By Bryan B. Blair, Vice President and Director of Athletics
Nov. 18, 2022 
 


Dear Rocket Nation, 

We say this often, but it has never been more true—it's a great time to be Rocket!
 
Just a few months into the 2022-23 school year, consider what our teams have accomplished so far:
 

• Our football team is MAC West Division champions and is headed to the MAC Championship Game for the seventh time in school history.
• Men's basketball, playing for its third consecutive MAC title, is 3-0 with a victory over UAB on November 11, affirming its position as one of the top mid-major teams in the country.
• Our women's basketball team, also defending MAC champs, is 3-0 after a big win at Cincinnati on November 16 and will host Duke on Sunday in a huge game for the program and the entire Toledo community.
• Women's volleyball has clinched a berth into the MAC Tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2012-13.
• Our women's cross-country team won its second consecutive MAC Championship, is currently ranked #25 in the country and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2014. 
• Our men's cross-country team came within a few points of winning its first-ever MAC title, and followed that finish up with its best-ever finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

 
The recent accomplishments of our student-athletes are something in which we can all take pride in.   They also are a small sample of the incredible potential we have to become the nation's premiere Group of Five athletics program. We can't sit still and let this opportunity pass us by. The time is now to turn this moment into a movement and push Rocket Athletics to unparalleled heights

FOOTBALL: MORE TO PLAY FOR!!
The football team has captured its 12^th MAC Division title and is headed to Ford Field in Detroit to face the East Division champion on Saturday, December 3 at noon on ESPN. Head Coach Jason Candle's Rockets have one more game to play at Western Michigan on Black Friday before heading to Detroit to play for their first MAC crown since 2017.

The success of our Rockets provides opportunities for national exposure for our football program, our University, and our community. The MAC Championship Game will be our sixth game on national television this season, giving millions of viewers from across the nation a chance to watch our Rockets in action, as well giving our University positive visibility across America. The support for the Rockets this season has been tremendous, as we have averaged a MAC-leading 19,557 fans per game, an increase of over 1,000 from 2021. Our student section, The Launch Pad, was a sight to see Tuesday night and contributed to our largest mid-week MACtion crowd since 2015. That enthusiasm and energy is what we hope to create for every game and every home event in the future.

CLICK HERE to see the Launch Pad's PRIDE in action !!!

Now we need Rocket Nation to turn out in huge numbers at Ford Field and show the country that #TeamToledo is behind their Rockets. You can order your MAC Championship Game tickets now at UTRockets.com/MACTix!
     

BASKETBALL: ROCKETS OFF TO A GREAT START
Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk's Rockets made a big statement on the national basketball scene by rallying from 11-point deficit to defeat mid-major darling UAB 93-85 at the Barstool Sports Invitational in Philadelphia on November 11. The victory sent a message nationally as UAB is considered by many to be the top mid-major team in the country. The Rockets are attempting to win their third consecutive MAC Championship title and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The women's basketball team is 3-0 following a 74-71 overtime victory at Cincinnati on November 16^th, and is looking forward to their non-conference matchup with Duke on Sunday. Tricia Cullop's defending MAC Champions will need a packed and loud Savage Arena to help the Rockets knock off the Blue Devils and repeat the history from 2001, when the Rockets upset #5 Duke 71-65 in Savage Hall (as it was known back then)!
 
We are so fortunate to have two incredible basketball programs! We need you to continue make a difference and help us fill Savage Arena for all our home games. We have an opportunity to achieve something very special this year and we hope that you and your family and friends will join us.

I hope to see all of you, and I mean ALL of you, in Savage Arena to cheer on our Rockets vs. Duke on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., and throughout the entire basketball season. For tickets, visit utrockets.com/tix 

THE 1923 SOCIETY: LAUNCHING THE ROCKETS TO THE NEXT LEVEL  
To sustain our recent success and then to launch us to the next level as one of the premier Group of Five programs in the country, we need to provide transformative support for our student-athletes. The changing landscape of college athletics now allows our student-athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) and also allows athletic departments to reward student-athletes for their academic achievements, will require additional resources above and beyond anything we have done in the past. That is one of the reasons we launched the 1923 Society, a new philanthropic initiative with the purpose of generating new revenues to support Rocket student-athletes in their academic, athletic and personal pursuits. Named to commemorate the year the "Rockets" nickname was first used to describe the athletic teams at The University of Toledo, the 1923 Society will have an immediate and lasting impact on the success of Toledo Athletics.
 
 

I recently had the chance to share some thoughts on the changing landscape of college athletics in Sportico, an acclaimed national sports business publication. CLICK HERE to read.

We are on the cusp of achieving something at The University of Toledo that will thrust our athletics program into national prominence, benefiting not only our student-athletes and our teams, but our entire University and the greater Toledo community as well.  That's what we mean when we talk about Team Toledo. Together, we will all achieve more. Together, we can build something great.

Go Rockets!