Post by sader1970 on Aug 25, 2022 13:19:28 GMT -5
Dear Crusaders,
It is a busy time on Mount St. James! It is a time of excitement, exhilaration and optimism with fall classes beginning next week. What a thrill it is to be on The Hill pulling together once again with our amazing coaches, staff and, especially, our dedicated student-athletes. We have an exciting year ahead of us, as the College celebrates the 50th anniversary of coeducation and Title IX.
By now you know my core philosophy that when we work together, anything is possible. With the help of many throughout the Holy Cross community, the future of Crusader Athletics looks brighter than ever. As I have continued to connect with our loyal alumni, fans and friends, it is clear that we are all eager to create an exciting new chapter in Crusader history.
I want to bring you up to date on some great, recent news:
• Our football team enters the season ranked 16th nationally by Stats Perform. Our Crusaders are the only team in the nation that can win a fourth straight conference title this fall, having won three consecutive Patriot League Championships. Our football players have already arrived back on campus and training sessions have begun in preparation to kick off their 2022 season on Friday, September 2 at Merrimack (7:00 p.m.).
• We are proud to announce that Ron Capozzoli Sr. has established a transformational $2 million endowment for Holy Cross football – the largest in the program’s history. The gift will fund student-athlete scholarships that will cover the cost of summer classes and housing, allowing student-athletes to further their pursuit of a Holy Cross degree while also benefiting from training and nutrition enhancement during the summer access period.
• Our field hockey team is traveling this week to play at Stanford and at UC Davis – an incredible opportunity for the team made possible by the support of CAF donors. The team will also participate in an alumni career panel while in California and return home to prepare for the opening of their new playing surface as a result of our ongoing Hart Turf Field & Track enhancement project.
• Our volleyball team also travels to California this season for the UC Irvine/adidas Invitational on Sept. 2 and 3, where they will face UC Irvine, Sacred Heart and Dartmouth.
• We’ve recently welcomed our new head coach of the women’s golf program, Taylor Schmidt. Taylor joins us after three seasons as an assistant golf professional at Springfield Country Club with extensive experience coaching and teaching the game after her impressive collegiate playing career.
• 302 Holy Cross student-athletes were recently named to the 2021-22 Winter/Spring Patriot League Academic Honor Roll; additionally, 14 members of the men’s ice hockey team were named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team while 20 from women’s ice hockey earned Hockey East All-Academic Team honors.
• This summer, we brought sport clinics back to campus and the local community, with more than 1,000 registrants for these clinics in less than two months.
• Holy Cross was named the Team IMPACT Campus of the Year. Holy Cross currently has nine matches through Team IMPACT, which pairs collegiate sports teams nationwide with children facing disabilities and serious illnesses through a two-year therapeutic program, forming lifelong bonds and life-changing outcomes.
• Lastly, last year’s Crusader Athletic Fund set a new record, with 3,608 donors giving $2,490,014 to CAF, while welcoming 432 brand new alumni donors. Your support for our student-athletes is nothing short of inspiring!
As you can see, a lot is happening in Crusader Athletics!
Fall Homecoming is scheduled for Sept. 16-18, and I want to personally invite all our fans to attend our games and support our student-athletes. During the weekend, we look forward to celebrating Coach Jim Kavanagh’s retirement after 52 seasons with an event on the Kimball Quad. I look forward to meeting many of you in person on The Hill this September!
Lastly, we are currently exploring opportunities to increase support for our department’s top priority – increased scholarship resources. I will share more information when we finalize our path forward, but I want our community to understand the need we have to enhance support for our scholarship budget. In the meantime, to learn more about how you can have an impact, please contact Cara Abraham, director of the Crusader Athletics Fund and athletics fundraising, or call 508-793-2632.
We will need your commitment and passion again this year as we work to directly impact our student-athletes. I know I speak for the entire Athletics family when I say we are deeply grateful for your passion and generosity.
And remember, we win TOGETHER!
Go Cross Go!