I want to welcome back all of our students. It was very enjoyable last Monday to see the campus alive again-- students going to class and getting back into the swing of the new semester. I want to wish them all the best of luck as they begin the spring semester…get off to a great start!
I woke up last Thursday to a beautiful blanket of snow in the New River Valley. I took my dog for her morning walk and I’m pretty sure it was the first time she had ever seen the white stuff. I know it made for some interesting moments during the morning commute if one was brave enough to get out in it
I spent the second weekend in January in Nashville, TN at the NCAA Convention. This is a great event and always a tremendous learning experience for everyone involved. It was my first opportunity to meet the Athletic Directors in the Big South Conference, and I was impressed. There is an incredibly impressive group of people directing Big South athletic programs. I had a nice time visiting with Warren “Moose” Koegel from Coastal Carolina. Moose played football for the legendary Joe Paterno at Penn State and I enjoyed listening to so many great stories about his experiences.
There were three pieces of legislation each institution voted on at the convention. One key measure was a vote to reinstate text messaging in recruiting. This has been a controversial issue among NCAA members. Last year the NCAA Membership voted to prohibit all forms of text messaging during the recruiting process. An “override “of this legislation was proposed and sent to the floor for vote which, if passed, would have reinstated a member coach’s ability to text message recruits. The override did not pass and coaches are still prohibited from text messaging.
I would like to touch on a couple other recent happenings. I am very pleased to announce that we have hired two interns in the athletic department, Griffith Hunter, a 2007 RU graduate and varsity golf athlete and Todd Woods, a 2007 Emory & Henry Graduate. Both of these young men are smart, hardworking and motivated. They will perform a variety of duties as they begin what promises to be a successful career in athletics administration.
I also want to make everyone aware of our Homecoming Activities. Everyone at Radford University is working hard to make this year’s homecoming a wonderful event. We have built this event around our Women’s Basketball game against UNC Ashville and our Men’s Basketball game against Liberty on February 2nd. We are also very excited about our two Basketball Alumni games on Friday, February 1st. Please come out and see our former women play at 6:00pm followed by our Men’s Alumni game at 7:30pm. I can’t wait to see these former players get up and down the floor! And to answer a recent question from Tom Gallaher…no, I will not be playing! I am officially retired from all basketball contests-I like having my Achilles tendons and ACLs firmly in place!
In addition, we will honor our 1994, 1995, and 1996 Women’s NCAA Tournament teams at halftime of the RU vs. UNC Ashville game. At halftime of our Men’s game against Liberty we will honor the 10 year anniversary of 1998 Big South Men’s Championship and NCAA Tournament team.
The cost for events throughout Homecoming Weekend is $25 per person, which includes game tickets, halftime social, most events across campus and the evening in “The Bonnie." Tickets for the NPHC step show are $10.
Please email alumni@radford.edu or call 1-888-478-4723 to reserve your tickets. Registration deadline is Jan. 29, 2008.
Go Highlanders!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
December Wrap-Up
It’s certainly been an exciting month in Highlander Athletics because the basketball season is in full swing. I’ve seen a lot of basketball and I have been so impressed with our Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted and apologize for the delay. Get ready, this is going to be a long one covering the month of December and into the New Year.
Sunday, December 16th in Winston Salem, NC was a true highlight for our athletic program. Coach Jeri Porter took her team to Tobacco Road in the heart of ACC country and knocked off Wake Forest. Wake was 9-1 going into the game and the Highlanders came through with a fantastic win on the road at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. It was a lot of fun to see the excitement and enthusiasm of this team.
We were fortunate former Radford University player, coach, and Hall of Famer, Charlene Curtis, was in attendance. Coach Curtis is one of the nicest people I have met and a tremendously successful graduate. My father in law, Dr. George Parish, had Coach Curtis in class while she was a student at Radford and I have heard him say many times that Coach Curtis was one of his top students of music during the 30 years he taught at Radford University and one of his all time favorite students.
On Thursday, December 19th, our women were back in action against a tough ETSU team. Kelli Darden and Corrie Fertitta both had “double/doubles” leading the Highlanders to a key non-conference win. We had a tremendous cheering section on hand for the ETSU game. President Kyle, Dr. Wil Stanton and his wife Angie, Vice President for Communications, John Hachtel, Dr. Norleen Pomerantz, Dr. Jack Call, and Kathleen Harshberger all pulled together to form a loud cheering section that helped encourage the Highlanders for 40 minutes.
Congratulations to Johnette Walker on being named Big South Player of the Week as well Taleia Moton who was named Big South Freshman of the Week for the week of December 16-22.
Our Women continued their great play by defeating a good American University team on December 22nd and then coming back after Christmas to win the RU Highlanders Holiday Classic at the Dedmon Center. We closed out the classic by beating Colonial Conference member, UNC Wilmington, 77-46. Once again our defense and rebounding were sensational. Congratulations are in order for Corrie Fertitta who scored her 1,000 point at American and then was awarded Big South Player of the Week for December 17-30. The Women’s team also picked up a trio of wins in six days, running away with victories over USC Upstate and Virginia Intermont and fighting out a win down a future Big South member Presbyterian.
Our Men’s team continues to play one of the toughest schedules in the country. A particularly tough stretch started on December 15th when we traveled to Washington, DC to play arguably the best team in the country, the Georgetown Hoyas. McDonough Arena was sold out and it was a great atmosphere. The Hoyas are like Noah’s Ark-they have two of everything! It is one of the best collections of talent I have seen in a long time. There is no doubt in my mind we will see Georgetown in the Final 4 the first weekend in April.
We had a very nice alumni social prior to the Georgetown game. David Horton, Tom Lillard, Sherri Mylott, and Cathy Greenberg did a wonderful job hosting this outstanding event. It was great for our alums in the DC area to see the Highlanders in action close to their homes and to be able to meet with the coaches and players after the game.
The schedule did not get any easier for the Highlanders as we left Washington, DC for Harrisonburg, VA for a Monday night contest with the JMU Dukes. JMU is a much improved basketball team and we stayed even for almost the entire game. Unfortunately the Dukes had a couple of key runs and pulled away down the stretch. However, I could see our team getting better despite losing a tough, hard fought road game.
Two days later we were back home to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in a sold out contest at the Dedmon Center. It was a fantastic atmosphere and wonderful to see over 4,200 people pack the place. WVU has a tremendous team but our guys played hard and executed very well before going in at the half down 9 points. WVU, which is a great 3-point shooting team, got hot the second half and finished the game with 18 three pointers. That is incredible and it shows what a great perimeter game they have. I am confident that as this program continues to get better we are going to have many more BIG TIME atmospheres like the WVU game.
It was great to see so many former players on hand at the WVU game. Ron Shelburn, Stephon Barber, David Smith, Mike Burton, Tim Blassingame, and Tom Gallaher were all in attendance. These guys are all first class people who have gone onto very successful careers.
The Men’s Team took a short break for the holidays returning to Radford for several days of practice before busing to Columbia, SC to play another very tough opponent, SEC member, South Carolina. On Monday, January 7th we returned home to play Emory & Henry, setting several team records, including the Dedmon Center record for points scored by RU in a 124-109 win. Our Highlanders ran with Emory & Henry’s up-tempo style offense, and several players had career highs.
Many thanks to Radford University Track Athlete Whitney King for singing the National Anthem at the ETSU game. She had short notice and stepped in and did a wonderful job. I also want to thank Sarah Ragsdale for singing the National Anthem at the WVU game Wednesday night. Sarah whose stage name is “Zahra” is a Radford University graduate who has just signed with Arusa Entertainment. She has released the song “Drop” and has a new song called “Lock Me Up” coming out in February. Zahra graduated with a triple major in Music, Spanish, and Economics! Follow her career as she is going to be a star.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday and a great New Year. 2008 will be an exciting year in Highlander Athletics. Please come out and support our teams. I see more and more people wearing RED and I want that to become a ritual. Our Women have a three game road swing that starts January 17th at Longwood at 7:00 pm. The Women then open Big South play at Coastal Carolina on January 19th at 2:00 pm and Charleston Southern on January 21st at 7:00 pm. The Men open up Big South Conference play this weekend with a pair of road games. Radford plays at Coastal Carolina Saturday at 2:00 pm before traveling to play at Charleston Southern Monday at 7:30 pm. Don’t forget to bookmark the men’s team’s return to the Dedmon Center on Saturday, January 19th at 2:00 pm. It’s a televised game against Winthrop. Let’s pack the Dedmon Center in RED! I hope to see there!
Go Highlanders!
Robert
It’s been a while since I’ve posted and apologize for the delay. Get ready, this is going to be a long one covering the month of December and into the New Year.
Sunday, December 16th in Winston Salem, NC was a true highlight for our athletic program. Coach Jeri Porter took her team to Tobacco Road in the heart of ACC country and knocked off Wake Forest. Wake was 9-1 going into the game and the Highlanders came through with a fantastic win on the road at Lawrence Joel Coliseum. It was a lot of fun to see the excitement and enthusiasm of this team.
We were fortunate former Radford University player, coach, and Hall of Famer, Charlene Curtis, was in attendance. Coach Curtis is one of the nicest people I have met and a tremendously successful graduate. My father in law, Dr. George Parish, had Coach Curtis in class while she was a student at Radford and I have heard him say many times that Coach Curtis was one of his top students of music during the 30 years he taught at Radford University and one of his all time favorite students.
On Thursday, December 19th, our women were back in action against a tough ETSU team. Kelli Darden and Corrie Fertitta both had “double/doubles” leading the Highlanders to a key non-conference win. We had a tremendous cheering section on hand for the ETSU game. President Kyle, Dr. Wil Stanton and his wife Angie, Vice President for Communications, John Hachtel, Dr. Norleen Pomerantz, Dr. Jack Call, and Kathleen Harshberger all pulled together to form a loud cheering section that helped encourage the Highlanders for 40 minutes.
Congratulations to Johnette Walker on being named Big South Player of the Week as well Taleia Moton who was named Big South Freshman of the Week for the week of December 16-22.
Our Women continued their great play by defeating a good American University team on December 22nd and then coming back after Christmas to win the RU Highlanders Holiday Classic at the Dedmon Center. We closed out the classic by beating Colonial Conference member, UNC Wilmington, 77-46. Once again our defense and rebounding were sensational. Congratulations are in order for Corrie Fertitta who scored her 1,000 point at American and then was awarded Big South Player of the Week for December 17-30. The Women’s team also picked up a trio of wins in six days, running away with victories over USC Upstate and Virginia Intermont and fighting out a win down a future Big South member Presbyterian.
Our Men’s team continues to play one of the toughest schedules in the country. A particularly tough stretch started on December 15th when we traveled to Washington, DC to play arguably the best team in the country, the Georgetown Hoyas. McDonough Arena was sold out and it was a great atmosphere. The Hoyas are like Noah’s Ark-they have two of everything! It is one of the best collections of talent I have seen in a long time. There is no doubt in my mind we will see Georgetown in the Final 4 the first weekend in April.
We had a very nice alumni social prior to the Georgetown game. David Horton, Tom Lillard, Sherri Mylott, and Cathy Greenberg did a wonderful job hosting this outstanding event. It was great for our alums in the DC area to see the Highlanders in action close to their homes and to be able to meet with the coaches and players after the game.
The schedule did not get any easier for the Highlanders as we left Washington, DC for Harrisonburg, VA for a Monday night contest with the JMU Dukes. JMU is a much improved basketball team and we stayed even for almost the entire game. Unfortunately the Dukes had a couple of key runs and pulled away down the stretch. However, I could see our team getting better despite losing a tough, hard fought road game.
Two days later we were back home to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in a sold out contest at the Dedmon Center. It was a fantastic atmosphere and wonderful to see over 4,200 people pack the place. WVU has a tremendous team but our guys played hard and executed very well before going in at the half down 9 points. WVU, which is a great 3-point shooting team, got hot the second half and finished the game with 18 three pointers. That is incredible and it shows what a great perimeter game they have. I am confident that as this program continues to get better we are going to have many more BIG TIME atmospheres like the WVU game.
It was great to see so many former players on hand at the WVU game. Ron Shelburn, Stephon Barber, David Smith, Mike Burton, Tim Blassingame, and Tom Gallaher were all in attendance. These guys are all first class people who have gone onto very successful careers.
The Men’s Team took a short break for the holidays returning to Radford for several days of practice before busing to Columbia, SC to play another very tough opponent, SEC member, South Carolina. On Monday, January 7th we returned home to play Emory & Henry, setting several team records, including the Dedmon Center record for points scored by RU in a 124-109 win. Our Highlanders ran with Emory & Henry’s up-tempo style offense, and several players had career highs.
Many thanks to Radford University Track Athlete Whitney King for singing the National Anthem at the ETSU game. She had short notice and stepped in and did a wonderful job. I also want to thank Sarah Ragsdale for singing the National Anthem at the WVU game Wednesday night. Sarah whose stage name is “Zahra” is a Radford University graduate who has just signed with Arusa Entertainment. She has released the song “Drop” and has a new song called “Lock Me Up” coming out in February. Zahra graduated with a triple major in Music, Spanish, and Economics! Follow her career as she is going to be a star.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday and a great New Year. 2008 will be an exciting year in Highlander Athletics. Please come out and support our teams. I see more and more people wearing RED and I want that to become a ritual. Our Women have a three game road swing that starts January 17th at Longwood at 7:00 pm. The Women then open Big South play at Coastal Carolina on January 19th at 2:00 pm and Charleston Southern on January 21st at 7:00 pm. The Men open up Big South Conference play this weekend with a pair of road games. Radford plays at Coastal Carolina Saturday at 2:00 pm before traveling to play at Charleston Southern Monday at 7:30 pm. Don’t forget to bookmark the men’s team’s return to the Dedmon Center on Saturday, January 19th at 2:00 pm. It’s a televised game against Winthrop. Let’s pack the Dedmon Center in RED! I hope to see there!
Go Highlanders!
Robert
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