University of Richmond Athletics
Ask the AD!
June 17, 2004
UR recently captured its 2nd straight A10 Commissioner's Cup. What do you think are the main reasons for this achievement and what changes, if any, are needed to upgrade our athletic programs to remain as the top athletic program in the A10?
Adrian
Havertown, PA
Adrian:
Thanks for submitting the first question to our new website feature, Ask the AD.
We are extremely proud of our back-to-back Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Cup championships - in just three years as a full league member.
The first step in this process is our people. The 400-plus student-athletes on campus have the opportunity to compete for conference championships every year. They work hard - as students and as athletes - to achieve that goal. Our coaches are leaders and teachers, and they recruit student-athletes who are the right fit for our University. And as administrators, we strive to provide the necessary resources to compete for conference titles, and in many cases, national honors.
Second, we continue to upgrade our facilities. In the past three years, virtually every athletic venue has seen some renovation. This includes our weight rooms, athletic training facilities and locker rooms. Spider fans can easily see and experience the changes at the Robins Center, Pitt Field, Crenshaw Field and First Market Stadium/Fred Hardy Track. There are more to come. If you haven't been on campus in a while, please visit. I'm sure you'll be impressed by what you see.
Third is the support we receive from our corporate partners and Spider Club members. As you know, Spider Club members provide the necessary funds to operate our athletic program. Consistent and growing membership in the Spider Club is of paramount importance. And, our corporate partners continue to support our athletic program in record numbers.
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Our Spider Athletic Initiative, now in its beginning stages, is the next step of our process to assure that we continue to remain at the top of the Atlantic 10 and compete on a national level. You'll be hearing more about it in the months ahead.
Rest assured, while we are proud of our recent accomplishments and tradition-rich history, we are not content. An even brighter future lies ahead.
Thanks for your support!
Jim Miller
P.S. Congratulations, Adrian! You'll be receiving two complimentary tickets to a Spider home athletic event of your choice for submitting your question and having it posted on Ask the AD. I look forward to answering more questions from Spider fans in the coming weeks.