Bucknell University Athletics
From the AD's Desk
6/24/2015 4:46:00 PM | General
Greetings Bison Fans!
I hope everyone is enjoying summertime while getting ready for the big Fourth of July weekend. After the frigid winter that we experienced here in Pennsylvania, these warm summer days have been a long time coming.
We recently said goodbye to the Class of 2015, and we paid tribute to the 156 senior student-athletes at the 54th Annual Department of Athletics & Recreation Senior Recognition Dinner. Each year, the senior dinner and Commencement serve as reminders of how fast four years can flash by us. We welcome in a new class of first-year students, watch them grow and develop as people, as students and as athletes, and then before you know it we see them off into “the real world.” That will certainly be on my mind in August, when I get to meet the members of the Class of 2019 for the first time.
Even though the weather is warm and the campus population has thinned out a bit over the summer months, there is still plenty happening here when it comes to Bison Athletics. Ground has been broken on the exciting new Graham Building, which will be located adjacent to Sojka Pavilion. The 36,000-square-foot facility will house Bucknell's health and wellness center on the ground floor, and a new wrestling training center on the upper level.
This project would not have been possible without the generous support of Bill Graham '62. A former Bison wrestler himself, Bill is one of the all-time leading donors in the history of Bucknell University, and his love and support for his alma mater have impacted so many students and student-athletes through the years. We owe Bill another huge “thank you”, and we can't wait to have him back on campus for the grand opening of the Graham Building next year.
Also on the donor front, supporters of Bison Athletics once again stepped up to the plate in record fashion and helped the Bison Club lead the way in the “300K in a Day Trustee Challenge”. During this 24-hour giving challenge supported by the Board of Trustees, the Bison Club led all giving designations with 1,623 gifts totaling $468,125. That's nearly half a million dollars to Bison Athletics in one day!
To all of those who took part in the challenge, thank you! We are expecting another record year for Bison Club receipts, with a goal of getting to 4,200 donors (we are almost there!). For those who have not yet given in 2014-15, there are still a few days left in the fiscal year to make your donation. There is an easy ONLINE donation form, or you can send a check to the Bison Club, Bucknell University, 1 Dent Drive, Lewisburg, PA 17837. Please contact Todd Newcomb at 570-577-1771 for more information.
Through the years, we have measured our on-field performance in part by our success in the Patriot League Presidents' Cup standings. This year's competition was one of the closest in the 25-year history of the league, and in the end it was Navy pulling out a narrow victory over Bucknell by just 3.5 points for the all-sports crown.
The 2014-15 Presidents' Cup was not decided until the end of the very last championship of the year – women's rowing – and we congratulate our friends at Navy on a well-deserved title. Bucknell has won the Cup 18 times, finished second four times and third three times in 25 years. That's a pretty strong record, and I can assure you that our coaches and staff are working extremely hard to bring the 2015-16 Presidents' Cup back where it belongs – at Bucknell!
I would be remiss if I didn't offer another round of congratulations to our 2014-15 championship programs: women's indoor and outdoor track and field and men's soccer. Field hockey and men's basketball also captured regular-season titles, and seven other teams achieved runner-up finishes.
Now we shift our focus to the fall, and excitement is building around the Bison football team. The squad finished 8-3 last season and took second place in the Patriot League. Five All-Patriot League players and 13 starters are back in 2015. The first two games of the season will be played at home, starting on Sept. 5 against Marist. We will also host Duquesne, Lehigh, Georgetown and Holy Cross.
Another date to mark on the calendar is the Oct. 17 game at Army West Point. This will be our first trip to West Point since 1995, and if you have never seen a football game at Michie Stadium, it is a must-visit for any college football fan. If you can't make it, the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. The addition of merit aid in football has opened the door for Patriot League teams to once again play Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, and we plan to take advantage of that in our future scheduling.
New men's basketball coach Nathan Davis and his staff are hard at work preparing for their first season with the Bison. They will soon be headed on the road recruiting, and just like football, excitement is very high surrounding the men's basketball program with all five starters returning from last year's NIT team.
In the very near future, season tickets will be going on sale for men's and women's basketball. The men will open the 2015-16 season with a home game on Friday, Nov. 13, and two days later Wake Forest will be returning to Sojka Pavilion. The Demon Deacons played here in 2006, and it was a raucous environment and a thrilling overtime game. We are excited to host Wake Forest again this year.
The women will open up on the road, and then their home opener will be on Wednesday, Nov. 18 against Binghamton.
Men's basketball is not the only program with a new coaching staff this year. Former Colgate star Kelly Kuss will be in her first season as head women's soccer coach. Her team will be the first Bison squad to compete in 2015-16. In fact, their Aug. 16 opener against Wagner at Emmitt Field will mark the earliest competition date in school history.
We are also in the midst of a national search for a head softball coach. Bonnie Skrenta stepped down earlier this month after three successful seasons at Bucknell. Bonnie was named Patriot League Coach of the Year and led the Bison to the league championship game for the second straight season, and we wish her all the best as she makes a career change into the corporate world.
Following the season, the NCAA released its latest round of Academic Progress Rate (APR) data. This is a formula that is used to measure the academic performance of every Division I athletics team in all sports. Programs that do not meet the baseline standards are subject to sanctions such as loss of scholarships and eligibility for NCAA championships.
Once again, Bucknell's 27 varsity programs met the NCAA's standards with flying colors. Nineteen of our programs have perfect scores of 1,000 in the four-year averages that are utilized. The NCAA awards the top 10 percent of all teams in each sport with an APR Public Recognition Award, and Bucknell's 19 award-winning teams were second-most in the entire nation.
These figures, as well as our No. 2 national ranking in student-athlete graduation rates, only serve to fortify Bucknell's reputation as a national model for upholding the scholar-athlete model. The fact that our student-athletes also perform so well academically should be celebrated, but at the same time it is hardly a surprise. We are very explicit in our mission statement that student-athletes' academic programs must be their first priority, and those are exactly the kind of young men and women that our coaches are seeking during the recruiting process.
Kudos to all of them for making those goals a reality!
I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, and I look forward to seeing you at a Bison Athletics event next year!
Go Bison!
Warmest regards,
Director of Athletics & Recreation
Bucknell University
