Rocket Report with Bryan B. Blair - February 2023
2/17/2023 3:26:00 PM | Athletics
Feb. 17, 2023
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Dear Team Toledo,Â
It's hard to believe but it's been almost exactly one year since I was first introduced as our 14th Vice President and Director of Athletics last February! Since then, I have had the opportunity to learn so much about Toledo and get to know many of the people that make it such a special place. Now, we are working over the coming months to create our strategic plan to transform Toledo into one of the premier Group of Five athletic programs in the country, while serving our campus and this community unlike ever before!Â
In the meantime, one of the things I enjoy most about being your Director of Athletics is being able to share the stories of our incredible student-athletes and coaches. We continue to achieve amazing results in the classroom and in athletic competition.Â
The 2022-23 school year is on the verge of becoming truly historic. Â
And we are just getting started!Â
BASKETBALL: THE ROCKETS ARE STREAKING TOWARDS THE MAC TOURNAMENT
As we hit the homestretch of the basketball season heading into the Mid-American Conference Tournament in March, both our men's and women's basketball teams are riding incredible winning streaks. Tod Kowalczyk's men are 20-6 and tied for first place in the MAC with an 11-2 record in league play. The Rockets have won 10 games in a row, the third-longest winning streak in the country. The Rocket women (20-4, 11-2 MAC) are on an eight-game winning streak, and just one game out of the top spot in the league. Taken together, our basketball teams have won 18 straight games, the second-longest combined streak in the country!Â
We still have a lot of basketball left on the schedule before we head to Cleveland for the MAC Tourney (March 8-11), including some big games at Savage Arena. The men host Akron on Tuesday, Feb. 21 and close out their home schedule vs. Buffalo on Saturday, Feb. 25, while Tricia Cullop's women have three home games remaining, including The Battle of I-75 presented by Cooper Tires on March 4 that could determine the regular-season MAC Champion. Â
We're counting on you to pack Savage Arena for these games, and then head to Cleveland and turn Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse into a home court advantage for our teams as we look to punch our ticket to the NCAA Tournament!Â
MISSION 23: A ROCKET BASKETBALL DOCUSERIES
Toledo Athletics is always looking for new, creative ways to tell our amazing story.  If you haven't had a chance to watch our basketball docuseries yet, I strongly encourage you to do so. "Mission 23: A New Season" is a behind-the-scenes look at our men's and women's basketball teams as they attempt to repeat as MAC Champions. The first two episodes in the series, which are produced and edited by Video Production Coordinator Faith Brown and the Rocket Video creative team, are out on YouTube (Toledo Rockets) and on UT's official Athletics website UTRockets.com. Look for additional episodes as the Rockets make their way to Cleveland!Â
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SPRING SPORTS ARE HERE!
I couldn't be more excited about the start of the season for our spring sports: baseball, softball, women's track & field, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's golf all look to battle for MAC titles and cap one of the best years in Toledo Athletics history. Many of these programs have already exploded out of the gates. Women's tennis is 7-1 in dual-match competition, women's golf recently set a 54-hole school record, women's track & field has set school records and numerous personal bests, and men's tennis junior Pawit Sornlaksup currently holds a 28-match winning streak. Not to be overlooked, softball Head Coach Jessica Bracamonte won her first career game in the season opener on Feb. 10. We are thrilled for Coach Bracamonte's first of many wins!
As the weather improves and the pace of our home competition picks up, I encourage you to come out and support our Rockets this spring!Â
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FOOTBALL: DEFENDING MAC CHAMPS HIT THE FIELD FOR SPRING BALL
Of course, it's never too early to start thinking about football. Head Coach Jason Candle's squad hits the field later this month for spring practice, culminating in the Spring Showcase at the Glass Bowl on Saturday, April 8. Â
The Rockets return seven All-MAC players from last year's MAC Championship team, including All-American cornerback Quinyon Mitchell and quarterback Dequan Finn.
The season kicks off at Illinois on Sept. 2 with the home opener vs. Texas Southern coming on Sept. 9. The Glass Bowl will be rocking again next fall, so be sure to order your season tickets today!
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MEDIA EXPOSURE FOR "TEAM TOLEDO"
Exposure is one of the many positives Toledo Athletics brings to the University and to the City of Toledo. As we've shared previously, Toledo Football played on national television 9 times in 2022 with viewership exceeding 6 million. How about sports other than football and other platforms?Â
Using an industry leading media monitoring tool, "Critical Mention", we are able to determine earned media exposure from television, radio, online news, social media, and podcasts.Â
In 2022, the phrase "Toledo Rockets" produced the following:Â
- 5.76 billion potential audience reachÂ
- $194.7M earned media/publicity valueÂ
Conservatively translated to fair market value or what you might pay for equivalent advertising/sponsorship exposure, that number likely approaches $4M.Â
That is great news for our athletics department, our university and our community - Team Toledo!
BRAGGING RIGHTS….
I'd like to recognize these fantastic accomplishments from the past month:?
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Women's Track & Field: Junior Madeline Vining set the school record in 3000m with a time of 9:16.87 at Boston University on Jan. 28. Two weeks later, senior Lou Trois ran a 4:39.09 in the mile at Notre Dame, which ranks as the second-fastest indoor mile time in Toledo program history. |
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Softball: Senior Erin Hunt came within two outs of throwing her first career no-hitter, settling for a one-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over Bellarmine on Feb. 11. |
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Women's Tennis: Junior Cassie Alcala garnered her 14th-consecutive singles victory in Toledo's 7-0 win over DePaul on Feb. 11, moving the Rockets to 7-1 on the season.  |
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Women's Swimming & Diving: The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America announced on Feb. 2 that the Rockets finished 20th in the nation among all Division I programs with a 3.68 team GPA in the 2022 fall semester. |
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Coaching Milestones: Congratulations to men's tennis coach Al Wermer, who picked up his 300th career victory on Jan. 14, and men's basketball coach Tod Kowalczyk, who won his 250th game as a Rocket on Feb. 11. |
CHANGING LANDSCAPE
Toledo Athletics is incredibly fortunate to have such amazing local media coverage. In that respect, we are well positioned amongst the elite Group of Five programs.Â
I invite you to read a recent three-part Q&A in the Toledo Blade that touches on some of our plans for the future, as well as exploring some of the very important issues facing college athletics today: NCAA transformation, Name-Image-Likeness (NIL), the transfer portal, conference realignment, and the College Football Playoff, among others.Â
Needless to say, these are changing times in the world of college athletics, but with change comes opportunity for those schools willing to embrace challenges. We plan to thrive in this new landscape. I hope you will join us and continue to support the Rockets as we take off in the next phase of this exciting new journey!Â
Go Rockets!Â
