Dear Friends of William & Mary Athletics,
We are only a month into the new year and already we've had some big news for our Athletics Department. Just two days ago, the
Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) announced the addition of three new conference members—Hampton, Monmouth and Stony Brook. This is tremendously positive news. We have a lot of work to do in the next few months as we determine scheduling formats, potential divisional play and championship field sizes, so stay tuned.
An Auction for the Future and the Celebration of a True Pioneer
With everything going on you may have missed the information about our
All In weekend, planned for Feb. 18-20. As you will see, there are a good deal of competitions to enjoy over the weekend, beyond the men's and women's basketball programs.
The weekend's capstone event on Sunday evening is
The Lord Botetourt Affair – An Auction for a Noble Cause. I am very excited to announce we have sold out the in-person version of the event, but there is still opportunity to engage virtually - so look for more on this shortly. I've already got my bid list. If you are looking to treat yourself to W&M themed items, or just want to do a little retail therapy, I guarantee you will quickly have your own bid list. Not only will you get some great merchandise, but all the proceeds go to support Athletics and our 500 student-athletes at a time when we have numerous urgent needs. Plus, who can resist an event where the dress code is black tie and sneakers?
As you are putting together your schedule for the weekend, there is another event that I urge you to attend on Sunday –
Millie West's Celebration of Life, which will be held at 11:30 a.m. at the Sadler Center. I wasn't lucky enough to have met Millie but I have heard
amazing stories from many of her friends and colleagues. In every conversation about Millie I hear the same three words—pioneer, trailblazer and visionary. Well before Title IX became law, Millie was dedicated to providing equitable opportunities for W&M's women's teams. She wore many hats during her tenure in Athletics, from coach to fundraiser to administrator, and she did all of them with passion and enormous love for the Tribe.
Registration for the event is not required, however it will help us to plan for the reception immediately following the program.
Honoring Our Student-Athletes, Then and Now
When thinking about the individuals who have represented the Tribe so well over the years, there is another group we need to recognize. The Southern Conference, in which the Tribe was a member from 1936 to 1977, recently celebrated its 100
th anniversary and
named its 100th anniversary teams. W&M had 42 standouts named to the teams and when you look at the list, I'm sure you will have some fond memories of these stellar student-athletes.
Our current-student athletes are also being tapped for numerous honors and, though I don't have the room to list them all here - I can suggest you take a look at the
following area on our website. If you haven't seen / read our Tribe Scribe already, I suggest you glance through the articles. My hope is these pieces remind us all over again how truly special the William & Mary experience is.
Please don't forget to
register for the All In weekend, as well as make plans to
support your favorite Tribe team. Hope to see you in the near future!
Go Tribe!
Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics
