University of Richmond Athletics
From The AD's Desk - John Hardt
03/25/2021 | General
| Greetings! We are in the midst of perhaps the busiest month in the history of Richmond Athletics, with every Spiders varsity program in action this March! And while I'm grateful to be a part of this positive frenzy of athletic activity, I'd like to begin by highlighting two terrific pieces of news from outside the field of competition. First is the University's recent announcement that Cornell University Dean Kevin F. Hallock will become Richmond's 11th president this fall. As Dean of Cornell's SC Johnson College of Business, President Hallock has proven to be a dynamic and powerful leader in higher education. We are excited to have him join us at Richmond and look forward to working with President Hallock to ensure and enhance the continued athletic, academic, and personal development of our Spider student-athletes. Welcome to Richmond, Dr. Hallock! I'd also like to recognize our University leadership and campus community for their continued vigilance against the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of their efforts, Richmond was recently able to transition to the Orange Stage of its Physical Distancing Framework, an important step in our journey back to a traditional campus experience for our students. Thank you for your leadership and outstanding work during these very challenging times! I hope you are as heartened as I am by recent headlines trumpeting the amazing progress that has been made in vaccinating millions against COVID-19, one of the most critically important national undertakings in generations. I urge Spiders past, present, and future to do everything possible to keep themselves and those closest to them healthy, especially as we get closer to resuming life as we knew it prior to the pandemic. For us in Athletics, I know that one thing we've missed over the past year is hearing the roar of the Spider faithful at basketball games, swim meets, and everything in between. We know that our teams perform their best in front of a crowd of Spider supporters, and we are committed to safely welcoming our fans, friends, and family to our contests to root on the Spiders in person this spring. In this regard, days after Governor Northam announced relaxed regulations regarding crowd sizes, we revamped our attendance policy, allowing for a safe, socially-distanced crowd of 1,000 to witness Spider football's season-opening win over William & Mary at Robins Stadium! In hopes of continued progress in Virginia's fight against COVID-19, we are implementing policies and procedures to safely increase attendance limits after the latest updated guidelines from the Governor's office this week. And with every Spider team competing this month, there has never been more opportunities to support the Spiders – in person or otherwise. As busy as campus has been with the sounds of line drives, form tackles, and the distinctive thud of a field hockey ball against the board at the bottom of the goal, the highlight of the month so far came about 15 miles northeast of campus at Pole Green Park, where our Spider men's cross country team raced to their second Atlantic 10 Championship and first since 2010! I want to congratulate A-10 Coach of the Year Steve Taylor and all the Spiders on a championship performance and securing the first of what is hopefully multiple conference titles for the Spiders this spring. Congratulations! I also want to congratulate our men's and women's basketball teams on their winning seasons. Playing during the darkest days of the pandemic, even the most routine aspects of college basketball – team meals, bus trips, practice structures – had to be redesigned and reengineered, often at considerable effort and expense. Despite the obstacles, our women's team finished with a season record of 13-9 and narrowly missed out on advancing to the A-10 semifinals, falling to Saint Louis in overtime in the conference tournament. With a youthful roster, including A-10 Freshman of the Year Addie Budnik, I'm excited in anticipation of the prospects for Coach Aaron Roussell's team next season and beyond. Our men's team was led by Jacob Gilyard, who set the school's career assists record and now ranks among the top five in steals in the history of NCAA Division I basketball, and Grant Golden, who became the first four-time All-Conference honoree in program history. The Spiders advanced to the NIT and defeated MAC regular-season champion Toledo in the First Round to reach the tournament's quarterfinals for the fourth time in school history! The Spiders are back in action tonight at 6 p.m. versus Mississippi State of the SEC. This quarterfinal game will be televised on ESPN2. I hope Spiders everywhere will tune in to see their team take on the Bulldogs! The dedication of Jack and his staff during the pandemic mirrors what I have seen from our Spider alumni, families and friends. We have been able to weather this storm because of the substantial support base we enjoy as well as the generosity from loyal donors who have stepped up their giving in the last year to help us combat the challenges brought on by this pandemic. Expenses directly related to the safety and welfare of our Spider student-athletes will exceed $750,000 and your generous donations help us address these unforeseen (and unbudgeted) costs. Thank you! For those that would still like to make a gift to support the Richmond student-athlete experience, the University's Giving Day, #URHere, is taking place on April 7th and 8th. Donations made during #URHere can have an even greater impact due to the many matching and challenge gifts available to make your gift go further is supporting our Spiders. To learn more about giving day and how your gift can inspire others to join you in supporting your Spider team, the Competitive Excellence Fund or the Spider Leadership Initiative please click here or email Chris Schaefer, Assistant AD for Annual Giving at cschaefe@richmond.edu. Thank you in advance as we look to build on a campaign that raised over $500,000 from more than 2,500 donors last year. On behalf of our coaches, staff and student-athletes, thank you for your continued support, and thank you for your continued vigilance in staying healthy and safe. Together, we can achieve great things! Be well, and... Go Spiders!  John P. Hardt |
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