May 2017 AD Newsletter with Pat Lyons
5/11/2017 4:28:00 PM | AD Newsletter with Bryan Felt
Celebrating Our Graduating Seniors
Tuesday night was a proud and bittersweet moment as we toasted and honored our graduating seniors, who are a mere four days away from commencement. Though we must say goodbye for now, I am proud because we have 50 incredible young men and women who have worked hard from day one to achieve success both in the classroom and on the field. I am proud because they have built relationships with their coaches, teammates and support staff; they have built a second family here at Seton Hall.
Our graduates have made the most of their opportunities here at Seton Hall and now it's time for them to tackle the next opportunity in whatever it is they choose to do whether that's graduate school, professional sports, coaching or entering the workforce.
Congratulations to our Senior Athletes of the Year, Tessa Fournier of volleyball and Lloyd Jefferson Go of men's golf. They have achieved so much in their respective sports and have made an indelible impact on the department and their teammates. Both have been BIG EAST Players of the Year, both have cemented their place in the department record books and both can say that they participated in the NCAA Tournament.
Congratulations to Pirate Sports Network correspondent John Fanta, our Senior Most Valuable Pirate. I have never met a student as personable, passionate and engaging as John when it comes to his craft and to Seton Hall Athletics. He has meant so much to the student-athletes here, as evidenced by the standing ovation he received when accepting the award.
Congratulations to the 32 seniors who are our Academic Merit Award recipients for finishing their college career with a 3.2 cumulative GPA or higher. They have embodied the spirit of what it means to be a student-athlete, not only meeting the demands of their professors and coaches, but also exceeding them.
To read a full recap and view the photo gallery of the Senior Banquet, click here.
Public Recognition Award & APR Numbers
The NCAA released its Academic Progress Rate (APR) numbers on Wednesday, and once again, Seton Hall Athletics is a leader among its peers. All 14 of our varsity programs scored higher than the national average, some by a large margin, and five of our programs delivered a perfect score of 1,000, including baseball, men's basketball, men's cross country, women's cross country and women's golf. Our APR combined average score is 994.7, the best our department has ever scored.
All the credit for this success goes to our student-athletes, coaches and academic support staff for always going the distance to making classwork the top priority.
Read more about the numbers by clicking here.
LJ Go is heading to the NCAA Tournament
Lloyd Jefferson Go, a senior on our men's golf team, has been one of the most accomplished and decorated golfers in our school's history, and I'm proud that he has advanced to his second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. LJ, as he's known by, is a terrific young man who has competed hard from day one, and it's been a lot of fun watching him grow into one of college golf's top performers.
LJ will be competing next week May 15-17 in the West Lafayette, Ind., Regional. Lloyd will need to finish first among the 10 golfers competing as individuals in order to advance to the national championship. Join me in wishing LJ all the best of luck next week and in the future as he pursues his professional golf dreams.
Also, if you have not seen it, take a minute to read this story on LJ written by the Associated Press.
Hall of Fame Enshrinement Dinner is Days Away!
We are exactly three weeks away from inducting our Hall of Fame Class of 2017 at the annual enshrinement dinner, which will take place Thursday, June 1 at Maplewood Country Club.
We are very excited to introduce and induct our new Hall of Fame members: Doug Cinnella '86 of the baseball team; Debbie Hartnett '89 of the women's basketball team; John Kelly '63/MBA '68, a former chairman of the Seton Hall Board of Regents; Bryan Spoonire '95 of the men's track & field team; and the entire 1952-53 men's basketball team.
There is still time to reserve your spot to attend what is bound to be a fantastic evening. Register online using this link. Hope to see you at Maplewood Country Club!
Home Stretch for the Baseball Team
Only one of our teams is still competing during the 2016-17 season and it is our baseball squad, which is fighting for a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament. The team's final conference weekend starts tomorrow at Villanova. Our team's "magic number" to clinch a spot in the tournament this weekend is four, which means two wins over Villanova plus two Butler losses (or three wins over Villanova plus one Butler loss) will send us to Omaha to compete for a conference championship. Be sure to wish our Pirates team the best of luck and follow all the action on the web at SHUPirates.com or on Twitter @SHUBaseball.
Congratulations to Our Chi Alpha Sigma Inductees
Late last month, I was proud to attend the ceremony to induct our newest members of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society. In order to receive induction, student-athletes must have achieved junior academic standing and boast at least a 3.4 GPA. We had 38 student-athletes meet these criteria, adding to our total of over 175 since 2011.
I may sound like a broken record, but I can never shy away from praising and thanking our student-athletes for what they do in the classroom. It is the reason they are here, and the fact that they are able to achieve success hitting the books while also practicing and competing in athletics is a testament to their dedication to developing into leaders.
Click here to read more about our Chi Alpha Sigma inductees.
Thank You for Your Support on Donor Matching Day
At the end of April, we held our sixth annual Donor Matching Day, a day to unite Pirates alumni, fans and supporters together to help raise funds for Seton Hall student-athletes and continue to enhance their experience.
Once again, I cannot thank our Pirate Blue members enough as they helped us raise just under $200,000, which included the $50,000 anonymous gift that we receive when we secure a gift from a donor in each of the 50 U.S. States as well as Coach Willard's 30 percent match.
If you did not make a gift on Donor Matching Day, remember you can make a gift to help Seton Hall student-athletes any day of the year!
For the full Donor Matching Day recap, click here.
GO PIRATES!
