A Message from Scott Stricklin
Thursday, June 22, 2017 | General
Florida Athletic Director has a message for Gator Nation ahead of UF's next game in Omaha at the College World Series.
Greetings from Omaha
It has been another terrific year in Gator Athletics and as you know – it's not over yet. I'm writing this letter to you from Omaha, Neb., where Kevin O'Sullivan has our baseball team here for the third year in a row and the sixth time in the last eight years (the most appearances in the nation during that stretch).
Getting to Omaha is always special but this year's team had to overcome numerous rain delays and elimination games in the both the regional and the Super Regional to punch their ticket.
Like their baseball counterparts, the softball program rebounded from losses in NCAA Tournament regional and super regional action to reach the Women's College World Series. Making its eighth trip in school history, the Gators advanced all the way to the championship final against Oklahoma. The two teams battled for 17 innings in the opening game, which drew a record 1.68 million viewers on ESPN. More fans watched that softball game than 200-plus college football games during the 2016 season.
CHAMPS
In between softball and baseball, UF fans had a chance to see two Gator programs win national titles in a 17-day span. First the women's tennis program won its seventh national title, and fourth under Roland Thornqvist, by defeating rival Stanford. Then, the men's outdoor track and field program captured its seventh national title by topping the field in Eugene, Oregon. All seven track titles for the Gators have come since 2010, giving them the most in the nation during that time frame. Here is a remarkable stat: head coach Mike Holloway has led the Gator men to 19 top two finishes in his 30 NCAA Championship meets.
UF has now won a national title in each of the last nine academic years, and 38 overall. UF is one of four schools to win at least one national championship in each of the last nine years and owns 17 national titles during that time.
Overall in 2016-17, 13 Gator athletic teams finished in the top 10 in the nation and 10 finished in the top five.
When final results are announced later in June, Florida will finish third or fourth (depending on how the CWS turns out) this year, the ninth-straight Gator top five finish in the Learfield Director's Cup. It also marks the 34th straight year the Gators have finished in the top 10, making UF the only school in the nation to finish in the top 10 in each year of that time period.
Finally, on the heels of five SEC team Championships, Florida won the SEC All-Sports Trophy for the 27th time, including a sweep of the men's, women's and overall title for the 16th time - no other league school has pulled that feat off once. The lacrosse team also captured the Big East Championship.
WINNING IN THE CLASSROOM
Our Gators achieved success in the classroom as well this academic year. Florida student-athletes posted a 3.04 cumulative GPA for the Spring of 2017 and 46 student athletes graduated this past Spring. Seventy-eight percent of those graduating student-athletes won a national or SEC Championship during their career at Florida, and 35 percent graduated cum laude or better.
Four Gator teams scored in the top 10 percent nationally in the Academic Progress Rates released in May, including women's golf and men's and women's tennis with a perfect 1,000. Overall, 13 of the 21 teams met or exceeded the national average
Seven Gators earned Academic All-America honors in 2016-2017, the second most in school history and a total of 255 earned recognition by the league in 2016-17 for their work in the classroom.
FACILITY UPDATE
Design work with the architecture team from HOK continues on the new, standalone football complex, the planned $60 million project that will house all of our football team's daily operations and be located adjacent to the current football practice fields. In addition, the project includes a new dining hall that will service all 500-plus of our Gator student-athletes.
The planned upgrades to Katie Seashole Presley Stadium (softball) and McKethan Stadium (baseball) are also front and center. The selection process to choose the designers for softball is underway, with the same for baseball beginning shortly. Having myself now gone through a spring in Gainesville, I'm more excited than ever about the opportunities to enhance the fan and student-athlete experiences for these highly successful Gator teams. We will have more details on these projects in the weeks ahead as we move forward, but it's safe to say that the finished products will include plenty of shade for our loyal Gator fans!
Here are a few other facility items of note: the swimming and diving natatorium will be getting a much-needed new scoreboard in time for this fall's events … Installation of new LED 'ribbon' boards at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium occurs this summer. These boards will be on the upper deck fascia in the north and south end zones, and provide more real-time information for fans at The Swamp … The highly popular court projection that was used prior to the UF-UK men's basketball game at Exactech Arena in February will become a regular part of the O'Connell Center. The system used for the projection is being installed permanently, which will allow for use at all Gator home events in the O'Dome (volleyball, gymnastics, women's and men's basketball).
#WeChomp
In May, we launched a new social media initiative to engage our fans all across the world, #WeChomp. The goal for Gators everywhere is to showcase your love of the Orange & Blue and help us to cover the map on Chompstories.com with photos and videos of your Gator chomp. So as you, your family and friends travel this summer, share your experiences with #WeChomp and geotag your location.
Someone just posted a #WeChomp from Shanghai, China! Visit https://t.co/7vwRFBOxMZ & submit ur best chomp - and be sure 2 tag the location!. pic.twitter.com/i9mb3aEW0k
— Florida Gators (@FloridaGators) June 22, 2017
WELCOME NEW (SORTA) GATORS
Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director Chip Howard, who managed our internal operations and facility projects and Senior Associate Athletics Director Keith Carodine, who headed up our Academic advising services are both leaving after combining to serve the athletic department for 50-plus years. As much of an impact they've had on countless student athletes and fans, the friendships they have developed with staff and members of the Gator Nation will be missed. We wish them the best of luck in the next chapter of their lives. We have been fortunate to hire two very talented and up and comers in the world of collegiate athletics to join our staff. Laird Veatch will assume most of Chip's duties, coming to the Gators from his alma mater, Kansas State. Laird has also worked at Iowa State, Learfield Sports, Missouri and Texas. Jeff Guin, who began his journey in collegiate athletics right here in Gainesville as a student manager for Lon Kruger and has earned three of his four degrees from Florida, will lead the Hawkins Center for Academic and Personal Excellence. When you have a chance to meet them, you will be as excited as we are to have them be part of the Gator Nation.
THANK YOU GATOR FANS
The end of June marks the eighth month for me to be a part of the Gator Nation, and on behalf of my wife Anne and our two daughters (who are now full-time Gainesville residents!!!) I would like to thank each of you who have gone out of your way to welcome us to the Orange and Blue. As the accomplishments listed above attest, there has been a lot of fun packed into a short period of time, and that fun is directly attributable to our remarkable student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans.
More than 850,000 Orange and Blue faithful attended 150-plus athletic events in 2016-17, and countless more watched on TV, listened on radio or followed along in the news and on social media. Everywhere I've been I run into Gators who are passionate in their support of our school.
As we prepare for another exciting year of Florida Athletics in 2017-18, your continued support and passion is needed. Whether it's buying season tickets, contributing to Gator Boosters, or simply showing your Gator spirit in your community or on social media, your actions are an important part in helping our teams achieve at the highest levels.
Let's Go Gators Friday night in Omaha!
Scott Stricklin
@ScottStricklin
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