Tommy Bell monthly Newsletter — May Edition
05/30/2017 | 4:20:00 | General
Greetings, Saluki Nation!
Hopefully by now you've heard about the new University campaign called Forever SIU: The Campaign for Students. The University goal is to raise $75 million for scholarships and other support for students during the next three years.
In Athletics, we are participating in Forever SIU by reemphasizing the critical role our annual fund plays in the lives of our student-athletes. When you give to the Saluki Athletic Scholarship Fund, those dollars directly offset the cost of a scholarship. The more money we can raise to pay for scholarships, the more discretionary dollars we'll have left over to build our programs. The SASF is truly the foundation upon which our department rests, and if you have even a passing interest in helping Athletics succeed, we need you to become a member.
When I began serving as your Director of Athletics two years ago, the SASF had 880 members and generated $783,275 for scholarships. After my first year, our membership grew to 990 and $920,414, which represented an impressive 17.5 percent increase in year-over-year giving. This year, our hard-working development team believes we are poised to break the $1 million mark at the close of FY17 next month. We've only reached $1 million five times in the history of the department, back during the heyday of Saluki Basketball and Football.
Our goal is to build SASF membership to 1,500 by the end of the Forever SIU campaign in 2020, and ultimately push our membership to 2,000. In order to reach that lofty mark, we need near-perfect execution of our plan. We need to reach out to people like you, tell you our story, and encourage you to get involved. We also need to Restore the Glory of our flagship programs, because, let's face it, we can't reach our full potential as an athletic enterprise without them. However, I encourage you not to wait until the day those programs turn the corner (which I believe is coming soon). Your generosity today rewards our current student-athletes while setting the table for success tomorrow.
For added encouragement, please watch this impromptu testimonial from Saluki Hall of Famer Mike Reis.
Valparaiso officially became a member of the Missouri Valley Conference on May 25. I got to know Valpo President Mark Heckler during the screening process and was impressed with his vision for Athletics. They were under consideration for league membership in 2013 when Creighton left, and four years later, the Crusaders made a compelling case to join the MVC. Welcome aboard!
The league is back to 10 members, but it may not stay that way in perpetuity. Look for the MVC to be proactive when it comes to exploring membership opportunities. The potential to boost the league's men's basketball profile remains a key benchmark. Just take a look at Valparaiso's RPI during each of the last three seasons (78, 31 and 56) and you'll see why they emerged as the top choice.
The MVC's All-Sports Trophy standings were announced on Monday, and the Salukis placed third, despite not winning a regular-season championship. That shows strength across the board among our 18 sports.
The only sport that is still competing as we head into the month of June is track & field. Kyle Landon, Warren Hazel and Freya Block all advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon (June 7-10) and we wish them well. Congratulations to our Softball team that won its first-ever MVC tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007! Also, men's tennis player Piotr Baranski became the first Saluki to play in the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships since Mickey Maule in 1990. He lost a heartbreaker to Georgia's Nathan Ponwith that came down to a tie-breaker.
Some football scheduling news to pass along — we are very close to finalizing a Big Ten opponent for the 2020 season. This game will be a tremendous help for us financially, as well as with recruiting.
Some other football scheduling notes. We were under contract to play a return game at Liberty in 2019, however, the Flames moved up to FBS status and no longer wish to play that game. Instead, we will play at FBS independent UMass in 2019, giving us two FBS opponents on a 12-game schedule that season.
I'm pleased to announce that Saluki Athletics had a banner year in the classroom in 2016-17. The overall cumulative GPA of our student-athletes rose from 3.23 to 3.29, setting another departmental record. Our top-performing teams were Softball (3.68), Women's Golf (3.65) and Women's Swimming (3.61). All but two of our teams now have a 3.0 or better team GPA. Congratulations to our student-athletes and thank you to our academic support staff for their hard work.
I'd like to end on a high note with last week's news that softball's Shaye Harre was named an Academic All-American. In the history of Saluki Athletics, we've had 92 Academic All-Americans. That's more than ANY other program in the Missouri Valley Conference. That's why we post the number on the scoreboard at Saluki Stadium and update it every year. When you see that number "92" at a football game next year, lean over to the person sitting next to you and tell them that your school is tops in academics.
With Saluki Pride,
