Wildcat fans,
We made it!
We made it through four years of transition that is required of every program that desires to move up to the NCAA Division I level. When the last out was made at No.1 Oregon State on May 28 in baseball’s final game of the season, the toughest four-year stretch in ACU Athletics history had officially come to an end.
While the transition has been a difficult process in many ways – most notably the forced absence from conference and NCAA-sponsored post-season tournaments – we’ve certainly had our share of success from women’s basketball and cross country to men’s tennis and softball.
We’ve also experienced successes in the classroom and in other areas of our operation that aren’t as easily seen to those outside the walls of our buildings, but we’re in the process of growing a very competitive NCAA Division I athletics program. And with the help and support of alumni, lettermen and fans, that growth will continue in 2017-18 and beyond.
The NCAA Board of Directors will vote in early August on whether or not we can be moved to full NCAA Division I status, and while we’ve been given no indication that it won’t happen, we still won’t breathe a sigh of relief until we get official word from the NCAA. And soon as we know, we’ll let each one of you know as well.
Wildcat Club Caravan
This week, for the seventh straight year, we’re hitting the road to meet our fans across the state. We hope you’ll be able to join us in one of five different cities during the three-day Wildcat Club Caravan tour – you still have time to register!
Our first stop will be Monday in Houston for dinner, followed by lunch in San Antonio on Tuesday, dinner that night in Austin and then our annual stop for lunch at Joe T. Garcia’s on Wednesday in Fort Worth. We’ll then wrap up the Caravan with dinner Wednesday night at ACU Dallas.
Joining me full time on the Caravan this year will be head football coach Adam Dorrel, track and field head coach Lance Bingham and head volleyball coach Angela Mooney. As usual, we’ll be joined by several other coaches and ACU Athletics personnel at various stops along the way. See you there!
Academic GPA
We had several great performances on the field/court of competition in 2016-17, but our student-athletes’ performance in the classroom was tremendous as well. Our 350 student-athletes posted a combined GPA of 3.11 this past year, the highest combined GPA in our four-year transition to full NCAA Division I status.
One of our goals is to recruit student-athletes whose academic goals are in line with those of the university and the general student body population, and each of our programs is certainly moving in that direction.
A quick dive into the numbers tells us that eight of our 16 programs surveyed improved their combined team GPA from 2015-16 and that all seven of our women’s programs posted a combined team GPA of at least 3.37. The highest team GPA on the women’s side belonged to women’s soccer, with a phenomenal 3.76!
On the men’s side, five of our seven programs posted a team GPA of at least 3.00 with men’s tennis posting the highest men’s team GPA with a terrific mark of 3.63! I’m constantly amazed at how many of our student-athletes are able to combine excellence on the field with excellence in the classroom. Their commitment to being their best in both areas is to be commended.
ACU baseball
I’m sure there’s been speculation by many of our fans in regards to what might happen with the direction of our baseball program after we just finished a 13-43 season that saw us win just three of 30 Southland Conference games.
Let me get to the point: Britt Bonneau will be our head coach in 2018. As I told you in March 2015 when I announced that Joe Golding would remain the men’s basketball head coach, none of us involved in ACU Athletics is satisfied with losing seasons, including and especially Coach Bonneau.
However, I made the decision last month to give Britt a one-year contract extension based upon my belief that he deserves to coach the extremely promising recruiting class that he and associate head coach/recruiting coordinator Greg Evans are currently putting together. I met with Britt again this week, and we had a chance to talk in depth about the future of our baseball program. Britt has a great plan and I believe we are headed in the right direction.
Other notes
• I’m excited to also tell you that both softball head coach Bobby Reeves and men’s and women’s tennis head coach Hutton Jones have signed new contracts. After a second place finish in 2017, Reeves and the softball team are poised to have a terrific season in 2018, and Hutton just won a co-Southland Conference men’s championship and has signed a terrific incoming freshman class. We are truly blessed to have these two men leading those programs.
• For those of you interested in purchasing season tickets for ACU football in our first season in Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium, we’ll be announcing ticket pricing, etc., on Monday, June 26. Make sure to follow acusports.com for more information and all ticketing and pricing options.
• If your children are looking for some fun activities this summer, look no further than ACU Wildcat Sports Camps. We’ve got Camp Wildcat coming up later this month as well as camps for baseball, girls’ and boys’ basketball, football, softball and track field in June. Register today for a great summer of instruction by our coaches and student-athletes at acusports.com.
• Last month, Bret Miguez was hired as our new dire
ctor of strength and conditioning, and we’re thrilled to have him. Miguez comes to us from his previous position as the head strength and conditioning coach at South Dakota School of Mines ,where he was the program's first strength and conditioning coach. We’re glad to have Miguez on staff and look forward to how he’ll impact our student-athletes.• Work at Wildcat Stadium continues non-stop as we prepare for the home-opener on Sept. 16 against Houston Baptist. The turf was laid down in May and it looks absolutely terrific! We can’t wait to get our team on the field for practice next month as they get ready for the 2017 season.
We’ll be taking the month of July off for the De Leon Point, but we’ll return in August to get you ready for a historic 2017-18 season.
Go Wildcats!
Lee De León
Director of Athletics
Abilene Christian University
