Cancelled Event: Softball at Brown
Softball
at Brown
Cancelled
Providence College Athletics
A Banner Year To Be A Friar
A Banner Year To Be A Friar
 |
| * June 9 Chat * February * December 18 Chat * December * September * August 28 Chat * May 29 Chat * May * January * November * October * September |
June
It's been a great year to be a Friar! The 2003-04 academic year goes down in the record books as one of the most successful and eventful years in the history of Providence College Athletics and the BIG EAST Conference.
In the summer of 2003, the BIG EAST faced perhaps its most significant challenge in its 25-year history with the departure of three institutions to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Despite uncertainty and an apparent lack of workable options, the presidents/chancellors and athletic directors of the remaining institutions worked diligently with the BIG EAST staff to recreate the conference. A potentially dismal outcome was averted due to the tremendous leadership of everyone involved in bringing five new members to a "new" BIG EAST, expanded to 16.
The addition of Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida, Marquette, and DePaul makes the BIG EAST one of the strongest basketball conferences in the nation. The fall of 2005 will mark the first year of competition for these new teams in the BIG EAST.
Student-athletes excel on several levels
Despite the backdrop of conference turmoil early in the academic year, 2003-04 was a banner year for Providence College student-athletes-in the classroom, on the courts and playing fields, and in the community.
Academically, 94% of our student-athletes continue to graduate from Providence College over a 10-year period. This rate is one of the best in Division I in the nation. This year, we also had 16 student-athletes inducted into the prestigious Chi Sigma Alpha National College Athlete Honor Society for the first time.
Athletically, our teams won two championships. The women's ice hockey team won its second consecutive Women's HOCKEY EAST Tournament Championship and its third league championship in a row. The men's lacrosse team won its first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament Championship and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship tournament for the first time in the program's 25-year history.
Women's cross country finished third in the nation while our men's soccer team made it to the final four of the BIG EAST Tournament. After being picked to finish 14th out of 14 BIG EAST teams, our softball team won 34 games and finished one game out of fourth place. Men's basketball won 20 games and was ranked in the top 25 for eight consecutive weeks. The team finished third in the conference and received a No. 5 seeding in the NCAA Tournament-the highest seed achieved by a Friar basketball team.
Six Providence College student-athletes received All-America honors: Ryan Gomes '05 (basketball), Kim Smith '05 (cross country/track), Mary Cullen '05 (cross country/track), graduate student Adam Sutton '03 (cross country/track), Stephen Wood '04 (hockey), and Kelli Halcisak '04 (women's ice hockey).
As I noted in my last column, led by the Student Athlete Advisory Board, our student-athletes are serving the campus and surrounding communities in an ever-expanding variety of initiatives.
In 2003-04, the long-term support of our program continued to take shape with a focus on fundraising and facilities development. The "Friars Forever" campaign raised over $1 million for the first time in College history. Its "priority seating" component in men's basketball helped generate over $600,000 in new monies-all of which will be invested into our athletics programs.
Infrastructure improvements remain a priority
We made significant headway on the facilities front, developing new and improved office spaces and locker rooms. In May, we broke ground on a $5.5 million state-of-the-art Astroturf field for lacrosse, field hockey, and intramural/recreational sports.
Plans for a $7 million fitness center benefiting the entire campus community are in place. We are currently seeking donations to help make this exciting facility a reality. We have also been working with the City of Providence and the state to establish a renovation plan at the Dunkin' Donuts Center so that our men's basketball program can successfully compete in the increasingly competitive BIG EAST Conference.
As I hope you can see from the many accomplishments of our student-athletes, coaches, and administrative staff, 2003-04 has truly been another great year to be a Friar.
Thanks to those of you who helped make this year possible. We continue to need your financial support to achieve our vision of being one of the most respected programs in the nation where we graduate our student-athletes and compete for championships.
Have a great summer and remember . . . Go Friars!
