Dear Horned Frogs:

With our athletics season in full swing, I cannot thank you enough for the terrific support you are providing our student-athletes and coaches.  Attendance has been outstanding at football, soccer and volleyball home games, and especially from our incredible student body who has rocked the house at Amon G. Carter Stadium.  


 
SPORTS REPORT
We have three sports ranked in the top three in the nation in equestrian (1), rifle (2) and triathlon (3).  Women's soccer is 23rd to give us four sports in the Top 25.
 
Equestrian defeated No. 1 SMU, 12-6, and then replaced the Mustangs at the top of the rankings.  A perfect score by Stephanie Allen in air rifle led our rifle team to a first-place finish at Navy to open its year.  Triathlon is in its debut season and hosted its first-ever competition on September 17.  We finished first and one of the teams we defeated was seven-time defending national champion Arizona State.  
 
Our women's soccer program defeated Kansas 1-0 last night. We are on a six-game winning streak and 5-0-1 in the Big 12 Conference, tied for the league lead with Texas Tech as we head to Lubbock on Sunday afternoon in a battle for first place.  Volleyball is 10-5 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12.  We swept Texas Tech last week and host Cincinnati tonight and Saturday at 6:00 p.m.  Football will look for its fourth win and to gain momentum going into the second half of the season when it plays at Iowa State on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. on FS1, before returning home against BYU next Saturday, October 14, at 2:30 p.m.
 
Men's cross country was the team champion at the Gerald Richey UTA Invitational, while Tabitha Kalunde Ngao has won two races in her debut season for the women's team.  Our men's and women's tennis and golf programs have enjoyed their share of success in early fall competition, while men's and women's swimming and diving totaled seven first-place finishes at Florida State in its opening meet.


 
FLYOVER UPDATE
Before this season, we announced a pregame flyover would take place prior to each home football game.  I apologize we have not delivered on that promise the last two contests.  Situations have unfortunately been beyond our control.  With the SMU game, it was the base being called for a mission.  We then had another base make a last-minute cancelation for West Virginia due to a factor on their end.  We have reached out to the remaining bases for the final three home games and been assured that everything is indeed good to go.  We appreciate your understanding on this.

COLONIAL COUNTRY CLUB PARTNERSHIP
We have been most appreciative of our longtime relationship with Colonial Country Club and are very excited to announce a formal partnership that will benefit our men's and women's golf programs, and especially enhance the student-athlete experience.

As part of the current construction at Colonial Country Club, we will have a training center on the range while also formalizing access for our men's and women's programs, the ability to hold tournaments and the Frog Club to host the annual Horned Frog Classic.  The training center will contain a state-of-the-art long and short game practice facility, the newest technology and a student-athlete lounge. 

We look forward to continuing our longstanding partnership with Colonial Country Club into the future, and thank everyone who made this happen.

A VISIT TO THE NATION'S CAPITAL
It was an honor to represent TCU on September 20 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., at the House Committee on Small Business: Athletes and Innovators: Analyzing NIL's Impact on Entrepreneurial Collegiate Athletes.

Thank you to U.S. Congressman and TCU Horned Frog Roger Williams for taking the initiative to lead discussion on the No. 1 topic in intercollegiate athletics.  I was glad to accept his invitation to testify, alongside Ohio State Athletics Director Gene Smith and college football legend Gino Torretta, before the U.S. Congressional Committee. 

There is no doubt name, image and likeness (NIL) is a great thing for our student-athletes, and I am 100 percent in support.  We just need better safeguards in place to protect them and build a more sustainable model for the future.  Please do not hesitate to reach out directly to me with any questions you have regarding NIL.


 
FLYING T CLUB
Supporting The Flying T Club remains essential to the success of our sports programs.  It is our lone NIL collective directly working with our student-athletes.  
 
On behalf of our athletics program, thank you very much to all of you who are members of The Flying T Club.  Our coaches will continually reiterate that your donations truly make a difference in our ability to compete at the highest level.  
 
In just the past two weeks, serving as Flying T Club's ambassadors, our student-athletes have been active in the Fort Worth community by participating in events at HOPE Farm, TCU's Starpoint School and the Tarrant Area Food Bank.
 
The Flying T Club is also an outstanding corporate partner of ours.  Please continue your support or consider becoming a new member.  You can learn more about the Flying T Club, as well as making a donation, by visiting its website. 


 
RICK ROSS IN THE HOUSE
Schollmaier Live is back and in a big way with nine-time Grammy Award nominee Rick Ross headlining this year's event on Friday, October 27, at 7:00 p.m.  Admission is free and open to the public.  
 
Schollmaier Live has become our annual tip-off to basketball season as our men's and women's programs will be introduced and take part in a variety of challenges and games throughout the evening.  Our spirit squads and band will also perform.  Last year's inaugural Schollmaier Arena was a major hit with Ludacris, and we look forward to that same type of energy and fun with Rick Ross.
 
BASKETBALL SCHEDULES SET
Our complete men's and women's basketball schedules have been finalized, and both teams open play with a November 6 home doubleheader in Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.  The Mark Campbell era for our women begins at 4:00 p.m. versus Oral Roberts, while the men will face Southern in the nightcap at 8:00 p.m.
 
Big 12 Conference play commences for the women at home on December 30 against BYU, while the men start league action on January 6 at Kansas.   

 

CHALLENGE MET
Thank you to everyone who participated in TCU Gives Day, and especially Miguel and Cynthia Reyes who pledged $50,000 to our athletics program if we reached 400-plus donors.  We met the challenge!  Thank you to Miguel and Cynthia for all you have done and continue to do for our student-athletes and TCU.
 
One of the more rewarding parts of meeting the challenge is the number of athletics staff who contributed.  I am honored to serve such an outstanding group of individuals.  Their investment in our student-athletes further illustrates the commitment we have to provide the best experience possible for our student-athletes.
 
Please mark your calendar for November 18, when we face Baylor in our final home football game.  It will be Frog Club Appreciation Day, and we will host a pregame tailgate for Frog Club members. 



WELCOME RYAN PECK
We are very excited to welcome Ryan Peck to TCU as our new Deputy Athletics Director for External Affairs.  

Ryan joins us after serving the last seven years in different capacities at UNT, most recently as Associate Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer.  During his time in Denton, UNT had its best fundraising years while securing the top four gifts in school history.  He was previously the Mean Green's Deputy AD for External Operations.  He has also worked at Denver and Chattanooga.  Throughout his career, Ryan has been part of record-setting ticket, licensing and fan engagement metrics.

Ryan will play a major role in our fundraising and revenue generation efforts.  He will oversee all our external units, including communications, creative content, licensing, marketing, ticket office and serving as liaison in our partnership with LEARFIELD and Horned Frog Sports Properties.  

Born in North Carolina, Ryan grew up in Lilburn, Georgia.  During his collegiate days, he was a four-year letterman as a soccer student-athlete at Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina.  

Please join me in welcoming Ryan, his wife Emma, son Brayden and soon-to-be-born daughter Georgia to our TCU family!


 
HALL OF FAME CLASS INDUCTED
Congratulations to our phenomenal TCU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2023!  The list of names reads like Horned Frogs Royalty: 1983 NCAA Women's Golf National Championship Team, Scott Atchison (baseball), Tank Carder (football), Kishelle Paul Guy (track and field), Matt Purke (baseball), Sarah Scherer (rifle), Carrie von Uhlit Zaragoza (equestrian), David Medanich (men's soccer) and Chris Hall (sports medicine).
 
This group includes All-Americans, National Champions and Olympians.  It was an honor to celebrate these Horned Frogs legends last Thursday night and to see them recognized throughout the weekend at our home events.
  
THE GRAND MARSHAL
The Parade of Lights is one of the great traditions in Fort Worth and is the largest illuminated holiday parade in Texas.  The 41st-annual event will be on Sunday, November 19, at 6:00 p.m., and we are very excited to have Head Football Coach Sonny Dykes selected to serve as Grand Marshal.

The honor for Coach Dykes comes after leading us to the College Football Playoff, a win over Michigan in the CFP Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and appearance in the CFP National Championship, not to mention the 10 National Coach of the Year honors he received.  



#PROFROGS
Angela Stanford is the most accomplished women's golf student-athlete in our program's history, and she continues to make a phenomenal impact on the sport and our country.  Angela has seven career wins on the LPGA Tour and 100 top-10 finishes.  She has been named an Assistant Captain for the 2023 Solheim Cup, the women's equivalent of the Ryder Cup.  She has represented Team USA on six occasions as a player, including wins in 2007, 2009 and 2015.  
 
With the NFL season underway, we send our best to the 28 Horned Frogs in the league.  We also look forward to following our NBA players Desmond Bane, Mike Miles Jr. and Kenrich Williams as their training camps open.
  
DID YOU KNOW?
As our football team heads to Iowa State, we will see a familiar face supporting us in Ames.  With the Los Angeles Chargers having an open date, Max Duggan will take advantage of his free weekend by returning to his home state to watch his alma mater in action!  It will be great to see you, Max!   

Go Frogs! 


 
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics