Letter From Montana State Director of Athletics Leon Costello
2/24/2017 10:50:00 AM | General
Hello again, BobcatNation. As I write to you, Bobcat basketball teams are preparing for rivalry Saturday, track and field and ski teams are preparing to compete in their conference championships, and tennis teams continue regular season competitions. Next week, the women’s golf team begins their regular season and the football and volleyball teams prepare for their spring seasons.
Hello again, Bobcat Nation. As I write to you, Bobcat basketball teams are preparing for rivalry Saturday, track and field and ski teams are preparing to compete in their conference championships, and tennis teams continue regular season competitions. Next week, the women's golf team begins their regular season and the football and volleyball teams prepare for their spring seasons.
Please join me in wishing them luck.
I would like to spend this time updating you on current activities within the athletic department. As you will see, there are a lot of things happening throughout Bobcat Athletics.
CAT-GRIZ ON SATURDAY
Saturday marks the second Brawl of the Wild (basketball edition) of the season. As we all know, records can be thrown out the window when rivals meet. This rivalry is no different. However, as fans, you can have an impact. I encourage you to buy tickets for both games, wear white, and cheer on the Bobcats with passion. Create a home court advantage our student-athletes will be proud of an thrive within. I look forward to that Saturday. Click here to purchase tickets.
HALL OF FAME
I was honored to welcome members of our 2016 Bobcat Athletics Hall of Fame back to Bozeman, in some instances for the first time in many years. Hall of Fame ceremonies are special events because they give an athletic department the opportunity to welcome back some of the finest former student-athletes the school has produced. On Saturday night I was struck by all the smiles and stories from family, friends, fans and the inductees themselves. I was moved by the common theme of the gracious and funny speeches as the inductees reminisced about teammates and coaches rather than themselves. I listened as they tied together their athletic and academic success as Bobcats and how those experiences shaped who they are today. Their pride in Montana State should make all Bobcats proud! Here is a look at this year's induction class.
NEW BOBCATS
The past couple of months we have welcomed three new Bobcats to our athletic family. We are pleased that Bobcat great DeNarius McGhee has returned to Bozeman to coach the Bobcat Quarterbacks and also welcome Defensive Backs coach Mark Orphey to the football staff from the University of South Carolina. We also welcome MSU Athletics' first Registered Dietitian Brittney Patera. Brittney will assist our teams and individual student-athletes with nutritional assessments and education.
CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING UP
The nearing of spring brings with it championship events for our winter sports teams. The Bobcat track and field squads travel to Pocatello this weekend for the Big Sky Indoor Championships, providing for so many of our student-athletes the opportunity to realize their dreams. Follow the Big Sky indoor meet here. We're also traveling the Road to Reno, which culminates in the Big Sky Men's and Women's Basketball Championships on March 7-12 at the Reno Event Center. Good tickets remain, and you can get more tournament information here.
PLANNING
During the week of February 5th we welcomed CarrSports to campus as our strategic planning consultants. This is the first of three visits with the finalized plan scheduled to be completed May 1. We are also excited to announce that A&E Architecture, with national partner Crawford Architects, have been selected for the Facility Master Plan project for athletics. That process commences Friday with a kickoff meeting scheduled on campus. The plan will identify our athletic facility needs, new or renovated, with the ability to start projects with approved funding and designs. I will update everyone as both of these processes progress.
FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS
Spring football begins with the first practice on March 22! The excitement is already building for the 2017 season; you can read more about our incoming recruits here. Now is the time to renew your current season tickets or place your $100 deposit on new season tickets: msubobcats.com/tickets.
SUPPORT BOBCAT STUDENT-ATHLETES
Our mission in Bobcat Athletics is to recruit and develop student-athletes to have championship athletic and academic experiences that prepare them for life after graduation. Some of our student-athletes receive financial assistance in the form of a scholarship. Others choose to attend without. Whether they came here on a full or partial scholarship or without assistance of any kind, they all benefit from the support and generosity of our donors during their time here.
The Bobcat Club Annual Scholarship Fund (BCASF) provides direct funding for these scholarships. The total cost for a scholarship provided to a Bobcat student-athletes today equals $5,135,619 annually. After tuition waivers and funds raised from generous Bobcat Club Annual Scholarship Fund donors, there is still a shortfall. We need your help to close the $800,000 gap between the financial scholarship needs of our students and our annual fundraising. You can help! Our goal is to win in the classroom and on the field and court. We need your help to provide a championship experience for all MSU student-athletes.
Go Cats!
Please join me in wishing them luck.
I would like to spend this time updating you on current activities within the athletic department. As you will see, there are a lot of things happening throughout Bobcat Athletics.
CAT-GRIZ ON SATURDAY
Saturday marks the second Brawl of the Wild (basketball edition) of the season. As we all know, records can be thrown out the window when rivals meet. This rivalry is no different. However, as fans, you can have an impact. I encourage you to buy tickets for both games, wear white, and cheer on the Bobcats with passion. Create a home court advantage our student-athletes will be proud of an thrive within. I look forward to that Saturday. Click here to purchase tickets.
HALL OF FAME
I was honored to welcome members of our 2016 Bobcat Athletics Hall of Fame back to Bozeman, in some instances for the first time in many years. Hall of Fame ceremonies are special events because they give an athletic department the opportunity to welcome back some of the finest former student-athletes the school has produced. On Saturday night I was struck by all the smiles and stories from family, friends, fans and the inductees themselves. I was moved by the common theme of the gracious and funny speeches as the inductees reminisced about teammates and coaches rather than themselves. I listened as they tied together their athletic and academic success as Bobcats and how those experiences shaped who they are today. Their pride in Montana State should make all Bobcats proud! Here is a look at this year's induction class.
NEW BOBCATS
The past couple of months we have welcomed three new Bobcats to our athletic family. We are pleased that Bobcat great DeNarius McGhee has returned to Bozeman to coach the Bobcat Quarterbacks and also welcome Defensive Backs coach Mark Orphey to the football staff from the University of South Carolina. We also welcome MSU Athletics' first Registered Dietitian Brittney Patera. Brittney will assist our teams and individual student-athletes with nutritional assessments and education.
CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING UP
The nearing of spring brings with it championship events for our winter sports teams. The Bobcat track and field squads travel to Pocatello this weekend for the Big Sky Indoor Championships, providing for so many of our student-athletes the opportunity to realize their dreams. Follow the Big Sky indoor meet here. We're also traveling the Road to Reno, which culminates in the Big Sky Men's and Women's Basketball Championships on March 7-12 at the Reno Event Center. Good tickets remain, and you can get more tournament information here.
PLANNING
During the week of February 5th we welcomed CarrSports to campus as our strategic planning consultants. This is the first of three visits with the finalized plan scheduled to be completed May 1. We are also excited to announce that A&E Architecture, with national partner Crawford Architects, have been selected for the Facility Master Plan project for athletics. That process commences Friday with a kickoff meeting scheduled on campus. The plan will identify our athletic facility needs, new or renovated, with the ability to start projects with approved funding and designs. I will update everyone as both of these processes progress.
FOOTBALL SEASON TICKETS
Spring football begins with the first practice on March 22! The excitement is already building for the 2017 season; you can read more about our incoming recruits here. Now is the time to renew your current season tickets or place your $100 deposit on new season tickets: msubobcats.com/tickets.
SUPPORT BOBCAT STUDENT-ATHLETES
Our mission in Bobcat Athletics is to recruit and develop student-athletes to have championship athletic and academic experiences that prepare them for life after graduation. Some of our student-athletes receive financial assistance in the form of a scholarship. Others choose to attend without. Whether they came here on a full or partial scholarship or without assistance of any kind, they all benefit from the support and generosity of our donors during their time here.
The Bobcat Club Annual Scholarship Fund (BCASF) provides direct funding for these scholarships. The total cost for a scholarship provided to a Bobcat student-athletes today equals $5,135,619 annually. After tuition waivers and funds raised from generous Bobcat Club Annual Scholarship Fund donors, there is still a shortfall. We need your help to close the $800,000 gap between the financial scholarship needs of our students and our annual fundraising. You can help! Our goal is to win in the classroom and on the field and court. We need your help to provide a championship experience for all MSU student-athletes.
Go Cats!
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