A Message from the Director of Athletics

TU Nation:

As we begin a new academic year, our student-athletes have set their sights on great accomplishments in the classroom and on the fields and courts of play.

The foundation that you have helped create for our student-athletes and the Golden Hurricane athletic program is tremendously appreciated. If not for your continued and unwavering support, we could not have enjoyed the success we have become accustomed to from our athletes and teams. Thank You!

Before looking ahead, please allow me to highlight our sport program achievements near the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. Most notably, we are proud of the fact that as an entire athletic program we finished the year as the top-rated American Athletic Conference school in the final 2016-17 Division I Learfield Directors' Cup Standings, placing 68^th nationally, finishing 16 spots above the second-ranked American school.

Senior All-America distance runner Marc Scott was the 10,000-meter National Champion during the NCAA outdoor track & field season, and finished in fourth place in the 5,000m. Senior teammate Luke Traynor also earned USTFCCCA Outdoor All-America first-team honors with an eighth-place performance in the 10,000m.

The Tulsa men's track team also finished 2016-17 ranked fourth in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association Program of the Year standings with 39 points. Only Oregon, Arkansas and Ole Miss ranked higher. Senior runner Kirk Smith was not only named as a Rhodes Scholar in the fall, but in the spring earned first-team Academic All-America honors.

The Tulsa softball team captured both the regular season and postseason league titles in the American Athletic Conference and was a half-inning away against eventual NCAA champion Oklahoma from reaching the College Softball Super Regionals. Our women finished the season with an overall 41-17 record and 15-3 in The American. Junior pitcher Emily Watson was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-America second team. Emily put together a standout season with a 30-6 record and 1.25 ERA.

The women's tennis team made its 11^th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and finished the season with an overall 20-8 record and a No. 26 final national ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Tulsa senior men's tennis student-athlete Or Ram-Harel advanced to the round of 32 at the NCAA Singles Championship in May.

Congratulations to our women's rowing team, which finished as runner-up at the American Athletic Conference Championship and the Lightweight 4 and 8 boats competed at the IRA national championship.

With classes underway, the sports schedule is getting in full swing this week with soccer home games and volleyball road matches over the weekend. The start of football is right around the corner as our rather young team, with 67 student-athletes either freshmen, red-shirt freshmen or sophomores, will kick-off the season next Thursday against Oklahoma State in the newly named Bank of Oklahoma Turnpike Classic.

As we move into 2017-18, it is imperative that we grow our footprint and fan base within Tulsa and the surrounding communities. We are extremely excited about the new initiatives and programs we have instituted that will help us in doing so.

In the past few months, we have moved our ticket sales force in-house after spending the last five years with IMG/Learfield Ticket Solutions. We have expanded our sales team from two full-time employees under IMG/Learfield to a current ticket sales staff of seven, at no added cost. Since the transition, our ticket sales staff has sold over 1,000 new season tickets for football, while renewing 87-percent of our 2016 season ticket holders.

We are also excited to have kicked off the #ForOurCity campaign earlier this month as we encourage all Tulsans to support our home team. In addition to the variety of season ticket options, Mazzio's Family Fun and the 3-Game Mini-plan, we have also unveiled the new All-Sports Flexbook, where fans can choose whatever games, whatever sport and the number of tickets they wish to use for one or several games. For those of you who already have season football tickets, we thank you. Please encourage friends and family to purchase tickets for the 2017 season!

The newly announced Raise the Flag campaign encourages local businesses to join with us to wave the Tulsa flag on game days and further advance the #ForOurCity message.

We hope to see you this weekend at the soccer field as we host a double-header on Friday with the Women's team taking on Kansas at 5:30 and the Men's team playing Wisconsin beginning at 8:00 p.m. In two weeks our football team returns to H.A. Chapman Stadium to kick-off the home season against Louisiana with a 3:00 p.m. start time. September 9th marks the first of three home games in the month of September and is a "WHITE-OUT" game, so be sure to stop by Campus Corner Bookstore at the corner of 11^th and Harvard Ave. the week of the game to purchase your official WHITE-OUT t-shirt.

Help us fight Alzheimer's on Alzheimer's Awareness Day, Sept. 23 vs. New Mexico. Military Appreciation Day and Hall of Fame weekend is on Sept. 30 when Tulsa faces Navy. Hall of Fame Inductees this year include Ed Dubie (Baseball, Basketball and Football, 1928-31), David Smoot (Track & Field, 1960-63), Wes Hamilton (Football 1971-75), Stacy Prammanasudh (Golf, 1998-02), Lauren Lindsay (Softball, 2007-10) and the Hall of Fame Honor Team is the 1982 football squad.

Lastly, but significantly, Homecoming is scheduled for Oct. 14 against the Houston Cougars. Make sure to visit TUalumni.com/homecoming to register for Homecoming events.

I am confident that 2017-18 will be another banner year for our student-athletes academically and on the playing field. I trust that our ardent supporters will once again come out and support our student-athletes, and we ask you to bring new fans to experience Golden Hurricane athletics.

Before closing, I invite you to follow me on twitter @DrGragg_TU. It took me awhile, but I have now entered the 21^st Century social media world!

Thank you TU Nation for all of your continued support!

Go TU!

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A Message from the Director of Athletics

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