Letter From The AD: January 2021

Dear Bobcats,

I hope your New Year is off to a great start and you enjoyed the holiday season. Our student-athletes finished the fall semester in style, compiling a 3.37 cumulative GPA. This is the second highest mark in our history, behind only the 3.52 earned during the spring semester last year. Bobcat student-athletes also accomplished the following; 74% earned a 3.0 or better, 114 landed on the Dean's List and 84 earned all A's. These are incredible achievements anytime and even more impressive during a pandemic given the continual challenges and alterations to their daily schedules and team activities.

I know many of you share my excitement that Coach Choate is still the Head Coach of the Bobcat Football team. Last week brought many mixed emotions; these feelings are indicative of the success the football program has had during his tenure. I am proud of what we have accomplished and I am sure the best is yet to come. It is important to remember when any of our programs have success, opportunities will follow. Our priority is to continue to support our programs and put them in a position to achieve at the highest level.

We are excited to have started the spring semester Monday and many of our programs are currently training and/or competing. This will be a very challenging and unique semester as all our programs are scheduled to be competing in some way. This has never happened before, and we are focused on ensuring our student-athletes and staff are supported to the best of our ability. You can also support this effort by helping us continue to #PlantTheFlag, a campaign dedicated to supporting Bobcat Athletics during the pandemic. Click here to learn more about this campaign and donate to support Bobcat student-athletes and programs.

Men's and women's basketball have completed their non-conference schedules and opened Big Sky Conference play this past weekend against Northern Colorado. The women split their series and the men swept the season series against UNC for the first time in 13 years, with our own Xavier Bishop earning Big Sky Player of the Week for his role in the two wins. The Bobcat Alpine Ski team also started their season with an impressive performance in Colorado, and Bobcat Ski currently sits in 2nd place at the Colorado Invitational after Louis Muhlen-Schulte's third-place podium finish this morning. Catch all the basketball action on PlutoTV and the Bobcat Sports Radio Network, while keeping up on all MSU Athletics action at MSUBobcats.com.

While we are incredibly grateful that our basketball student-athletes are competing, the absence of Bobcat fans in the Brick is felt. What you add to the game day atmosphere cannot be replicated. In the spirit of showing visual support to our student-athletes, we are in the midst of a 'virtual sellout' campaign for our home Cat/Griz basketball games at the end of the month. For just $5, you can purchase a 'ticket' to the game, with all proceeds heading directly to scholarship expenses for this year. Our goal is to 'sell out' both games and we have sold about 3,900 tickets so far. You can click here to learn more about the perks to purchasing different numbers of tickets, and to claim yours today!

Another opportunity to support our student-athletes during this unprecedented year is MSU's annual Giving Day, the 29-hour online fundraising event set for February 11- 12 this year. This special day aims to bring awareness and support for a wide range of campus projects and causes, including the Bobcat Club Annual Scholarship Fund. We encourage everyone who can to donate and to help spread the word - every single dollar this year is more critical than ever.

Progress continues to be made on the construction of the Bobcat Athletic Complex and the live webcam can be viewed here. You can get a sneak peek inside the facility along with newly released renderings here. Watch for a new updated video and renderings in the coming weeks. These are exciting times and we can't thank our donors enough for making this happen. You can also view our entire Athletic Masterplan for details on the project.

We know we will continue to face challenges in the days, weeks and months ahead. However, I feel we are prepared to meet those challenges head on and put ourselves in the best possible position to be successful. We also know we will face some tough decisions, but we will always act in a way that places our student-athletes and their well-being at the forefront. That is how we have always operated and will continue to during these most difficult times. We are fortunate to have the best coaches, staff and campus leadership to guide us during this time.

Better days are ahead and we will get there TOGETHER.

In Bobcat Spirit,

Leon Costello
Director of Athletics

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Letter From The AD: January 2021

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