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 23, 2007

Dear Bobcat Fans,

2007 – 2008 Competitive Season Begins!
The 2007-2008 competitive season begins this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. when our 2006 MAC Champion Ohio Bobcat Field Hockey team faces off against Duke in tournament action in Lansing, Michigan. Competitive action also begins in Athens this Saturday when our 25th nationally ranked volleyball team faces James Madison in the Convo beginning at 3:00 p.m. Please come support our volleyball program as they begin their quest for their fifth straight MAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance.

Green & White Club Ox Roast and Fan Fest Event:
After the volleyball match on Saturday afternoon, please proceed to Peden Stadium for the annual Green & White Club Ox Roast Event beginning immediately after the conclusion of the volleyball match. Our football, volleyball and soccer teams, as well as their coaches, will be present and looking forward to visiting with you about their upcoming seasons!

Season Football Ticket Sales:
With only a few days remaining until the 2007 football season kicks off Ohio Bobcat fans and alumni are showing their excitement for the upcoming season. As of today, our season ticket sales are 15% ahead of last year’s record setting pace! If you have not yet purchased your season tickets, please show your support for our student-athletes and do so today! We need you in Peden Stadium each and every home game as our football program focuses on defending their 2006 MAC East Division Title!

Ohio Athletics announces Television Partnership:
Ohio Athletics is excited to announce our partnership with Guardian Television Network (GTN)/WFSJ TV in Columbus. This exciting new partnership will provide Ohio Athletics with a consistent presence in the Columbus and Central Ohio markets. In all, GTN will broadcast 15 Ohio Bobcat athletic events during the 2007-2008 academic year. GTN is available on all cable systems within the Columbus DMA, as well as on Direct TV and the Dish Network. The televised debut with GTN will be on Saturday, September 1 as we kick-off the football season versus Gardner-Webb.

Ohio Athletics Introduces Heritage Collection:
During my first two years in serving as Director of Athletics, Ohio University Alumni and Fans have shared with me their tremendous pride in various logos that our athletic teams have worn in the past. Over the past few months we have been working with our licensing and merchandising partner, the Licensing Resource Group, to create and introduce for a limited time a fun and unique program that will bring back to the marketplace some of the most popular marks and logos in Bobcat history.

The Heritage Collection will focus on four specific marks:

Interlocking OU – This mark dates back to the 1900s and was one of the first University marks seen on athletic gear. It was used on Ohio's basketball uniforms as well as on sweaters and jackets worn by members of our earliest football and baseball teams.

OHIO – This mark dates back to the 1940s & 1950s. This mark was worn primarily by the men's basketball team and was on the warm ups of the 1941 NIT runner up team. This mark was also on the basketball court at Grover Center while it served as home to Ohio Basketball in the 1960s.

Attack Cat – This mark dates back to the 1960s & 1970s. This mark was the original mid- court logo at the Convo and received national exposure when Bobcat basketball standout Walter Luckett was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1972.

Full Body Bobcat- This mark represents the first time that Ohio used a full- body Bobcat logo. It was featured prominently during the 1960s and 1970s.

The Paw – This mark came into use in 1978 and was worn on the Bobcat football helmet. The Paw Print received national exposure in 1984 when the Bobcat basketball team advanced to the NCAA basketball tournament.

Heritage Collection merchandise is exclusively available in Athens retail shops until September 20. Following September 20, product will be available in other markets in retail shops that carry officially licensed Ohio Athletics merchandise.

Marching 110 Represent OHIO University at ISP Anniversary Celebration:
This past week, International Sports Properties (ISP) celebrated their 15th anniversary as a company. As you may know, ISP is our corporate marketing and sales partner. ISP has teamed with Ohio Athletics and sells sponsorship and advertising opportunities within our venues and athletic events. As a part of their 15-year celebration, they invited select college bands to Winston-Salem to be a part of their day long celebration. And of course, their first call was to “The Most Exciting Band in the Land”, The Marching 110. While Athletic Directors were also invited to attend this anniversary celebration, I had prior commitments in Athens and was unable to attend.

As you would expect, it did not take long for my cell phone to light up with voice and text messages from my peers who were in attendance when they witnessed what we see so often – The Marching 110 put on a terrific show! My peers could not believe the great performance put on by the Marching 110 and wanted me to know how fortunate we are to have that level of performance representing our Institution and performing at our athletic events. All I know to say is yes, we do have “The Best Band in the Land” and we can not wait to watch them perform this year! They create a great advantage for our teams and I want to extend my sincere appreciation to Dr. Ricky Suk and the entire Marching 110 for their continued support of Ohio Athletics! We look forward to sharing many victories with you during the upcoming academic year.

Closing:
Bobcat Fans – we need you in Peden Stadium on September 1st at 6:30 p.m. as the Bobcat football team kicks off the 2007 season! Kickoff is 7:00, but please get to your seats early. The 2007-2008 academic year is going to be a great one and we look forward to seeing you in Athens very soon!

Go Bobcats!
Kirby