March 22, 2011
Several items of interest have come across my desk as the winter sports are winding down and the spring sports are heating up…
First, congratulations to Lakya Brookins, dubbed the “Fastest Woman in the World.” LaKya won the NCAA 60-meter dash in a collegiate indoor record time of 7.09 seconds at Texas A&M. No woman in the world has run a faster 60-meters this year. Her performance helped Curtis Frye post his 14th top-25 finish in his 15 years as the coach of our indoor women’s track & field team.
Congratulations also to swimmer Amanda Rutqvist and diver Taryn Zack for winning SEC titles. Rutqvist became South Carolina’s first-ever SEC champion in women’s swimming by winning the 200-yard breaststroke in an SEC record time. Zack, the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for swimming & diving, captured the one-meter diving title for the second time in her prolific career. Both will represent the Gamecocks at the NCAA Championships.
Kudos to Sam Muldrow from the men’s basketball team for breaking the school record for blocked shots in a career and being the first Gamecock in school history to earn SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors.
And one final recognition goes to Jewel May from the women’s basketball team. Jewel, who was named to the SEC Community Service team, has earned the prestigious NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship for Careers in Athletics. The NCAA awards only 13 of these scholarships each year. Jewel is the epitome of the student-athlete, as she gets it done on the court, in the classroom and in the community.
* * * * *
Baseball and softball are both off to fast starts this season. Baseball is ranked as high as fourth in the country and took two of three from Clemson in a hotly contested series. Softball, under first-year head coach Beverly Smith, has already surpassed its overall and SEC win totals from last season. Both teams will be fun to follow as they have aspirations of reaching the postseason tournaments again in 2011.
* * * * *
We are excited about a couple of new coaching hires, both of whom hail most recently from the University of Minnesota. Scott Swanson will take over our volleyball program. Scott has had a tremendous impact in the volleyball community, working with USA Volleyball and as a head and associate head collegiate coach, and is an accomplished recruiter. John Butler joins the football staff as the special teams coordinator. John came highly recommended by Craig Fitzgerald, our strength and conditioning coach, and will make a great addition to our staff. Welcome to Scott and John!
* * * * *
It’s hard to believe, but spring football is underway! The 2011 season will be here before you know it. We have a great home schedule with games against Auburn, Florida and Clemson and, of course, we have what we hope will be an eighth “home” game when we travel to Charlotte to face East Carolina in the season opener on Sept. 3. Be sure to order the ECU game tickets when filling out your season ticket application so you don’t miss any of the action this season!
And speaking of football, we recently received a comprehensive report on the media value placed on the Gamecocks reaching the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta last December. The report indicated that during a two-week stretch before and after the Championship Game, the football team generated over 10,000 stories disseminated through either television, radio, online or print. That equals an ad value of over $7 million and a publicity value of nearly $22 million! That’s tremendous publicity for the University of South Carolina!
* * * * *
I hope you had a chance to read the story about sportsmanship exhibited by assistant track & field coach Mike Sergent and shot putter Louis Day at the SEC Indoor Championships. One of Day’s preliminary throws was measured incorrectly, sending him to the finals in a spot he actually had not earned, keeping another more deserving competitor out of the finals. Sergent brought it to the attention of the officials and subsequently filed a protest against his own thrower, questioning the mark. The officials finally ruled that both athletes would be allowed to compete in an expanded finals. That show of sportsmanship by Mike and Louis is what college athletics is supposed to be about and speaks volumes about their integrity. We are so proud of how they handled the situation.
* * * * *
Finally, I know many of you have questions about the progress being made at the Farmers’ Market. We anticipate that you will start seeing some significant changes to that area beginning in May as the demolition project begins. We look forward to this exciting development that will enhance the game day fan experience, and while it will take a few years to fully develop, it will certainly be worth the wait!
Thank you for your continued support and Go Gamecocks!
Eric
