I have some writers block as I begin this installment of my blog. It is not for lack of content as finding material is not hard. What is hard is summing up what was an extraordinary Homecoming weekend. I believe it is appropriate to first say thank you to everyone who participated in our first Homecoming built around the basketball season. It was wonderful to see so many great people come back and participate in an event-filled weekend that culminated with two big wins for our Men’s and Women’s Basketball Teams. I also want to thank everyone at Radford University who worked so very hard to make this a success. I would like to single out Laura Turk, Greig Denny, Cathy Greenberg, Sandra Bond, David Horton, and Jackie Snell. These folks worked tirelessly to make this a great event for everyone involved.
Homecoming is obviously a reunion, but even more important it is about establishing tradition. There are no athletic programs, regardless of level, that can be successful without tradition. Tradition evolves in many ways and it starts with WINNING. There is no doubt in my mind our athletic teams at Radford University can win on a national level. We all must remember winning is hard and requires extraordinary effort, determination, attention to detail, intense work ethic, and a commitment to excellence. These are characteristics of winning programs. I know we are on our way to getting there and case in point was Homecoming weekend.
The men have two remaining home games and we need your support as we make the final push towards the Big South Tournament. We need to pack the place from here on out! Put these dates on your calendar, wear RED, and come cheer loudly for the Highlanders-UNCA on Wednesday, February 20th at 7:00pm, and the last regular season home game against VMI on Saturday, February 23rd at 4:00pm. UNCA features 7’-7” Kenny George who is one of the great shot blockers in college basketball and our VMI game will be televised and will be the final game for seniors Colby Trent, Tyler Kleckner, and Duane Ricks.
Our women’s basketball team is also playing well. We had a huge win last Saturday Night at Winthrop and then played 40 minutes of tremendous basketball en route to beating Charleston Southern this past Saturday. The team came together with an exceptional team effort in both of these wins. We have two home games remaining and we MUST have your support. Please get out and see this terrific team play Coastal Carolina on Monday, February 18th at 7:00pm, and then our last home game of the season against Winthrop on Saturday, March 1st at 3:00pm. This will be the last home game for seniors Kelli Darden, Corrie Fertitta, and Serena White. Coach Porter’s team is so fun to watch. They play excellent defensively and they play hard.
Congratulations to Kelli Darden who set the All-Time Shot Block record in Big South History against UNCA on Homecoming weekend. Kelli has had a fantastic career at RU.
Our spring sports are underway as baseball opens at Davidson Friday and softball began last weekend with a 5-1 start, the best-ever in school history. Coach Mickey Dean has an experienced group returning and we are looking for great things from this team. Joe Raccuia is in his first season as head baseball coach. He is very enthusiastic and he is going to do great things with our baseball program.
Track & Field is still in their indoor season and they have had several excellent outings. The outdoor season gets underway on March 14th.
Tennis is in season and Mike Anderson’s defending Big South Champion men’s team is favored to once again win the Big South. We are lead by Martin Sayer who is one of the all-time great tennis players in Radford and Big South history. The men are 3-0 in the early going, including a 2-0 Big South record. Our women’s tennis Team, led by coach Bruce Harrison, has an exciting squad with several promising freshman. They have started the season 2-2.
We are going to have some new faces in the Athletic Department in the near future and the first one I would like to welcome is Randy Butt. Randy is joining the RU family after spending 21 years at Virginia Tech. Randy will serve as the Executive Associate Athletic Director and will oversee all business and finance matters for the department. We are thrilled to get someone of Randy’s experience at Radford University.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the students at Northern Illinois who so tragically and senselessly lost their lives last week. We will honor these people by wearing the NIU colors of black and red at our men’s basketball game Wednesday night. Please join us in doing this.
Go Huskies and Go Highlanders
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