Dear Friends of William & Mary Athletics
 
We welcomed a visitor this fall, and unlike the folks who say visitors are too ripe after three days, I'm hoping this one stays for a long time.  Make yourself at home, momentum!
 
Last week we saw the awesome spectrum of Tribe Athletics on full display.  We had the chance to honor our great student-athletes from past years as well as see our current student-athletes score thrilling victories and grab multiple honors, both regionally and nationally.
 
We held our first Hall of Fame ceremony in several years when we inducted Class of 2020 members Derek Cox '08 (football), Scott Estes '93 (tennis), Peel Hawthorne '80 (field hockey, lacrosse, head field hockey coach), and Mindy Wolff '75 (swimming).  From the induction ceremony on Friday, through their time in the President's Suite on Saturday at our football game, the group was showered with appreciation and love by our Tribe community, making it a weekend to remember.  Congratulations one last time to the Class of 2020! 
 
 
As mentioned, our Tribe picked up some serious momentum last week.
 
Volleyball kept its five-game winning streak alive and field hockey racked up a pair of wins on its way to earning a slew of honors, starting with a #16 national ranking (its highest since 2004) and senior Lauren Curran was named as the CAA's Player of the week. Oh, and this is one week after junior goalkeeper Maddie George was named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) National Defensive Player of the Week. 

Football is now 2-0 and nationally ranked (as high as No. 15), after winning in decisive fashion for the second straight week.  The game was our faculty and staff appreciation game, but while we had good turnout from that group, we have to give a huge shout out to our William & Mary student body who snapped up all of the 2,700 available student tickets and really made their presence felt! And another shout out to redshirt freshman Jalen Jones, who made his first career start one to remember by recording three interceptions, including a pick six. The performance earned him a wealth of honors, including being named as the FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week and the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week.
 
 
If that's not enough, our tennis and cross country programs, plus soccer, golf, volleyball, football and field hockey are all in action this week.  It's a lot, but our handy composite calendar will help you keep it all straight and makes it easy for you to plan your next visit to campus to cheer us on!  And if you can't make it to campus, it's easy to keep with the latest athletics news by tuning into Tribe Talk, which is a weekly live event hosted by long-time voice of the Tribe, Jay Colley, and featuring Head Football Coach, Mike London and selected guests from the William & Mary Athletics universe. You can watch Tribe Talk live, every Tuesday, starting at 6 pm, via Facebook Live through the main Tribe Athletics account.  As ever, we appreciate the presenting sponsor, Truist, for its continued support of our student-athletes.
 
I'm also pleased to announce the newest addition to our Athletics' leadership team, Karai Lockley.  She will join us later this month as the senior associate athletics director for finance and administration.  Karai, a 2000 Hampton University graduate, was most recently at Florida A&M, where she performed similar duties and was senior woman administrator.  I can't wait for her to arrive on campus; with her energy and experience, plus her vast knowledge of the complex finances in intercollegiate athletics, she will have an immediate and positive impact on Tribe Athletics.
 
As AD I wear many hats, and in the last couple of weeks I added two more.  I'm sure everyone's job description has the phrase "other duties as assigned."  Well, mine came to fruition during our first football road game at Charlotte, when I entered the broadcast booth to do some radio color commentary. You'll  have a chance to check out my broadcasting chops on Saturday when we play at Lafayette.  As for my other hat, check out No. 13 on the list behind me.  W&M is co-licensing a beer with the Virginia Beer Company, and at the announcement event VBC surprised me by temporarily naming it "the Mannuscript."  There will be more to share soon on this tasty project.
 
 
It's a pleasure to write about all the wonderful things happening in W&M Athletics, and you are the reason that we have so much to brag about.  Last year we had an excellent fundraising year and that allows us to provide great opportunities and experiences for our student-athletes.  Annual fundraising has begun again and our overall goal is $5.5 million, which is a bit of increase over last year, but our individual team goals are the same.  Please take a look at the amount for your favorite team and if possible, help them get a little closer to their final tally.  Additionally, our Advancement staff has added a convenient listing of the events that are currently scheduled, which will give you the opportunity to interact with staff and fellow alumni.  Our student-athletes, coaches, staff and I appreciate everything you continue to do for the Tribe.  Thank you!
 
Our Tribe is everywhere and I can't resist sharing the photo below of two of our outstanding alums, Larry Pulley, who just retired as business school dean, and his freshman roommate Phil Mott, at the Archeological Museum in Rhodes, Greece.  It's not often we get a chance to show off the Griffin! 
 
Go Tribe!
 
Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics