Dear Friends of Tribe Athletics, 

On Aug. 28, W&M Athletics hosted a celebration signaling a considerable step forward in providing our student-athletes with the support they need to be successful in their pursuit of championships!

More than a hundred passionate Tribe supporters, student-athletes, and friends joined President Katherine A. Rowe and me at the dedication of the Rick Platt '72 Cross Country and Track & Field Training Center. They saw firsthand how much our investment in our student-athletes means to them.

In addition to Rick's unbelievably generous leadership gift, we had important support from Shelby Hawthorne '67, M.A.Ed. '75, and Randall "Randy" S. Hawthorne '67, J.D. '70, M.L.T. '71 to modernize our XC/T&F locker rooms on the east side of Zable Stadium. Pictured below, from l-r are Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Alex Heacock '09, Randy, Shelby, me, Rick and Associate Vice President and Chief Development Officer Mark Begly.
 
If you could have seen the faces of our student-athletes as they walked through their beautiful new space, you would have been bursting with pride. The locker room is first class all the way and almost made me want to lace up my sneakers for a spin around the track!  Seriously, we can't thank Rick, Shelby, and Randy enough for their unstinting support and love for their alma mater.  Click HERE to see more images from the dedication event and renovated spaces!
 
Notable

• Linebacker Luke Banbury is the CAA Defensive Player of the Week. En route to helping lead W&M to the 28-27 conference-opening win vs. the Maine Black Bears, Luke recorded a career-high 16 tackles and three pass breakups. Read more about the thrilling victory and the big plays that helped the Tribe win in late-game heroics.
• Women's Soccer battled to a 3-3 draw against No. 20 Virginia Tech on Sunday in Blacksburg. The Tribe rallied with three second-half goals to earn the draw.  A week earlier, the team defeated American 3-1 at Martin Family Stadium on senior day for the Tribe, when a senior class of eight was honored before the game (pictured below).

 

• Junior forward Josie Mae Gruendel scored a pair of goals in the final two minutes of play to lead the Tribe Field Hockey team to a thrilling 2-1 home victory over defending Patriot League Champion and previously undefeated Lafayette College.  The program is back in action this afternoon as it hosts ACC power Duke.  The game will be broadcast on FloCollege and can be accessed here.

 

• Volleyball secured a sweep on the first day of the UMBC Tournament, taking down Old Dominion in four sets before beating UMBC 3-1. The Tribe lost a tight match 3-1 to Maryland to finish the tournament.  The team's home opener is tonight at 7 p.m. vs. ECU as part of the four-team Tribe Invitational.  The program will continue tournament play with a pair of games on Saturday, at 11 am vs. Norfolk State and 5:30 pm vs. Liberty.  Both of these games will be available on FloCollege.
• Caleb Wilcox and Perry Irons (pictured below) were CAA Runners of the Week.  They led the way for the Green and Gold as both Tribe teams finished second at the season-opening Spider Alumni Open. Perry finished fourth among 167 runners in her first collegiate cross country race, and Caleb placed 15th in a field of 138 runners.

 

• Men's golf put together a solid third-place showing in its season-opening event, the Bryan National Collegiate in Greensboro, N.C. W&M was led by stellar individual showings by Preston Burton and Talon Dingledine, finishing fourth and T8, respectively.
• Women's golf finished third in the five team field at the Tribe Invitational. The team was led by top 10 finishes from Samantha Skinner and Lilly Reed Black.
• Daniel Dixon '17 was named the head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue, the NBA G-League affiliate for the NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Daniel was a member of Tribe teams that had 77 victories during his four years at W&M.

Catch the Tribe on MASN
Our fans can watch Tribe Football on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network this fall. Thanks to presenting sponsor Visit Williamsburg,  five W&M home games will be broadcast on MASN, which spans Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. To find MASN in your area, visit MASNSports.com.

Subscribers got a treat with the chance to see our fantastic 28-27 victory over Maine last Saturday!  Next up is our game vs North Carolina A&T (Oct. 4 at 3:30 p.m.).  Elon (Oct. 18 at 3:30 p.m.) and UAlbany (Nov. 1 at 3:30 p.m.) will also be on MASN, and the final broadcast will feature the Capital Cup Game against Richmond (Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.).
 
Are You Hungry for Some Football?  
If you are, make your way to Paul's Deli (761 Scotland Street) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays during home game weeks for the return of Tribe Talk.  The live radio show will feature W&M Football Head Coach Mike London and longtime Tribe play-by-play announcer Jay Colley. Each week, they will be joined by another Tribe head coach and a community partner. Fans can also listen live at TideRadio.com.

Did You Notice?
Not all the stars were on the gridiron during our football game vs. Maine.  Before the contest started, one of our greatest W&M fans handled the coin toss.  James R. "Jim" Golden G '24, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret.), who has spent decades in service both to his country and to his alma mater, is now 1-0 since his adroit flip was the first step in our terrific 28-27 win over the Brown Bears.  At W&M, Jim has worked in strategic planning, business development and communications.  He has partnered with me on many Athletics projects and his insight and advice are invaluable. Thank you, Jim!
 
We're Not Leaving Home Without It
Getting our student-athletes, coaches and staff to their away games in a stress-free, comfortable, cost-effective manner is tremendously important. We've just signed up with Anthony Travel to make sure we can provide the best possible service when the Tribe is on the road.   Northeastern and UNC Wilmington are two of our CAA conference mates who use Anthony Travel, along with 90 other athletics departments.

Calendar Highlights
If you're thinking of heading to a Tribe football game, check out our promotions schedule for celebrations at our upcoming games, including Hall of Fame Weekend, Family Weekend, Military Appreciation, Homecoming and the Capital Cup.  

Can't wait for basketball?  Both of our teams released their non-conference schedules (men/women | tickets).  And remember, all of the games for our 23 sports are listed here. Hope to see you at one soon!

Go Tribe!




Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics