Dear Friends of Tribe Athletics,

Our hearts have been heavy since we learned of Jim Ukrop's '60, L.H.D. '99, P '85, G '25 passing late last week.
 
Many of you know Jim because of his extraordinary commitment to William & Mary and the Richmond community. He and his wife, Bobbie '61, L.H.D. '23, P '85, G '25, have been among the most devoted members of the Tribe family for more than six decades. Jim was a remarkable leader, a generous supporter and, quite simply, a delightful person to be around.
 
During my five-plus years as the Director of Athletics, Jim became an incredibly important source of advice and counsel. He believed deeply in William & Mary Athletics and in what we are working to build, but his support for me always extended well beyond the job. He regularly checked on my family, wanted to know how we were doing and never missed an opportunity to offer encouragement or perspective. That was Jim. He cared about the work, but he cared even more about the people doing it.
 
We will find an appropriate opportunity at one of our games in the coming weeks to celebrate Jim and all he meant to William & Mary Athletics, and we will share more when the time is right. For now, our thoughts are with Bobbie, their family and the many people whose lives were made better simply by knowing Jim.
 
Saturday on TribeAthletics.com, we shared a wonderful remembrance of Jim and the remarkable life he lived. I hope you'll take a few minutes to read it and, most importantly, keep the Ukrop family in your thoughts in the days ahead.
 
PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT GAINS STEAM 
We're paying close attention to the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA), the bipartisan bill that would give the NCAA power to address some of the recent developments that have turned major college athletics into something akin to professional sports.
 
It's moving closer to being signed into law after getting through the Senate on Monday. A vote in the House of Representatives could happen in a matter of weeks.
 
We'll be ready if it passes. The bill will mostly impact the Power Four conferences on matters like revenue-sharing caps and conference realignment, but there are parts that will impact W&M. For example, the PCSA would solidify the rule that gives student-athletes five years to play five seasons, and it would establish a one-time transfer rule that would impose a penalty for student-athletes who attempt to transfer more than once in their careers (with some limited exceptions).
 
For better or worse, the PCSA will put in some guardrails to govern college athletics and bring back some predictability to the way we operate. The truth of the matter is, this is only the next step, and the impact on W&M will be minimal. This might steady the waters some, but there's more to come and we'll be ready to do what's right for W&M and our student-athletes.

HOOPS MADNESS
Basketball season is right around the corner, and we're inviting our students and season ticket members to Kaplan Arena for Tribe Basketball Madness on Oct. 6 to tip off the season in style.
 
This is a wonderful opportunity for our fans to engage with our Men's and Women's Basketball student-athletes and coaches in the lead-up to the season.
 
Another opportunity to engage with our hoops programs is the Tribe Basketball Tip-Off Reception on Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. in the Sadler Center. The event is open to all but requires the purchase of a ticket, with attendees getting the chance to hear from both Coach E and Coach Earl, as well as engage with student-athletes from both teams.
 
NOTABLE

• I'm often blown away by what our student-athletes accomplish in their sports and in the classroom. That's certainly the case with our Men's Gymnastics team, which placed 17 student-athletes on the 2025-26 College Gymnastics Association Academic All-American team. That group includes four-time first-team honorees Mark Fu and Evan Sikra and three-time selections Niko Greenly, Jared Noyman and Gavin Zborowski. They were joined on the first team by Connor Barrow, Alex Grapsas, Will Harrington, Jonathan Irwin, Nicholas Kosarikov, David Moroney and Trenton Peazant. Ricky Pizem, Sam Smith, Luke Tully, Michael Weiner and Evan Wilkins were all second-team honorees. W&M ranked fourth nationally with a combined GPA of 3.5984. Fantastic job, gentlemen!

 

• Football's Sean McElwain was named a semifinalist for the 2026 Campbell Trophy, presented to the best football scholar-athlete in the nation based on combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Finalists are announced on October 21. We're rooting for you, Sean.
• Women's Tennis freshman Nicole Lukesova is off to an amazing start to her career. She remained undefeated by winning the A Flight Singles title at the Navy Blue & Gold Invitational this weekend. It was her second singles crown in two tries. Rebeka Svabikova, the reigning CAA Rookie of the Year, also won the title in B Flight Singles and partnered with Francesca Davis to win A Flight Doubles.

• Women's Soccer celebrated many happy firsts in its 4-0 win over Drexel on Sunday. Goalkeeper Mia Tegeris logged her inaugural shutout while Sophia Dallara and Kerys Palmer both notched their first collegiate goals. Here's hoping that this is just the start for this impressive trio.

 

• Men's Soccer sophomore Alex Garrison has a flair for the dramatic. He posted his second game-winning goal of the season in a 2-1 conference win over Campbell on Saturday. He pushed his team-leading goal total to four. Gabe Ruitenberg also scored, and he tallied the only goal in a 1-0 win at American on Tuesday to push his team-leading point total to 12. 
• Julie Addison swam a 1:58.39 in the 200 back in a season-opening win at Georgetown on Saturday to break a school dual-meet record. The women's and men's teams notched a clean sweep in the season-opening meet against the Hoyas. Julie also won the 100 back, the 200 IM and led off for the first-place 200 medley relay team. 

 
COMING UP
We have an exciting slate of home events this weekend, starting Friday with Field Hockey taking on Towson and Women's Soccer hosting Campbell.  Saturday will be a busy day on campus as Swimming hosts George Washington for its home opener and Football faces Holy Cross in the annual Whiteout/National Marrow Donor Program game.  Men's Soccer will serve as the nightcap on Saturday, taking on CAA foe Elon.  On Sunday, Field Hockey hosts JMU.
 
Hope to see you at the games!
 
Go Tribe!




Brian D. Mann
Director of Athletics