 Athletic Director Mike Thomas  |
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Dear Bearcat Fans,
Thanks for your continued support of UC Athletics. I am excited to be a part of the Bearcat team and could not be more pumped up about the momentum that we are building.
Last May when we introduced the CATAPULT program we set high goals for our Department of Athletics because we recognized the potential for excellence in the areas of sport achievement, academic prowess, and being a force in the Cincinnati community. I am happy to report that our student-athletes and staff are answering my charge and are making us all proud with their collective actions.
During the recently completed Fall Quarter, UC's sports teams made major improvements in academics, achieving an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.938. Additionally, 11 of the 17 squads posted team GPAs higher than the general UC student body GPA of 2.965. This is an outstanding number and one which we will continue to work hard to raise in the quarters to come.
Our Bearcat women’s golf team had the highest GPA for Fall quarter, 3.426, followed by women’s basketball (3.287), volleyball (3.285), women’s cross country (3.267), men’s swimming (3.256), and women’s swimming (3.237).
The Bearcat women’s soccer team also earned a national Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, as they earned a team GPA of at least 3.2 for the 2005-06 school year.
The Bearcat men's basketball team made the greatest improvement in the classroom, as its 2.875 team GPA is a half a grade point better than that of last year's squad for Fall Quarter. Five Bearcats had GPAs of 3.0 or above with two student-athletes, Marcus Sikes and Branden Miller, making the Dean's List.
The Bearcats are stepping up their levels of performance in BIG EAST competition, as four of the six UC fall sports teams improved their finish in the final conference standings over that of fall 2006. The Bearcat teams collectively posted an improvement of three places and sported the first-ever UC/BIG EAST Championship with our Red Division title in men’s soccer.
UC Athletics has also been very active in the Cincinnati community. CPAWS, the service honorary of Bearcat student-athletes, adopted two families for the holiday season and secured gifts from community donations to make their Christmases brighter.
The Bearcat Caravan made over 50 stops featuring UC student-athletes in the Greater Cincinnati community during the summer. Planning is already underway for the 2007 schedule of Caravan stops, which could total more than 150 local events.
Spreading the Bearcats’ message is vital to our continued brand building efforts and our charge to reach out to our fans, alumni, and sports fans and share the excitement of being a Bearcat.
Our affiliation with the BIG EAST Conference is also paying dividends in terms of television exposure for our bowl-winning football team, which appeared on television 10 times this past season, a new record for UC. Our win in the International Bowl will be a tremendous springboard for the upcoming season, which will begin with the first-ever BEARCAT BOWL in Nippert Stadium on Saturday, April 21. This version of our popular spring football game will kickoff at 7 p.m. and will be a part of a huge weekend of UC Football Alumni events in the Queen City. Be sure to stay logged on to GoBEARCATS.com for more information about what will most certainly be a fan-friendly and truly interactive event.
I look forward to meeting you at our upcoming athletics events as we close out the regular season for our winter sports. UC men’s basketball returns home to Fifth Third Arena on Sunday, February 18 against Notre Dame while our women’s basketball team will meet Villanova on Tuesday, February 20. If you do not have your tickets already please call and place your order today at 1-877-CATS-TIX.
We also wish good luck to Coach Monty Hopkins and the UC Swimming and Diving teams as they travel to Long Island, NY on Valentine’s Day for the BIG EAST Championships. Be sure to follow their progress here on GoBEARCATS.com.
I am very proud of the strides that we are making in all areas of UC Athletics. Our achievement is coming as a result of working together as a team. Our student-athletes and staff are setting the bar high and then are reaching their goals, which is fun to be a part of.
As Bearcat fans we value your input. Please take the time to write to me at bearcat.ad@uc.edu is you have a thought of suggestion on how UC Athletics can improve in our goal to be a proactive part of the community.
Thanks for your support – Go Bearcats!
Sincerely,
Mike Thomas
Director of Athletics
