Letter From The AD: Summer 2021 Edition

Dear Bobcats,

As the 4th of July holiday has come and gone, it is with great anticipation we turn our focus to the start of the 2021-22 academic and athletic year. In April we announced Bobcat athletic events will be conducted at full capacity. As a university community, we have worked very hard to get to this point and the access and availability of the COVID-19 vaccine has allowed us to plan to see each other in person to cheer on our favorite Bobcat teams.

You can purchase all of your Bobcat Athletics tickets here. As we stand today, we are on pace to sell a record number of football season tickets. If you haven't done so already, get your season tickets now before it is too late. While you are at it, you can also purchase your volleyball season tickets. Also, mark your calendars as single game tickets for home and road games go on sale Monday, August 2.

Before we move on to the new year, it is important to look at the many accomplishments that occurred during a year unlike any other. This is not a complete list as there are far too many to list. We are proud of all the personal bests, school records, all-conference selections.

Bobcat student-athletes earned a 3.33 cumulative GPA, 75% earned a 3.0 GPA or above, 93 made the Dean's List (3.5+ GPA) and 37 made the Presidents List (4.0 GPA). MSU won the Brawl of the Wild Series for the 5th straight year.

FOOTBALL

•	Montana State hired its 33rd head football coach, Brent Vigen.
•	Vigen fills first staff with six members of the previous staff staying on.

VOLLEYBALL

•	The Bobcat volleyball team finished its Spring 2021 campaign with a 10-4 mark in Big Sky Conference play—its best league finish since the 2004 season.
•	Four players garnered all-Big Sky Conference accolades, including first-team selections Kira Thomsen and Emma Pence.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

•	Montana State played in its first Big Sky Championship game since 2009, and made just its fourth appearance in the title game in the previous 25 years, when the Bobcats faced Eastern Washington in Idaho Central Arena on March 13.
•	Montana State trio named to All-Big Sky Teams, most selections for program since 2006.
•	Bobcats went on seven-game winning streak during the conference schedule in January. It was the longest stretch of wins for the program in 19 years while its 6-0 league start was its best since 1986-87.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

•	A young Bobcat squad finished third in Big Sky play and advanced to the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
•	Senior Tori Martell won the national Rocket Mortgage Women's 3-Point title at the men's Final Four putting on a memorable show in front of a national audience on ESPN2.
•	Sophomore Darian White garnered First-Team All-Big Sky honors and was tabbed the Big Sky Conference Defensive player of the Year.

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY

•	Duncan Hamilton earned All-America honors and Drake Schneider completed a 400 hurdles three-peat.
•	Montana State's men finished second at this year's Big Sky Outdoor Championships.
•	Duncan Hamilton's All-Big Sky showing at the conference cross country meet helped the MSU men finish fourth, and he qualified for the NCAA Championships.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD/CROSS COUNTRY

•	The Bobcat women finished third at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships.
•	High jumper Lucy Corbett won a Big Sky Championship and earned All-America honors.
•	Carley VonHeeder broke a program record in the women's javelin en route to winning a gold medal. She also earned the Big Sky Conference Women's Outstanding Performer Award.
•	Camila Noe finished fourth at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships to earn All-Big Sky honors for the second time.

SKIING

•	The Montana State ski team placed fifth at the 2021 NCAA Skiing Championships in New Hampshire in March.
•	Åge Solheim earned First team All-America honors after placing fourth in the men's giant slalom at the NCAA meet, while Louis Mühlen-Schulte also earned First Team All-America honors finishing fifth in slalom. Both Solheim and Mühlen-Schulte gathered Second Team All-America recognition in slalom and giant slalom, respectively.
•	The Bobcat women's ski team was paced by Kristiane Bekkestad, who placed ninth in slalom for Second team All-America honors.

WOMEN'S GOLF

•	Bozeman native Kameryn Basye Earns Third Team All-Big Sky Honors in first season as a Bobcat.
•	Six Bobcats Named WGCA All-American Scholars.

MEN'S TENNIS

•	Bobcat freshman Brad Buckland earned 2nd Team All-Big Sky honors, while Ddan Van Dijk and Nejc Sitar captured second team all-league honors in doubles.
•	MSU second-year coach Trey Morris was selected for an ITA Mentorship program.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

•	Senior Laura Mary finished the 2021 season earning all-Big Sky Conference Second Team honors for her play. It was the third straight all-conference honor for the product of Eaubonne, France. She finished the season with a 6-4 overall mark and a 3-1 league ledger playing at No. 1 singles.

For those of you who have not had a chance to meet Head Football Coach Brent Vigen in person, we have some great events coming up the end of this month. Join us in Great Falls on Wednesday, July 28, for a summer social hosted by Tom and Cherie Lyons. Coach Vigen and I will head to the Flathead for a Bobcat Club Beach BBQ in Polson on Friday, July 30 followed by a four-person golf scramble in Ronan on Saturday. For more information about any of these events, please visit the links below.

Great Falls Social: www.msuaf.org/greatfalls-social
Polson BBQ: www.msuaf.org/flatheadarea-beach-bbq
Ronan Golf: www.msuaf.org/flatheadarea-golf

The Grand Opening of the Bobcat Athletic Complex will take place on Gold Rush Saturday, September 11. More details about the events that day will follow in the coming weeks. Progress continues to be made on the construction and the live webcam can be viewed HERE.

We can't wait to welcome all Bobcat fans back to campus this Fall. We have all endured so much the past 15 months and TOGETHER we prevailed. As you come back to campus, we hope you will continue to take your own precautions so we can keep our campus and facilities open and enjoy Bobcat Athletic events and everything MSU has to offer the entire year. Our student-athletes and coaches have missed our fans so much and are excited for the atmosphere you will continue to create. Thank you for all you have done to get us to this point. It is time to have some fun again!!

In Bobcat Spirit,

Leon Costello
Director of Athletics
@leonmcostello

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Letter From The AD: Summer 2021 Edition

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