Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt's Monthly Comments

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Athletics Director Kirby Hocutt welcomes your comments and ideas. Your email will be read by Kirby and answered by either him or a member of the Ohio Athletics staff. Please include your name and hometown, and if you are a Bobcat let us know your class year. Thank you for your interest, your participation and your support of Bobcat Athletics.

August 10, 2006

Dear Bobcat Fans,

Are you ready for another great season of Ohio Athletics? Each of us in the athletics department is looking forward to the beginning of the fall seasons! As you browsed the Ohiobobcats.com homepage, you probably noticed the Countdown to Kickoff feature indicating how close we are to the beginning of the 2006 football season. And our other fall sports will get under way just as soon, if not sooner. On Aug. 25, our nationally- ranked volleyball team serves up its season at the AVCA Showcase in Madison, Wisc. Just more than two weeks later on Sept. 9, we will host the Green and White Invite, the first cross country meet of the season. Soccer kicks off its season by hosting an exhibition game against Illinois on Aug. 16. The following week, the field hockey team heads to Penn State for a two-day trip to compete against Penn State as well as Old Dominion.

In this column I will update you on the status of our 2006 season football ticket sales, the Ohio Bobcat Club, a few of the special events we have planned for the fall, the return of the Bobcat Blitz and a familiar face that is returning to Athens!

2006 Football Season Ticket Sales:
As I write this column, our 2006 football season ticket sales are on pace to break last year's record-setting campaign. We are currently ahead of sales at this same time last year. This is very exciting news, as we are just beginning our 30-day marketing blitz to promote 2006 sales! We sincerely appreciate those of you who have renewed or purchased season tickets. We also ask that you continue to encourage your friends, relatives and co-workers to reserve their seats now to join you in Peden! Don't forget, the Bobcat Family Package consists of 4 season tickets (2 adult & 2 children) for only $79!

Ohio Bobcat Club:
We are very excited and pleased with the success the Ohio Bobcat Club has experienced in its first three months! As you know, the purpose of this fundraising initiative is to assist Ohio Athletics in providing our student-athletes with the resources and opportunities to pursue their academic and athletic aspirations. At the present time, 454 Ohio Bobcat Club members have contributed over $250,000 in support of our athletics program. We are off to a fantastic start, considering last year's annual gift-giving total was $327,000. I am confident that we will reach our goal of $400,000 and 1,000 members in this first year.

Football Special Events:
We have a number of celebrations and recognitions planned for this football season. Among other events, we will be recognizing Ohio's All-America football players and those Bobcats who have played professionally. There will also be a Peden Tower Renovation Dedication Ceremony for those who made the project possible. Three Athletics Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized on the field during the Homecoming game for their tremendous contributions and accomplishments. Three African-American former athletes, who were acknowledged by the Mid-American Conference in February of this year, have been invited back to campus to share in the festivities of the Akron game. We are looking forward to spending time with each one of these former Bobcats.

The Return of Bobcat Blitz:
Bobcat Blitz is returning to your television, courtesy of WOUB. This series will be produced primarily by talented Ohio students, and will feature game highlights, interviews with coaches, and features on our football student-athletes. Bobcat Blitz will air Friday nights and Saturday mornings on WOUB/WOUC as well as on the video board before home games. A link to the program will be available on our website for you to view the show on your own schedule.

Welcome Back:
Last week, Luke Sayers returned to Athens. An Athens County native who hold two degrees from Ohio University and is a former employee of our athletics department has accepted a position with International Sports Properties (ISP), a valued partner of our program. ISP provides marketing consultation, promotional support, and advertising oversight. The partnership with ISP has recently been renewed and part of the negotiation process was securing a full-time, on-sight ISP representative. Luke's office is in the Convo, and we are excited to have him back as a part of the Bobcat Family.

On behalf of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, thank you for your continued support of the Bobcats!

Kirby