Men's tennis is in New York City in pursuit of its third consecutive ITA Indoor National Championship.  We are 6-0 and ranked second in the country.  We won 4-0 at No. 13 Michigan on Tuesday night.  It came on the heels of rallying from a 3-1 deficit, and facing match point, en route to a 4-3 home win over No. 6 Tennessee.  Women's tennis has also opened strong with a 3-1 record.
 

 
Men's and women's basketball are both on the road tomorrow.  The men, who play at Kansas State in an 11:00 a.m. game on ESPNU, are in position to reach the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons for the first time in program history.  The women are at Cincinnati at 1:00 p.m. on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Swimming and diving has set 27 school records this season.  Track and field has also had its share of records broken, including the top three times in program history in the women's indoor 800 meters at last weekend's meet in Lubbock.  Gracie Morris, Tabitha Kalunde Ngao and Jasmin Muhammad-Graham all set the mark.  Gracie led the way as she broke her own school record with a time of 2:05.59 to place first.

Our men's and women's golf program have their spring seasons underway, and both finished strong in opening tournaments.  The men carded a final round 10-under-278 at the Arizona NIT in Tucson, while the women went 2 under to finish seventh in a strong field at the Puerto Rico Classic.

Beach volleyball, coming off last year's Final Four finish, is ranked fourth and opens its season next weekend in Houston.
 
FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FINALIZED
As I am sure you noticed, our 2024 football schedule is finalized.  Homecoming will be on October 26 versus Texas Tech.  Eleven of our 12 games are against Power 4 Conference opponents, beginning with the Friday, August 30, opener at new ACC-member Stanford.  The next two games will be at home, September 7 versus LIU and September 14 with the Big 12 Conference opener against UCF.  Please note our September 28 game at Kansas will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, home of the Chiefs, due to construction taking place at the Jayhawks' stadium in Lawrence.
 
MAX DUGGAN RECOGNITION
We look forward to celebrating Max Duggan at our Saturday, February 24, 2:00 p.m. home men's basketball game versus Cincinnati.  Max will be presented the Bob Bowlsby Award.  Max was named the inaugural male recipient last year of the Big 12 Conference's most prestigious individual accolade.  It is presented to an individual who represents the absolute best in the conference for their leadership and excellence, on and off the field of competition.  Max perfectly defines the criteria.  Personally, this award is particularly special as Bob not only made a major impact on TCU during his time as Big 12 Commissioner but on me as well.  He remains a trusted friend, colleague and confidant to me and so many others in our industry. 
 
NO. 34 IN THE RAFTERS

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It was great to have Kenrich Williams back on campus for our February 3 home game against Texas and recognize him by retiring his jersey in a halftime ceremony.

Now in his sixth NBA season, Kenrich was a driving force in TCU men's basketball becoming an annual NCAA Tournament contender.  He is just the fifth player in our program's history to have his jersey retired, joining the likes of fellow greats Darrell Browder, James Cash, Dick O'Neal and Kurt Thomas.

Congrats again, Kenrich!
 
THANK YOU, ELLIOTT
Student assistants are such an integral part of our athletics program.  Across our various teams and departments, we have 250 undergraduate students who assist us in areas from sports medicine to the equipment room, ticket office, Frog Club, marketing and so many other areas.  One of those student assistants years ago was Elliott Hill in the training room.  After a very successful business career, Elliott, who is also the chair of the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee of the TCU Board of Trustees, is now giving back to where it all started for him at TCU.  He has endowed two positions in our sports medicine department in honor of his former bosses and mentors in the training room: Ross Bailey and Chris Hall who also happen to be in our TCU Athletics Hall of Fame.  This commitment was part of a very generous gift that also supported the performance center project and NIL.

Thank you, Elliott, for paying it forward in the area of sports medicine and allowing others to benefit from your generosity in the care of our student-athletes!

FLYING T CLUB
Thanks to the late Dick Lowe along with Hunter Enis, Brad Cunningham and Larry Brogdon, Four Sevens Oil Company has been a longtime partner and friend of TCU Athletics, our campus as a whole and a staple in the Fort Worth business community. 

Four Sevens has now joined local business leaders like Joe T. Garcia's, HF Custom Solutions, Chicken Express and Frogs Today as a Flying T Club corporate partner.  If your business or company might have interest in becoming a corporate partner as well, please email info@flyingtclub.com.
 
As TCU's primary NIL collective in support of student-athletes, Flying T Club has them active in the community.  Most recently, student-athlete ambassadors from our football program served meals at Broadway Church as part of a banquet for the community.



TICKET OFFICE NOTES
As baseball begins tonight, we have a limited number of general admission season tickets available.  Reserved season seats are sold out.  Single-game tickets can be purchased HERE.
 
Please note the rapidly approaching March 1 football season ticket renewal deadline.  Plans are available in which payments can be extended into April.  New season ticket and reserved parking sales will begin on May 6.
 
BARK IN THE PARK
In the spirit of "giving the fans what they asked for," if you have dogs and love baseball, you will want to mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 19, when we have our inaugural Bark in the Park game as we host UTA at 6:30 p.m. 

We will have $2 hot dogs available that night for either you or your dogs.  All participating fans and their canines must enter the stadium at the South Side gate, located in the right field corner off Bellaire Street, and sit in the specified Bark in the Park section in the grass area.  Needless to say, we do request you pick up after your dog while in the stadium and outside the gates.  All fans bringing their dogs will need to complete a waiver that will be available online before the game or upon entrance into the stadium. 

This should be fun!

SHOPPING FROGS
Just in time for Opening Day, we have TCU baseball jerseys available to make sure you are properly attired for your trips to Lupton Stadium this season.  In addition to these team jerseys, we also have specific baseball student-athlete t-shirts on sale.  Proceeds from these purchases go directly to the players through NIL.
 
WELCOME LANDMAN



In case you drove by the Lowdon Track and Field Complex this week and thought we had a meet taking place that was not on the schedule, it was actually our team facility becoming a set for a scene in the television series Landman which airs on Paramount+.  Award winning writer Taylor Sheridan, who created Landman as well as Yellowstone, was onsite for the shoot.  It was also great to have Kit Moncrief, the first female chair of TCU's Board of Trustees, serve as a guest director.  The show's cast includes the likes of Jon Hamm, Demi Moore, Billy Bob Thornton, Ali Larter and Robyn Lively.  Some of our track and field student-athletes enjoyed the memorable experience of taking part in the filming.
 
COACHES CLASSIC SET
As a reminder, our TCU Coaches Golf Classic will be held on April 29 at Texas Star Golf Course in Euless with 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. shotgun starts.  Registration is underway to spend a day on the links with coaches throughout our athletics program.  To learn more about playing and sponsorship opportunities, please click HERE.
 
NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY



We were very excited to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 7.  I am incredibly proud of the countless accomplishments of our current and former female student-athletes as well as the many women we have in our athletics program serving as administrators, coaches and support staff.  They are paving the way and setting a leadership example for many generations to come, including my two daughters.
 
PRO FROGS



Our former offensive tackle Lucas Niang is a back-to-back Super Bowl Champion with the Kansas City Chiefs!  Combined with Dee Winters, Matt Pryor and Jason Verrett of San Francisco as well as 49ers assistant defensive backs coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker, it was great to have five Horned Frogs on the NFL's biggest stage.

TCU representation is also strong in the National Women's Soccer League.  With Gracie Brian and Lauren Kellett earning camp invitations with the San Diego Wave FC and NC Courage, respectively, we how have seven former women's soccer student-athletes active in the NWSL.

On the links, congratulations to 2019 Big 12 Conference Champion Hayden Springer on earning his PGA Tour card!  Hayden joins fellow Horned Frogs Paul Barjon and Tom Hoge on the tour. 

DID YOU KNOW?
In 1969, Ron Hurdle became the first Black cheerleader at TCU and in the Southwest Conference.  As we celebrate Black History Month, it was great to have him back on campus as a guest speaker at TCU's Race & Reconciliation Initiative's Breaking Barriers event.  Upon his graduation, Ron joined the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School, earned two master's degrees and his law degree.  He then started his own law firm before returning to the classroom as a law school professor.

Go Frogs! 


 
Jeremiah Donati, J.D.
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics