By Bryan B. Blair, Vice President and Athletic Director
Oct. 27, 2022 
 


Dear Rocket Nation, 

As I approach the six-month mark as your Vice President and Director of Athletics, my family and I remain extremely grateful for the support we have received and the warm welcome you have shown us.?As you can imagine, the days have been long and sleep has come at a premium, but it has been well worth it. Over the last several months I have elected to focus my time and effort on: 

• Learning as much as possible about Toledo Athletics, the University, and the community. 
• Building authentic relationships with student-athletes, coaches, staff, University leadership and constituents. 
• Identifying opportunities to enhance our department and the student-athlete experience. 
• Preparing Toledo Athletics for the exciting opportunities that await us in the new landscape of college athletics.  

After 246 meetings with athletic staff, 109  meetings with stakeholders, 68 meetings with UT campus members, 30 media appearances, it is even more clear that we have an incredibly strong foundation on which to build. It will take the full power and collaboration of all of us to become one of the nation's premier Group of Five athletic departments. I am excited to be a part of #TEAMTOLEDO as we embark on this unprecedented journey together.  

BRINGING TOGETHER STUDENT-ATHLETES, UNIVERSITY LEADERS 
I have gained a wealth of insight through the conversations with our campus and community partners, as well as our various student groups. The value of exchange cannot be overlooked, and we continue to explore ways to facilitate dialogue amongst our many stakeholders.  Most recently we launched Dining With the Deans, a new initiative with the goal of bringing together Rocket student-athletes, Toledo deans and other University leaders in an informal dining setting.  The first dinner included seven student-athletes along with Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Sammy Spann, and Professor and Faculty Athletics Representative, Kim Nigem. The quality of the conversation amongst the group was moving and we look forward to hosting many more in the future.
   

MUCH TO CELEBRATE  
Since the start of the fall, we have celebrated together many significant moments in our history and victories for our programs. Earlier this month the University celebrated its sesquicentennial on Founder's Day.  It was a joy seeing the numerous activities on campus for our 150th birthday party. The culminating event, a concert held in Savage Arena featuring Grammy award winner T-Pain, was a highlight for our students and community. As I panned the arena full of current, former and future Rockets, I couldn't help but to be inspired by what is to come over the next 150 years of life-changing educational opportunities on our campus.   

Speaking of history, many of our fall sport student-athletes and programs have made some of their own. Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell's four interceptions and two pick-6's at Northern Illinois earned him the Nagurski and Walter Camp National Player of the Week awards, plus a helmet sticker from ESPN's College Football Final. A week later, quarterback Dequan Finn accounted for a school-record seven touchdowns in a 52-31 win over Kent State to earn MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week honors. 


Women's Cross Country is on its way to making history after taking a huge jump in the national rankings following its performance at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. The Rockets vaulted past 13 nationally ranked teams at the meet and went from receiving votes to the No. 16 spot in the USTFCCCA National Coaches Poll, the second-highest ranking in program history, What Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough and her staff have been doing with our program is simply amazing. I will certainly be following as they compete for another MAC title this weekend in Athens.  
 

Our exceptional performances have not been limited to just these programs. Across all of our fall sports, eight of our student-athletes have been named MAC player of the week.   

MAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK 

• Men's Cross Country: Dennis Mutai (Sept. 21) 
• Football: Dequan Finn (Sept. 12, Oct 17), Quinyon Mitchell (Oct. 10) 
• Men's Golf: Barend Botha (Oct. 20), NJ Botha (Sept. 7) 
• Women's Golf: Amelia Lee (Sept. 21)  
• Women's Soccer: Morgan Otteson (Aug. 25) 
• Volleyball: Taylor Alt (Oct. 17), Ryann Jaqua (Oct. 24)

 
As we celebrate the successes of our current student-athletes, we also have had the opportunity to recognize the rich tradition of Rocket Athletics in two memorable events this fall. On Sept. 9 we honored three Rockets – Chuck Ealey, Mel Long and Coach Gary Pinkel-- for their induction into the College Football Hall of Fame at a special event at the Pinnacle in Maumee. We returned to the Pinnacle a few weeks later to induct seven superlative student-athletes into the Varsity T Hall of Fame.

MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO 
We are entering into one of the most exciting times of year. As our fall sports progress through the heart of their seasons, our winter sports are preparing for the start of their regular season. Our football, volleyball and cross country teams are in the thick of their hunt for MAC championships titles, and our golf and tennis programs are wrapping up the fall portions of their season. Our women's swimming & diving team has already begun their season, while our men's and women's basketball teams begin their quests to repeat as MAC champions. The regular season begins for both hoop teams on Nov. 7, with a full slate of exciting games on tap this fall and winter. Demand for season tickets for both teams is high so don't delay if you want to catch the most exciting action in Toledo this winter. For tickets, go to utrockets.com/tix or call 419-530-GOLD (4653). 
 

UPCOMING ROCKET EVENTS 

Oct. 24-30 

Oct 27 (Thu) 3:00 PM - Women's Soccer vs Western Michigan

Oct 28 (Fri) 5:00 PM - Women's Swimming & Diving vs Eastern Michigan

Oct 30 (Sun) 2:00 p.m. - Women's Basketball vs Ferris State (Exhibition)

Oct. 31-Nov. 6 

Nov 1(Tue) 6:00 p.m. - Rocket Roundball Social (Savage Arena)

Nov 4 (Fri) 6:00 p.m. - Women's Volleyball vs Ohio

Nov 5 (Sat) 10:30 a.m. - Women's Swimming & Diving vs Bowling Green/Marshall

Nov 5 (Sat) 4:00 p.m. - Women's Volleyball vs Ohio

Nov. 7-13 

Nov 7 (Mon) 11:00 a.m. - Women's Basketball vs Wright State

Nov 7 (Mon) 7:00 p.m. - Men's Basketball vs Valparaiso

Nov 8 (Tue) 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. - Football vs Ball State

Nov 11 (Fri) 5:30 p.m. - Women's Basketball vs Canisius

Nov. 14-20 

Nov 15 (Tue) 7:00 p.m. - Football vs Bowling Green (Battle of I-75)

Nov 16 (Wed) 7:00 p.m. - Men's Basketball vs Oakland

Nov 20 (Sun) 1:00 p.m. - Women's Basketball vs Duke
 

Visit utrockets.com/schedule for more details.