Good morning Tribe Fans! With this, the inaugural Tribe Insider, I hope to create a forum for direct communication with you, the W&M Athletics community. I'll use these messages to discuss what's going in our department, share updates and answer some of your questions.
 
As I enter my third year at William & Mary, the excitement of new beginnings is as strong as ever.  Over the last week, we welcomed our students, new and returning, back to campus, celebrated all of our newly enrolled students in Kaplan Arena with "Cheers to your First Year," and even hosted our first competitions of the year for our fall sports.
 
W&M Athletics belongs to this community, and we'll always strive to make you proud. Our student-athletes, coaches and staff have taken to heart the sense of belonging here at William & Mary. They were out in full force last week welcoming new students and helping them move in to their new dorms all over campus.
 
Even before classes got underway this week, we already celebrated the first Tribe victory of the year. Congrats to Coach Shackford and the women's soccer team as they picked up a 2-0 win over George Washington last week to get 2019-20 started in style!  
 
Our defending CAA champion field hockey program enters the season ranked #25 in the nation and as the preseason favorite to repeat as conference champions. Senior Christie van de Kamp was selected as the CAA's preseason Player of the Year, the first ever in the sport for W&M.  Coach Ellis and the Tribe open their home schedule on Sunday at 1 p.m. against #3 Duke at Busch Field.
 
In only three days, we kick off a new era of William & Mary Football. Coach London and the Tribe take on Lafayette under the lights at Zable Stadium at 6pm on Saturday.  Make sure you are a part of the action! Get your to get your tickets now for Saturday's game and the entire 2019 season.
 
TribeAthletics.com is your home for updates on all our fall sports teams. Check out your favorite teams' season previews and schedules, then come out and support the Tribe!
 
After listening to Tribe fans, we're implementing some exciting new ways to engage with W&M Athletics this year. Here are just some of the ways we hope to enhance the fan experience.
 
View W&M and the CAA on FloSports
The CAA and William & Mary Athletics are partnering with FloSports to provide live and on-demand coverage of all sports throughout the year. FloSports will boost our efforts to maximize exposure for the university and CAA, helping us both tell our stories better and to a wider audience.
 
I understand the move to FloSports and a pay model is a change for our fanbase. We thoroughly considered the decision before taking action. W&M fans nationwide now have a consistent platform to watch their favorite Tribe teams throughout the year, and Cox will continue to broadcast home football games in Virginia. To learn more about the partnership with FloSports and what events will be covered, click here.
 
To celebrate the new partnership, I am excited to share that we are giving away FREE one-year FloSports subscriptions to select Tribe fans this week. Register online for a chance to win today and the winners will be announced and receive an email on Friday.
 
Tribe Tavern Returns with Improvements.
Tribe Tavern is back for a second year inside Zable Stadium with several improvements.  This space offers a great place to relax and watch the game from field level while enjoying food and beverage offerings from Virginia Beer Company and other local establishments.
 
Precarious to Host Coach's Show Featuring Mike London.
We're excited to partner with Chesapeake Bank and Precarious Beer Hall to host Tribe Talk, our weekly coach's show featuring Mike London on Thursday nights. If you haven't been to Precarious, it's a family-friendly area located in Merchant's Square that features an arcade for the kids (adults too) and the Electric Circus Taco Bar. We hope you'll bring the whole family out on Thursday night to meet Coach London and get excited for Saturday's game. If you can't make it out on Thursday, be sure to listen on WTYD 92.3FM in the Williamsburg area.
 
Thanks for reading, and let me know what topics you want covered in the next edition of Tribe Insider.  Feel free to send me your thoughts, suggestions, or questions at athleticdir@wm.edu.
 
Go Tribe!
 
Samantha Huge