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.
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.
Good Afternoon K-State Nation!
I trust you enjoyed a safe and enjoyable Fourth of July. Our family
enjoyed a full day of activities here in Manhattan capped off by some
incredible fireworks displays around town!
Supposedly the summer used to be a time when things slow down, but here
at K-State we have a great deal of action on-going about which I want to
bring you up to speed. As I pulled into the parking lot this morning,
various excavators, back-hoes and dump-trucks were already prowling the
site of the West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Speaking
of the West Stadium Center, we are humbled to announce that K-Staters
have responded to the $5 million anonymous challenge pledge announced
earlier this spring, matching and exceeding that amount, now pushing
total funds committed to the project to over $53 million towards the
total goal of $75 million!
