Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

As we mark off the final days of 2008, there is plenty to look forward to for the upcoming year. One thing that the women’s basketball can look forward to this year is their trip to the Bahamas which will begin on Wednesday. The Cowgirls will play two games on this trip, which they spent the last several years raising money for. This will be the first time the Cowgirls have made a trip like this and I know it will provide them plenty of good memories.

In 2009, we will continue work on several projects on the Grape Street Athletic Complex. The work has started on a new parking lot, which we anticipate will have over 150 parking spaces and an area for buses to park. This will help allow us to have ample parking for our athletic events and will improve the overall look of the facility. If everything goes according to plan, we should have the parking lot completed by late February, which will certainly help us during softball season. We are also working on irrigating and adding sod to the infield of the track, which we hope to have done by early January. Across the street from the track we will be building the area for the hammer throw which should be completed sometime in the spring. When we have finished all of these projects we will be the only school in the American Southwest Conference who will be able to host a conference meet with all events at one facility.

The Spring will also bring the chance for the coaches of our fall sports to hit the road as they being the recruiting process. All of our fall teams had strong seasons which should help them as they visit with potential student-athletes. I know that our football program is encouraged by the improvement that was evident this year. Now that several of our coaches have been on campus for awhile, I know that they will work hard to bring in the type of student-athletes that will continue to help us improve.

And while it was a tough way to finish the football season, we do have to tip our hats to our league rivals, Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Crusaders certainly helped the reputation of the American Southwest Conference as they had no problems with two of their playoff opponents after their close win against the Cowboys. And yes, the matchup of the Crusaders and the Cowboys in 2009 is something I am already looking forward to.