June 16, 2010

Dear Gamecock Fans:

Wow! How exciting the last two weekends of baseball have been! Congratulations to Head Coach Ray Tanner, his staff and the players for sweeping through the Regionals and Super Regionals and reaching the pinnacle of college baseball – Omaha and the College World Series!

It’s a dream for every athletics director to see his school compete in the College World Series. Through the years I’ve had many of my peers tell me what a special event it is and what a great job the people of Omaha do in putting on the tournament. I can only imagine what it will be like this year in the final year of Rosenblatt Stadium. I’ve always said I didn’t want to go to the College World Series unless we were playing in it. This week I’ll be fortunate enough to have that opportunity and, like every Gamecock fan, I am ecstatic about what this team has already accomplished and look forward to seeing us compete on the national stage.

I can’t say enough about how proud I am of this team. They get along well and work hard for a common purpose – always keeping their eye on the prize. They all are committed to the team and accept their roles, whatever they may be. They epitomize the “Garnet Way” – they handle themselves with class, do well in the classroom (a team GPA of 3.007 in the spring), are solid citizens in the community and compete for championships. They are a positive reflection of the University of South Carolina and our athletics department, and we can all take great pride in their accomplishments.

We hope to see you in Omaha!

Eric