Bucknell University Athletics
From the AD's Desk
8/3/2006 8:00:00 AM | General
Aug. 3, 2006
Previous installments of "From the AD's Desk"
-- August 15, 2005
-- September 26, 2005
-- December 1, 2005
-- April 6, 2006
Greetings Bison Fans!
I hope this note finds you well and enjoying summertime. If your weather is anything like the swealtering July and early August we have experienced here in the Susquehanna Valley, your routine likely includes swimming pools and air conditioning. While the summer months are typically quiet on college campuses, the Bucknell coaches and staff have been hard at work, conducting summer camps, hitting the recruiting trail and preparing game and practice plans for the upcoming season.
July is a very active recruiting month for most of our Bison programs, so this may be a good time to remind all of our Bison supporters of some very important NCAA regulations that may apply to you. If you know of a potential prospect, we encourage you to send a note or a news clipping to a member of the coaching staff, however it may be an NCAA violation for you to make direct contact with that prospect. At Bucknell, we tirelessly strive to maintain a commitment to NCAA rules integrity, and we need your help in this important area. If you have a question regarding NCAA rules for representatives of athletics interest, please contact Scott Jones, our new manager of NCAA compliance services, at 570-577-3070 or sgj001@bucknell.edu.
Even though it's still the middle of summer, it's just a matter of days before our fall sport student-athletes return to campus for preseason training camp. And while all of the Bison squads strive for bigger and better things in 2006-07, it will be a tall task to surpass the collective success of the athletics program a year ago. Thanks to a school-record eight Patriot League championships, Bucknell will raise a Patriot League Presidents' Cup banner for the 12th time in the 16-year history of the league. In addition, we captured the Women's Cup for the 12th time while setting records for total points and margin of victory.
All of our Patriot League-affiliated programs contributed to the Cup, but in particular congratulations go out to our eight championship teams. The women's cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field squads had a marvelous year, claiming all three titles to achieve a rare "Triple Crown." The women's swimming and diving team won its fourth straight Patriot League championship, and the women's soccer team won its second in the last five years and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The men's basketball team enjoyed another glorious season, winning the Patriot League championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. And this spring, the women's rowing and men's golf teams captured their first Patriot League crowns.
Off the field, an astounding 239 Bison student-athletes made the Dean's List with a 3.5 GPA or better this spring. That's about one-third of all of our varsity student-athletes, who continue to amaze me with their dedication and time management skills. In addition, 215 winter and spring student-athletes qualified for the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes those who achieve at least a 3.2 GPA in his/her season of competition.
Fans of the Bison soccer, field hockey and women's lacrosse teams, as well as anyone traveling along Route 15 near campus, will notice part of the West Fields complex is currently a construction zone. We are very excited that Phase III of the West Fields project is in full swing, with the completion expected late this fall. The installation of the artificial playing surface at Graham Field and the adjacent natural grass Varsity Soccer Field represented the first two phases of the project, and now a support facility is being built between the fields, including covered grandstand seats, public restrooms, ticket and concession areas, team rooms, a training room, a viewing suite and a press box area.
Construction projects such as these would not be possible without the generous support of our alumni and fans. The Bison Club giving totals are now complete for the 2005-06 fiscal year, and I am ecstatic to report that a record $1.4 million was raised. Your support helps each of our varsity programs in their day-to-day operations, providing them with the resources required to compete successfully at the NCAA Division I level. Again, thank you for playing an important role in Bucknell setting the standard of excellence in scholarship and athletics!
I hope everyone is starting to get excited about the upcoming football season, featuring an action-packed six-game home schedule, including the first three games at home under the lights. The opener is Sept. 2 against always-tough Duquesne, and a week later Patriot League rival Lafayette will be here for a critically important early season conference showdown. As part of "Community Day" festivities, there will be no admission charge for the Lafayette game, so come on out and help us pack Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium! I can report that Tim Landis and his staff have worked extremely hard to bring in what we think is the best recruiting class in a number of years at Bucknell, and the team is intently focused on putting last year's difficult season in the rearview mirror. Practice begins on Aug. 6, and as always our practices are open to the public, so feel free to come on out and check out the squad for yourself.
Perhaps the most frequent question I've received this summer concerns the men's basketball schedule for 2006-07. Hopefully you've seen the recent announcement that Wake Forest will be coming to Sojka Pavilion for the home opener on Nov. 14, a development that has everyone in the program extremely excited. The rest of the schedule is nearing completion, as well as a revised ticketing plan for the upcoming season. We hope to have an announcement on both fronts in the coming days on BucknellBison.com, and I'll provide some commentary in my next edition of "From the ADs Desk" in September.
In no particular order, here are some other noteworthy tidbits:
-- With the fall season rapidly approaching, we will very soon begin to see the impact of our new comprehensive agreement with adidas. If the steady flow of product shipments into the department offices is any indication, our student-athletes should be well-outfitted as we begin to experience the benefits of our new shoe and apparel agreement with adidas.
-- We are really looking forward to the upcoming school-year now that the laborious, year-long NCAA re-certification process has been successfully completed. I'm proud to report that Bucknell and Bison Athletics passed the intensive re-certification evaluation with flying colors, validating our claim that Bucknell is a national model for student-athlete excellence. Special thanks go out to Professor/President Emeritus Gary Sojka for his tremendous leadership with the Certification Steering Committee and Amanda Backus, associate athletics director and senior woman administrator, for her hard work as the department's point person with the NCAA re-certification team.
-- I am very pleased that Damon's Restaurant in Lewisburg will become the new home of Bison Live! on Thursday nights beginning this fall. The good folks at Damon's have been enthusiastic supporters of Bison Athletics since opening their doors last November. We think their sports-themed "clubhouse" section of the restaurant will be a natural fit for Bison Live! which kicks off its fifth season on August 31.
-- And finally, I would be remiss if I didn't offer best wishes to Jerry Foley and his family, who will be departing Bucknell for Hanover, New Hampshire, as Jerry has been named the new head women's swimming coach at Dartmouth College. Jerry has meant so much to Bison Athletics for the last eight years, during which time his teams captured four women's and one men's Patriot League Championship.
And to all of our loyal Bison followers, I wish you a safe and enjoyable rest of the summer, and as always ... Go Bison!
John P. Hardt
Director of Athletics & Recreation
