024-25 athletics season is off to a terrific start! In addition to football being 2-0, our volleyball program has earned its first national ranking in program history. On the heels of our dramatic victory over No. 18 Minnesota in which we survived three match points to win 20-18 in the fifth and deciding set, we are No. 25 in the country. We conclude our Fight in the Fort tournament by hosting UCLA tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.
Volleyball's Melanie Parra received National Player of the Week honors and repeated as Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Her 30-kill performance in the victory against Minnesota is the second-best total in the nation this season.
Women's golf captured the team title at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in Nicholasville, Kentucky. We finished 12 strokes ahead of host Kentucky. Individually, Kirstin Angosta was the runner-up with a 3-under-par 213.
Women's soccer began Big 12 Conference play last night, is 4-2-1 and will host Cal Poly on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Cross country has won both its meets this season with Tabitha Ngao and Tate Underwood named the Big 12 Women's and Men's Runners of the Week. Both teams compete today in College Station.
Triathlon opened its second season with a first-place finish last weekend in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Men's and women's tennis begin their campaigns this weekend at the Battle in the Bay Classic in San Francisco, while equestrian held an intrasquad scrimmage this morning.
SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE HORNED FROGS
Adult and youth Nike jerseys for TCU football student-athletes are now available online at the TCU Store. Proceeds from the sale of these jerseys go directly to our student-athletes.
TICKET OFFICE NOTES
Men's basketball season ticket upgrades begin Monday, September 23. If you requested to be included, please be on the lookout for an email on Friday, September 20, with your specific selection day and time to login and review options.
Women's basketball upgrades commence Wednesday, September 25. Based upon request, availability and priority rank, a ticket office representative will contact you.
TEQUILA!
We are very excited to partner with La Pulga on the release of a TCU-branded tequila. Whether in the premium areas of our home venues or locally, we know you will enjoy the opportunity to sample the many TCU-themed beverages La Pulga offers and continue to support those who support us. La Pulga also has Fort Worth ties which makes us even prouder to begin this new partnership.
SAVE THE DATE
Please mark your calendar for Friday, October 25, for Schollmaier Live in Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. This annual event is the tip-off for our men's and women's basketball seasons. Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on this year's artist!
PRO FROGS
Congratulations to our 28 Horned Frogs on NFL rosters! We look forward to following everyone throughout the season. With an open weekend on the NFL schedule, it was great to have Derius Davis (Los Angeles Chargers), Quentin Johnston (Los Angeles Chargers), Tre Tomlinson (Los Angeles Rams) and Dee Winters (San Francisco 49ers) supporting their alma mater and former teammates from the sidelines during our season-opening win at Stanford.
We are very proud of Angela Stanford as she continues to make a major impact on the sport of women's golf. She is serving as an assistant captain for Team USA at this weekend's Solheim Cup in Gainesville, Virginia. The Solheim Cup is the women's professional golf equivalent to the Ryder Cup. This marks Angela's ninth Solheim Cup appearance, including six as a player. She remains our only four-time All-American in women's golf.
FIST BUMP
This month's Fist Bump goes to our Assistant Ticket Manager Alanna Carlton. During the course of a game, she encounters several in-stadium ticket matters and always represents TCU so well in handling them in a courteous and gentle manner that guests always leave understanding of the situation, even if it is not to their liking. It is just the grace that Alanna continuously exhibits in her daily encounters with everyone.
Instead of tickets, though, it was a lost child Alanna came across during last Saturday's football home opener. After the boy was brought in by TCU PD to our Guest Services, Alanna was able to learn from him his mom's phone number which helped her locate the family's seats. TCU PD then escorted the child safely back to his mom.
Thank you, Alanna, for your great work! You set a perfect example for us in customer service.
PODCAST DEBUT
Thanks to our friends at LEARFIELD, I am very excited to start a podcast, "Inside TCU Athletics with ADJD." It is available on Apple, Spotify and Amazon. You can also watch it on the TCU Athletics YouTube page as well as GoFrogs.com. The first edition is available HERE. If you ask Alexa to play the Inside TCU Athletics podcast, she will. Brian Estridge and I had some fun filming this and I hope you enjoy it – let me know what you think!
DID YOU KNOW?
We have a special birthday celebration this weekend at Amon G. Carter Stadium as our Frog Horn turns 30! The Frog Horn is such a big part of our football game-day experience and one of our more beloved traditions, although I'm not sure our opponents would agree. Happy Birthday, Frog Horn!
LET'S GET SOCIAL
To keep up with the latest news around our department, please feel free to follow me on X or Instagram. Thank you for all your support of TCU Athletics!
Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
Amon G. Carter Stadium will be the loudest place in Fort Worth on Saturday night! There has definitely been a buzz on campus throughout the week for our sold out Big 12 Conference opener against UCF at 6:30 p.m. With the game televised on FOX, we will also have the nation's eyes on us.
Saturday night is a Black Out, so please dress accordingly to match our team on the field.
Led by the TCU student section, we look forward to another great atmosphere. For our home opener last weekend, the 6,153 at the game represented the fourth-largest student attendance in our history and nearly 50 percent of our total enrollment. We anticipate an even larger student crowd, perhaps a record, tomorrow evening.
For those still looking to come to the game, standing room only tickets will be available Saturday at the Parrish Family Athletics Ticket Office which will open at 1:30 p.m.
THANK YOU, SONNY AND KATE
Head Football Coach Sonny Dykes and his wife Kate have donated $1 million to TCU Athletics.
The Dykes' gift will be split between honoring former TCU offensive lineman Jamal Powell with his name in the weight room in the new Mike and Brenda Harrison Football Performance Center as well as recognizing Shirley Enis, late wife of TCU Trustee Hunter Enis, with an endowment in her name to support women's athletics at TCU.
Jamal was a three-year letterman (2000-02) for us, earning First-Team All-Conference USA honors his senior season. He then began a collegiate coaching career with Sonny hiring him as his offensive line coach at SMU in 2018. They worked together for three years until Jamal's passing in April 2021 at the age of 39.
Sonny and Kate are thoughtful and selfless leaders who represent all the values that define TCU. This commitment illustrates how they are more than just about football. For them it is always about others and the big picture for TCU. Sonny and Kate choosing to honor Jamal and Shirley speaks volumes of their respect and admiration for two individuals who were and are very special to our campus community and who made a lasting impact during their respective lives. With great pride we will watch our football student-athletes call the Jamal Powell Weight Room their home inside the Mike and Brenda Harrison Football Performance Center for the next generations of Horned Frogs. The Dykes have also sent a strong message with their focus on sustaining women's sports success into the future. Shirley would be honored to know our women's sports programs are being enhanced through a gift carrying her name.
Construction on the Mike and Brenda Harrison Football Performance Center, Simpson Family Restoration and Wellness Center and the renovation of the Bob Lilly Performance Center continues on schedule for a July 2025 opening.
SPORTS REPORT
Our 2024-25 athletics season is off to a terrific start! In addition to football being 2-0, our volleyball program has earned its first national ranking in program history. On the heels of our dramatic victory over No. 18 Minnesota in which we survived three match points to win 20-18 in the fifth and deciding set, we are No. 25 in the country. We conclude our Fight in the Fort tournament by hosting UCLA tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.
Volleyball's Melanie Parra received National Player of the Week honors and repeated as Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Her 30-kill performance in the victory against Minnesota is the second-best total in the nation this season.
Women's golf captured the team title at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in Nicholasville, Kentucky. We finished 12 strokes ahead of host Kentucky. Individually, Kirstin Angosta was the runner-up with a 3-under-par 213.
Women's soccer began Big 12 Conference play last night, is 4-2-1 and will host Cal Poly on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Cross country has won both its meets this season with Tabitha Ngao and Tate Underwood named the Big 12 Women's and Men's Runners of the Week. Both teams compete today in College Station.
Triathlon opened its second season with a first-place finish last weekend in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Men's and women's tennis begin their campaigns this weekend at the Battle in the Bay Classic in San Francisco, while equestrian held an intrasquad scrimmage this morning.
SUPPORT YOUR FAVORITE HORNED FROGS
Adult and youth Nike jerseys for TCU football student-athletes are now available online at the TCU Store. Proceeds from the sale of these jerseys go directly to our student-athletes.
TICKET OFFICE NOTES
Men's basketball season ticket upgrades begin Monday, September 23. If you requested to be included, please be on the lookout for an email on Friday, September 20, with your specific selection day and time to login and review options.
Women's basketball upgrades commence Wednesday, September 25. Based upon request, availability and priority rank, a ticket office representative will contact you.
TEQUILA!
We are very excited to partner with La Pulga on the release of a TCU-branded tequila. Whether in the premium areas of our home venues or locally, we know you will enjoy the opportunity to sample the many TCU-themed beverages La Pulga offers and continue to support those who support us. La Pulga also has Fort Worth ties which makes us even prouder to begin this new partnership.
SAVE THE DATE
Please mark your calendar for Friday, October 25, for Schollmaier Live in Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. This annual event is the tip-off for our men's and women's basketball seasons. Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement on this year's artist!
PRO FROGS
Congratulations to our 28 Horned Frogs on NFL rosters! We look forward to following everyone throughout the season. With an open weekend on the NFL schedule, it was great to have Derius Davis (Los Angeles Chargers), Quentin Johnston (Los Angeles Chargers), Tre Tomlinson (Los Angeles Rams) and Dee Winters (San Francisco 49ers) supporting their alma mater and former teammates from the sidelines during our season-opening win at Stanford.
We are very proud of Angela Stanford as she continues to make a major impact on the sport of women's golf. She is serving as an assistant captain for Team USA at this weekend's Solheim Cup in Gainesville, Virginia. The Solheim Cup is the women's professional golf equivalent to the Ryder Cup. This marks Angela's ninth Solheim Cup appearance, including six as a player. She remains our only four-time All-American in women's golf.
FIST BUMP
This month's Fist Bump goes to our Assistant Ticket Manager Alanna Carlton. During the course of a game, she encounters several in-stadium ticket matters and always represents TCU so well in handling them in a courteous and gentle manner that guests always leave understanding of the situation, even if it is not to their liking. It is just the grace that Alanna continuously exhibits in her daily encounters with everyone.
Instead of tickets, though, it was a lost child Alanna came across during last Saturday's football home opener. After the boy was brought in by TCU PD to our Guest Services, Alanna was able to learn from him his mom's phone number which helped her locate the family's seats. TCU PD then escorted the child safely back to his mom.
Thank you, Alanna, for your great work! You set a perfect example for us in customer service.
PODCAST DEBUT
Thanks to our friends at LEARFIELD, I am very excited to start a podcast, "Inside TCU Athletics with ADJD." It is available on Apple, Spotify and Amazon. You can also watch it on the TCU Athletics YouTube page as well as GoFrogs.com. The first edition is available HERE. If you ask Alexa to play the Inside TCU Athletics podcast, she will. Brian Estridge and I had some fun filming this and I hope you enjoy it – let me know what you think!
DID YOU KNOW?
We have a special birthday celebration this weekend at Amon G. Carter Stadium as our Frog Horn turns 30! The Frog Horn is such a big part of our football game-day experience and one of our more beloved traditions, although I'm not sure our opponents would agree. Happy Birthday, Frog Horn!
LET'S GET SOCIAL
To keep up with the latest news around our department, please feel free to follow me on X or Instagram. Thank you for all your support of TCU Athletics!
Go Frogs!
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
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