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A Message From Director of Athletics Jeffrey A. Hathaway
Dear Friends of UConn Athletics: We are pleased to welcome you to UConnHuskies.com. At UConn, we have adapted the motto: “Today’s Student-Athletes…Tomorrow’s Leaders.” This reflects our core philosophy --- for our student-athletes to earn their UConn degree, to give our student-athletes the opportunity to compete in their chosen sport at the highest level and for our student-athletes to be leaders in society. Our mission is clearly focused on developing our student-athletes into well-rounded individuals. Success in athletics is certainly important, but the objective is much loftier. We want our Husky student-athletes to achieve academically and be active members of the community. Through academics, community service and athletics, we can make an extremely positive impact upon our student-athletes and prepare them for life after college. The lessons learned as a student-athlete in any of our 24 sports at UConn will last a lifetime. We profile five student-athletes in this year’s report to illustrate the wonderful young people who wear the Husky blue and white. The outstanding tradition of Husky athletics continued again this year. UConn teams participated in NCAA Championship play in four team sports and four individual sports. The Husky field hockey team competed in the NCAA national semifinals, our women’s basketball team advanced to the Elite Eight, and our men’s and women’s soccer teams continued their long tradition of NCAA Tournament play. Individuals from both our men’s and women’s cross country teams as well as our women’s indoor and outdoor track and field squads took part in the NCAAs. In BIG EAST competition, the field hockey team won the conference tournament, while the women’s basketball squad won the regular season championship. Once again, more than 40 percent of our 650 student-athletes earned a 3.0 “B-or-better” grade-point average in either or both the fall and spring semesters. Our student-athletes are active in numerous outreach activities, including the collection of coats, books, toys and food for those in need of assistance. For the second consecutive year, we were honored by the National Consortium for Academics and Sport (NCAS) for our efforts to assist former student-athletes in completing their UConn degrees. We were also recognized by the NCAS for our community service initiatives. There is great pride in two new facilities that opened on campus in 2006 – The Burton Family Football Complex and the Mark R. Shenkman Training Center. The Division of Athletics received Environmental Leadership Awards for the design and construction of these buildings. I am especially grateful to our wonderful coaches. They are outstanding educators, leaders and mentors who are constantly focused on the development of our student-athletes. UConn made history again as women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this past September. Along with men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun, a 2005 inductee, we are the only university to boast two active Hall of Fame basketball coaches. A number of other UConn coaches, including Bill Morgan of women’s track and field, softball’s Karen Mullins, Greg Roy of men’s track and field, rowing’s Jennifer Sanford-Wendry and field hockey’s Nancy Stevens, received outstanding honors and celebrated milestones this year. Our great University continues to enhance its strong national reputation. Special thanks to President Austin, whose vision has lifted our University to unprecedented heights during his tenure. The Division also extends sincere appreciation to UConn’s students, faculty, staff and administrative team for enabling our institution to achieve campuswide excellence. In addition, we offer a warm welcome to the University’s 14th President, Dr. Michael J. Hogan, as he joins the UConn community. Thank you for your continuing commitment to UConn Athletics and our student-athletes. Your support helps these deserving young men and women enjoy an exceptional college experience, both academically and athletically. With your ongoing commitment to the Division of Athletics, we will continue to fulfill our mission of developing today’s student-athletes into tomorrow’s leaders. Sincerely,
Jeffrey A. Hathaway |
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