NCAA Convention, Homecoming and Snow!

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!