The holiday season is here and with that, the constant pressure to come up with resolutions for the start of the new year. One of my resolutions for 2008? To be more faithful at turning in a blog on a regular basis. The last blog of this year will focus on the many things I am thankful for as the year comes to a close. The holidays remind me that I am thankful for the following:
1) The twenty seconds before a big game starts on our campus. The sense of anticipation and the realization that each game is different, that we never really know who will win, helps makes this job fresh each day.
2) The feeling that most days coming to work is like being with friends instead of workers.
3) The fact that I still get goose bumps each time I hear Baba O’Reilly by the Who.
4) Mom’s cooking.
5) Mom.
6) The feeling of accomplishment after a long run on a cold morning. That and the hot shower that follows, which leads to
7) Indoor Plumbing.
8) A glass of sweet tea on a hot August day.
9) Chips and hot sauce on a cold December day.
10) The smell of fresh-cut grass at John J. Hunter field in April.
11) The inspiration of seeing the work-ethic of our student-athletes. I wonder if people really understand how difficult it is to be successful in the classroom and college athletics.
12) The thrill of seeing my favorite sports team on the cover of Sports Illustrated when it arrives in the mailbox.
13) Road Trips for HSU Athletic Events – There have been a few rough adventures over the years; however, there have also been trips where the game lived up to the hype and the fellowship was memorable. I doubt if it would be a good movie, but some of the events could at the very least be humorous enough for a Fox sitcom.
14) Forgiveness.
15) The chance to meet new students in my Student Success class. I wish I had been as on the ball as some of our current freshmen.
16) Finding the movie To Kill a Mockingbird on television .
17) The look on my golden retrievers face when I give her a chew bone.
18) The look on my face when the waitress brings me my steak.
19) Being raised by a father who lived by the simple belief that “it takes just as much time to do a job right as it does to do a job the wrong way.”
20) Seeing a family welcome home a member of our armed forces at the airport.
21) No matter how many disappointments that 2007 might have brought, the belief that 2008 will be better.
22) The Sunday paper (I know it sounds archaic in this age of the internet, but one of my simple pleasures is picking up a printed copy of the Dallas Morning News)
23) Being old school.
24) A two week Christmas vacation.
I hope the hectic season of the holidays will allow you a chance to be thankful for the many wonderful things in your life.
Best wishes for 2008.
John Neese
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
John Neese Blog 5
Since 2003, I have been fortunate to travel to Indianapolis twice for the NCAA Woman of The Year Banquet as we have had two student-athletes receive this honor. Four years ago the NCAA honored women’s basketball player, Kendra Anderson as the Texas Woman of the Year. On Saturday night they recognized Virginia Aguilar, a former volleyball player at HSU, as one of the top 30 Women in college athletics for the 2006 school year. It was a special weekend for Virginia as she had the chance to work on a house for Habitat for Humanity on Saturday morning with the other nominees in Indianapolis. On Saturday night the banquet was co-hosted by Sage Steel of ESPN and Debbie Antonelli, a National Basketball Analyst. Virginia was one of five nominees who recorded a perfect 4.0 grade point average during their collegiate careers. Virginia was a computer science major at HSU and also had 18 hours of math as she was one of our top student-athletes. Like Virginia I had 18 hours of math at HSU, with the difference being I only passed three of them. The NCAA Woman of the Year banquet will be shown on Friday, December 7 at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN 2.
One final thought on Indianapolis: the new stadium that is being built next to the RCA Dome for the home of the Colts appears to be a phenomenal building. It already towers over the RCA Dome and the structure has a beautiful brick façade with cathedral style windows. The Colts will move into this facility in 2008, and I am sure it will capture the national attention until the Dallas Cowboys move into their architectural masterpiece in 2009.
Congratulations to our football team for their win on Saturday against an inspired Sul Ross football team which was playing before a large homecoming crowd. The Lobos have received plenty of national recognition this year thanks to the efforts of 59 year old Mike Flynt, who is utilizing his last year of eligibility nearly 38 years after he last played college football. Flynt is a grandfather who has been featured on ESPN, NBC News and Sports Illustrated. Maybe it’s because I am getting older, but I have found a new respect for anyone over 40 who is still pushing him/herself in the athletic arena. Fifteen years ago I did not see what the big deal was when Nolan Ryan was pitching in his forties. Now I am just happy to be mowing my yard in my forties.
Cowboy Up,
John Neese
One final thought on Indianapolis: the new stadium that is being built next to the RCA Dome for the home of the Colts appears to be a phenomenal building. It already towers over the RCA Dome and the structure has a beautiful brick façade with cathedral style windows. The Colts will move into this facility in 2008, and I am sure it will capture the national attention until the Dallas Cowboys move into their architectural masterpiece in 2009.
Congratulations to our football team for their win on Saturday against an inspired Sul Ross football team which was playing before a large homecoming crowd. The Lobos have received plenty of national recognition this year thanks to the efforts of 59 year old Mike Flynt, who is utilizing his last year of eligibility nearly 38 years after he last played college football. Flynt is a grandfather who has been featured on ESPN, NBC News and Sports Illustrated. Maybe it’s because I am getting older, but I have found a new respect for anyone over 40 who is still pushing him/herself in the athletic arena. Fifteen years ago I did not see what the big deal was when Nolan Ryan was pitching in his forties. Now I am just happy to be mowing my yard in my forties.
Cowboy Up,
John Neese
Monday, October 1, 2007
Why Do We Watch?
We were in the hotel room in Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday afternoon passing time until our football game with Mississippi College that evening. As we were channel surfing the various college football games that were on television, our traveling party noticed that Colorado was making a comeback against the number three team in the nation, Oklahoma. I had more than a passing interest in the game as one of our former football coaches, Jeff Grimes, is now the Assistant Head Coach for the Buffaloes. It also seemed like a game to watch just because of the upset factor of seeing a heavily favored team fall from the ranks of the undefeated.
As you know by now, the Buffs completed the improbable comeback and defeated OU 27-24 on a last second field goal. It was only one of several upsets on the last Saturday in September that will certainly alter the BCS landscape for the rest of the season.
So we have another reminder that it does not matter if it’s Division I, II or III you watch, no matter how much we think a game is going to play out, no matter how much we just “know” a certain team is better than another , it means nothing once the game starts. I am in the middle of my 12th year here at HSU and I have seen a countless number of games involving our teams. I have seen us win games that nobody thought we would have a chance to claim a victory. On the other end of the spectrum, I have seen us fall in competition that I am sure our student-athletes, coaches and fans cannot believe that we lost. The rankings, the records and all of the pre-game hype rarely deliver once the contest starts and it is up to the student-athlete to decide the outcome. And that is why we keep coming back to watch the competition, whether it’s the volleyball team or the football team participating as Teddy Roosevelt loved to say “in the arena.”
I think all of us believe that we have an extra sense that helps us determine how our favorite teams will do. When we are right, the grass is greener, the sky is beautiful and we believe that we can chart the course for the free world. When we are wrong, our food doesn’t taste good, the weather is horrendous and we get a speeding ticket on the way back from the game. And as frustrating as it can be, we always come back for more. I never have really enjoyed the reality shows on television that have become so popular, due in part to the fact that watching athletic competition every weekend has enough twists and turns for an O.Henry short story, much less a reality show. We might think we know how a contest will play out, but most of the time we are just kidding ourselves. The speculation is fun, but watching those in the arena is what makes us come back every weekend.
As you know by now, the Buffs completed the improbable comeback and defeated OU 27-24 on a last second field goal. It was only one of several upsets on the last Saturday in September that will certainly alter the BCS landscape for the rest of the season.
So we have another reminder that it does not matter if it’s Division I, II or III you watch, no matter how much we think a game is going to play out, no matter how much we just “know” a certain team is better than another , it means nothing once the game starts. I am in the middle of my 12th year here at HSU and I have seen a countless number of games involving our teams. I have seen us win games that nobody thought we would have a chance to claim a victory. On the other end of the spectrum, I have seen us fall in competition that I am sure our student-athletes, coaches and fans cannot believe that we lost. The rankings, the records and all of the pre-game hype rarely deliver once the contest starts and it is up to the student-athlete to decide the outcome. And that is why we keep coming back to watch the competition, whether it’s the volleyball team or the football team participating as Teddy Roosevelt loved to say “in the arena.”
I think all of us believe that we have an extra sense that helps us determine how our favorite teams will do. When we are right, the grass is greener, the sky is beautiful and we believe that we can chart the course for the free world. When we are wrong, our food doesn’t taste good, the weather is horrendous and we get a speeding ticket on the way back from the game. And as frustrating as it can be, we always come back for more. I never have really enjoyed the reality shows on television that have become so popular, due in part to the fact that watching athletic competition every weekend has enough twists and turns for an O.Henry short story, much less a reality show. We might think we know how a contest will play out, but most of the time we are just kidding ourselves. The speculation is fun, but watching those in the arena is what makes us come back every weekend.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
NCAA Committee II
In my ten plus years as Director of Athletics here at Hardin-Simmons, one aspect of the job that I have truly enjoyed was serving on the NCAA Division III National Football Committee. I enjoyed serving on the committee for three reasons: one, it allowed me the opportunity to see up close how the championship selection process works. I might not always agree with the NCAA on issues such as geographic proximity, but I can at least understand why the NCAA makes the decisions that they do. Second, I had the opportunity to work with some great athletic administrators from around the country who provided me some great insight on how to do your job on a college campus. Finally, serving on the committee allowed me to see firsthand student-athletes achieving the goal of competing in a national championship game, which is a thrill only a handful of athletes get to experience.
Last week I learned that I had been appointed to the Division III National Women’s Soccer Committee and I hope this work will be a rewarding as serving on the football committee. The purpose of the committee is to develop policies and procedures governing the administration and conduct of the NCAA. The committee evaluates and ranks the teams throughout the eight regions and helps with the administration of the Final Four Championship weekend, which will be in Orlando over the Thanksgiving weekend. I know that serving on a committee also means spending countless hours on conference calls discussing the rankings and the selections for the playoff bracket. Many times the conference calls go deep into the wee hours of the morning as the committee attempts to select the right teams and place them in the right bracket. Just as with the Division I selections for the basketball tournament, there are always schools who are left out. I can empathize with them as HSU has been on the outside looking in on several occasions when it comes to the post-season.
I look forward to the challenges that serving on the committee will provide over the next four years. I believe that serving on NCAA committees is a great learning experience and a wonderful way to represent our campus on a national level.
Last week I learned that I had been appointed to the Division III National Women’s Soccer Committee and I hope this work will be a rewarding as serving on the football committee. The purpose of the committee is to develop policies and procedures governing the administration and conduct of the NCAA. The committee evaluates and ranks the teams throughout the eight regions and helps with the administration of the Final Four Championship weekend, which will be in Orlando over the Thanksgiving weekend. I know that serving on a committee also means spending countless hours on conference calls discussing the rankings and the selections for the playoff bracket. Many times the conference calls go deep into the wee hours of the morning as the committee attempts to select the right teams and place them in the right bracket. Just as with the Division I selections for the basketball tournament, there are always schools who are left out. I can empathize with them as HSU has been on the outside looking in on several occasions when it comes to the post-season.
I look forward to the challenges that serving on the committee will provide over the next four years. I believe that serving on NCAA committees is a great learning experience and a wonderful way to represent our campus on a national level.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
2007-08 - Blog 2
The students might have moved into their dorm rooms and classes might have started, but the school year doesn’t seem to really start for me, until the first weekend of athletic events. It is at that time that I seem to get into a routine, a set schedule, which seems to include athletic events every Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.
The first football game of the year saw our Cowboys play a very solid team from Wisconsin-La Crosse. While the coaching staff is disappointed with the outcome of the game, we do not have to worry about our season ending on the same day it started. Automatic qualification allows the conference champion to secure the berth into the NCAA Playoffs, so the season is still very young. HSU would like to join the list of teams who have stumbled out of the gate, but regained their footing in time for the stretch run during the months of October and November. The road to recovery began the day after the La-Crosse game as the Cowboys prepare for perennial power, Linfield, in Oregon on September 15.
Remember the, Creedence Clearwater Revival song ‘ Who’ll stop the rain?” popular during the 1970’s? Many of us in Abilene asked that same question as we had a record breaking summer of rain, which helped put us behind on several building projects The soccer/ track fieldhouse, which we had originally hoped to have finished for the Fall semester, should now be completed by January. While it is disappointing that the building is not complete, we should all remind ourselves that the rain and floods from the summer caused major problems for many people in our area. There are many families, farmers and ranchers who suffered much more than we did because of the record setting rain.
Congratulations to former volleyball player, Virginia Aguilar who recently was named one of thirty National semi-finalists for The NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Aguilar joins former Cowgirl basketball standout, Kendra Anderson, who was also a semi-finalist for this award in 2003. Aguilar will receive an all-expense paid trip to Indianapolis in October for the Women of the Year Banquet. The banquet is one of the NCAA’s major events and will provide Virginia a chance to meet some of the top student-athletes in the nation from Divisions I, II and III.
The first football game of the year saw our Cowboys play a very solid team from Wisconsin-La Crosse. While the coaching staff is disappointed with the outcome of the game, we do not have to worry about our season ending on the same day it started. Automatic qualification allows the conference champion to secure the berth into the NCAA Playoffs, so the season is still very young. HSU would like to join the list of teams who have stumbled out of the gate, but regained their footing in time for the stretch run during the months of October and November. The road to recovery began the day after the La-Crosse game as the Cowboys prepare for perennial power, Linfield, in Oregon on September 15.
Remember the, Creedence Clearwater Revival song ‘ Who’ll stop the rain?” popular during the 1970’s? Many of us in Abilene asked that same question as we had a record breaking summer of rain, which helped put us behind on several building projects The soccer/ track fieldhouse, which we had originally hoped to have finished for the Fall semester, should now be completed by January. While it is disappointing that the building is not complete, we should all remind ourselves that the rain and floods from the summer caused major problems for many people in our area. There are many families, farmers and ranchers who suffered much more than we did because of the record setting rain.
Congratulations to former volleyball player, Virginia Aguilar who recently was named one of thirty National semi-finalists for The NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Aguilar joins former Cowgirl basketball standout, Kendra Anderson, who was also a semi-finalist for this award in 2003. Aguilar will receive an all-expense paid trip to Indianapolis in October for the Women of the Year Banquet. The banquet is one of the NCAA’s major events and will provide Virginia a chance to meet some of the top student-athletes in the nation from Divisions I, II and III.
Friday, August 17, 2007
John Neese 2007-08 Blog 1
Welcome back to my athletic blog. I look forward to another outstanding year with our teams and hope to see you at the games. In this posting I will write about our recent trip to England with the Cowgirl soccer team.
The NCAA allows an athletic team to make a foreign trip once every three years. Recently our women’s soccer team spent just over one week in London. Here are a few thoughts from a hectic eight days that left all of us with numerous memories.
1) The soccer team stayed in the dorms at Chigwell school,
which has been in existence since the 1600’s. William Penn is the school’s most notable graduate and the school motto is “Find a way or make a way,” which is highly appropriate since each of the ladies had to raise over $2,500 to make the trip.
2) It’s hard to complain when you spend a week training, playing and sightseeing in August and the temperature never breaks 78 degrees. I don’t know if it is worth going a week without chips and hot sauce-but it’s still nice.
3) The alumni line of Melanie Muir, Kelley Wood and Becca Neal helped pace the Cowgirls thru the three matches, and Neal scored a goal in the final match.
4) Great Britain might have made major strides in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher became the first women prime minister. They have not made such noteworthy strides in women’s soccer. The women’s professional league is viewed more as a curiosity and the support seems lukewarm at best.
5) Harrods’s of London is known as the store that has “everything, for everyone, everywhere.” Except Tour De France merchandise. As a cycling fan I thought that Harrods would still have some memorabilia from the tour that started in London this year. “We weren’t allowed to sell the merchandise” a salesman in the bicycle store of Harrods’s explained. Possibly because I can barely afford anything in the store--it made me feel good to know there was at least something the store did not have.
6) Our tour guide was a friendly woman named Bethan who never got tired of all of our annoying questions (“Now explain one more time, who will be the next King of England?”), Bethan was a natural fit for our team-she took no guff from anyone and is a second generation Arsenal ticket holder.
7) Trust me, the folks in London are just as annoyed with the Beckham circus as you have become. We were told that Beckham once played on the pitch (Brit for soccer field) at Chigwell that the Cowgirls played on. Hard to verify but easy to turn into a good story.
8) While the Cowgirls were busy looking for new music to bring back for their warm up cd, I did just the opposite. It just seemed appropriate to fill up my IPod with music from my favorite British groups. There’s something about a morning jog in Great Britain while you listen to The Clash’s London Calling.
9) Imagine sitting on the dugout bench at Yankee Stadium. Or being able to slap the Play like a Champion Today sign at Notre Dame. Those are similar to the emotions the Cowgirls felt as they got to take a tour of the Chelsea Football Stadium. Not only did the Cowgirls get to see the locker rooms and press room of the 2007 FA Cup Champion, but they also got to sit where manager Jose Mourinho and his team sit during a match. I don’t really know if Mourinho is the “special one’’ but it’s obvious that seeing a match at Chelsea is a special event.
10) On our last night in London we saw a football match between the Bolton Wanderers and the Fulham Football Club. The match was played in a wonderfully archaic stadium which is one of the oldest in the Premiere League. So old that there is no jumbotron to watch replays-even though LG is one of their major corporate sponsors.
11) Finally I want to thank all of the Cowgirls for helping make this such a unique journey. I know that this trip helped improve your soccer skills and team chemistry. I also hope that the trip will help you in your next history, literature or humanities class. Or at least help you in your next game of trivial pursuit.
Cheers,
John Neese
The NCAA allows an athletic team to make a foreign trip once every three years. Recently our women’s soccer team spent just over one week in London. Here are a few thoughts from a hectic eight days that left all of us with numerous memories.
1) The soccer team stayed in the dorms at Chigwell school,
which has been in existence since the 1600’s. William Penn is the school’s most notable graduate and the school motto is “Find a way or make a way,” which is highly appropriate since each of the ladies had to raise over $2,500 to make the trip.
2) It’s hard to complain when you spend a week training, playing and sightseeing in August and the temperature never breaks 78 degrees. I don’t know if it is worth going a week without chips and hot sauce-but it’s still nice.
3) The alumni line of Melanie Muir, Kelley Wood and Becca Neal helped pace the Cowgirls thru the three matches, and Neal scored a goal in the final match.
4) Great Britain might have made major strides in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher became the first women prime minister. They have not made such noteworthy strides in women’s soccer. The women’s professional league is viewed more as a curiosity and the support seems lukewarm at best.
5) Harrods’s of London is known as the store that has “everything, for everyone, everywhere.” Except Tour De France merchandise. As a cycling fan I thought that Harrods would still have some memorabilia from the tour that started in London this year. “We weren’t allowed to sell the merchandise” a salesman in the bicycle store of Harrods’s explained. Possibly because I can barely afford anything in the store--it made me feel good to know there was at least something the store did not have.
6) Our tour guide was a friendly woman named Bethan who never got tired of all of our annoying questions (“Now explain one more time, who will be the next King of England?”), Bethan was a natural fit for our team-she took no guff from anyone and is a second generation Arsenal ticket holder.
7) Trust me, the folks in London are just as annoyed with the Beckham circus as you have become. We were told that Beckham once played on the pitch (Brit for soccer field) at Chigwell that the Cowgirls played on. Hard to verify but easy to turn into a good story.
8) While the Cowgirls were busy looking for new music to bring back for their warm up cd, I did just the opposite. It just seemed appropriate to fill up my IPod with music from my favorite British groups. There’s something about a morning jog in Great Britain while you listen to The Clash’s London Calling.
9) Imagine sitting on the dugout bench at Yankee Stadium. Or being able to slap the Play like a Champion Today sign at Notre Dame. Those are similar to the emotions the Cowgirls felt as they got to take a tour of the Chelsea Football Stadium. Not only did the Cowgirls get to see the locker rooms and press room of the 2007 FA Cup Champion, but they also got to sit where manager Jose Mourinho and his team sit during a match. I don’t really know if Mourinho is the “special one’’ but it’s obvious that seeing a match at Chelsea is a special event.
10) On our last night in London we saw a football match between the Bolton Wanderers and the Fulham Football Club. The match was played in a wonderfully archaic stadium which is one of the oldest in the Premiere League. So old that there is no jumbotron to watch replays-even though LG is one of their major corporate sponsors.
11) Finally I want to thank all of the Cowgirls for helping make this such a unique journey. I know that this trip helped improve your soccer skills and team chemistry. I also hope that the trip will help you in your next history, literature or humanities class. Or at least help you in your next game of trivial pursuit.
Cheers,
John Neese
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