Good Afternoon K-State Nation!
 
Another fall semester is underway - it's great to see the students back on campus and the buzz they create around town.  We've had a busy two weeks which kicked off with more than 5,000 students in attendance last Sunday at the annual Week of Welcome pep rally at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.  Our student body certainly is energized and eager for the 2012-13 year, and we know that student section will be rocking Saturday night as we are nearing 8,000 student passes sold for this football season, a number that has steadily increased since 2009.
 
Also, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby made a trip to Manhattan last Friday to visit campus and meet with many university and athletic staff members and personnel, and our 21st-ranked volleyball team opened its season with a three-game sweep at the Varney's Invitational in front of terrific crowds at Ahearn Field House.  As we head into another busy weekend with our football, volleyball and cross country teams all in action, here are some additional details from the latest happenings in the department.

Top news stories from local and national media:

• Evans ready to wreak havoc with K-State defense (Wichita Eagle)
• Johnson works into quarterback picture (Topeka Capital-Journal)

Good Morning K-State Nation!
 
Welcome (back) to K-State and the land of Big Cranes! Although it has been a little while since I last wrote it is not for a lack of activity and action around the K-State Nation.  And, with our home football opener just 19 days away, let's get caught up on current happenings here in Manhattan and around the world.

Olympic Silver for Rising Senior Erik Kynard
Rising senior and back-to-back NCAA outdoor champion Erik Kynard put an exclamation point on the world in "World -Class Student-Athlete Experience" last Wednesday in London as he captured the silver medal in the high jump at the XXX Olympic Games.  I joined a boisterous group of K-State staffers in the Legends Room in Bramlage that afternoon to watch the jump competition live via the web as SID David Wiechmann tracked the scores and competition on an "old fashioned" white board.  It was just awesome to see Erik and then the frequent camera shots of him conferring with our head coach, Cliff Rovelto, who sat trackside with his wife and track operations director Karol along with former K-State heptathlete Austra Skujyte, who finished fifth competing for her home country of Lithuania.  K-State track is helping to lead our quest for a model intercollegiate athletics program, and we are proud of all the K-Staters who represented their countries in London.  And, Coach Rovelto not only represented K-State as Erik's coach but also served as the coach for the other two U.S. high jumpers who advanced to the medal round! Congrats to Erik and Coach Rovelto, along with the five other current or former Wildcats - Skujyte, Darius Draudvila (Lithuania), Korene Hinds (Jamaica), Jeffrey Julmis (Haiti) and Beverly Ramos (Puerto Rico) -- who participated for their respective countries in London.