Greetings from Bozeman, Montana
 
The weather is in the mid-20s and there may be snow later, but there is no place I would rather be as Tribe football plays Montana State in the FCS quarterfinals tonight at 10:15 ET.  
 
I've visited Montana a couple of times, and my fly fishing is the better for it, so I'm pretty familiar with lots of the state's famous landmarks.  Check out the photo below to see some of the W&M fans who made the trek to cheer on our team.  
 
For those of you planning to watch our game on ESPN2, there are watch parties in Williamsburg and around the country.  W&M students will gather in the Sadler Center to root on the Tribe and fans in Williamsburg will convene at the Corner Pocket.  
 
Overall, it was a great week for W&M Athletics!  Thank you to the thousands of fans who came out last Saturday to see us dominate Gardner-Webb 54-14 in the second round of the NCAA playoffs!  It was a spectacular crowd with everyone glued to their seats.  NFL star Cam Newton, whose brother Caylin Newton is a wide receiver for the Tribe, was in the middle of the student section and started the wave!  Just another great moment in an all-around tremendous day.
 
 Awards & Honors Are Piling Up!

•  Two Tribe football legends have been named Hall of Famers.  Jimmye Laycock, former W&M football player and coach for 39 seasons, was elected to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Joe Montgomery, All-America center in 1973, was named the recipient of the Hall of Fame's Distinguished Virginian Award. 
 
•  Former U.S. National Women's Soccer Team Coach and W&M alum Jill Ellis will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2023. 
 
•  Tribe linebacker John Pius will be traveling to Frisco, Texas on January 7 as one of three finalists for the 2022 Stats Perform Buck Buchanan Award, which is given to the top defensive player in FCS football.  He is also a finalist for the Dudley Award, given to the best college football player in Virginia.  
 
•  Coach Mike London, head football coach, was one of 16 FCS coaches named as finalists for the 2022 Eddie Robinson Award, which is given to honor the national coach of the year in college football's Division I subdivision. He was also named as the Bobby Ross Awardee given to the most outstanding Division I Football Coach in the state of Virginia by the Richmond Touchdown Club 
 
•  Women's Indoor Track had several first place finishes at the Navy Invitational, and Keeley Suzenski is the CAA Field Athlete of the Week.  Men's Indoor Track hurdler Daniel Layton twice broke the W&M school record in the 60m hurdles!
 
•  We had four football players named to All-America honors yesterday, including senior offensive tackle Colby Sorsdal earning first-team honors.  Cornerback Jalen Jones was recognized on the freshman team, while Pius and offensive tackle Charles Grant were named to the sophomore All-America teams. 
 
•  Jacob Jones, Men's Cross Country, was named to the CAA All-Conference team and Arianna DeBoer, Women's Cross Country, was also named to the All-Conference team.  Plus, teammate Sofia Istnick was named CAA Rookie of the Year. 

•  After a phenomenal November, the Tribe's Sophia Heilen was named the CAA Rookie Swimmer of the Month for the second straight month.

Nail Biters
Our women's and men's basketball teams both notched thrilling victories last week.  The cardiac kids on the men's team beat Richmond 58-57 with a late tip-in and our women's team prevailed in overtime against Coppin State 84-81! Campus Champs on Giving Tuesday
A huge thank you to everyone who made gifts to Tribe Athletics on Giving Tuesday.  Our department raised more than $170,000 thanks to the generosity of 663 donors!  Both these figures were among the very best of any area on campus and further proof that the Tribe's competitive spirit goes well beyond our 23 teams!
 
Game Time!
It's time to head out to a gathering of W&M fans at the Pour House in Bozeman.  Our game faces are on and Tribe Pride is undeniable. It will be a special moment when we watch our team run onto the field tonight and I know our fans across the globe will be with us in spirit!
 
For those of you still in Williamsburg, head on over to Kaplan Arena to watch our men's and women's gymnastics programs host the annual Green & Gold Meet.  I promise you will be blown away by what you see!

Go Tribe!

Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics