By Bryan B. Blair, Vice President and Director of Athletics
November 22, 2024
 

Team Toledo, 
 
The 2024-25 season is picking up right where last year's incredible year left off! 
 
Thanks to our cross country teams, we have already captured two more MAC Championship crowns this season. That brings our total since the fall of 2023 to 13 league titles, a run of dominance unlike anything in the history of Toledo Athletics! 
 
Two years ago, we won a school-record six MAC titles, twice as many as we had ever won in a single season. Last year we tacked on five more championship crowns and earned our third straight Cartwright Award as the No. 1 overall program (athletics, academics, citizenship) in the Mid-American Conference. On top of that, we won the Reese and Jacoby trophies as the top men's and women's athletic programs, respectively, the first time in our history we swept those awards. We are off to a great start in 2024-25 and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us!    


CROSS COUNTRY: A FOUR PEAT FOR OUR WOMEN AND HISTORIC DAY FOR OUR MEN

Congratulations to our women's and men's cross country teams for their incredible achievements! Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough's team won its fourth consecutive Mid-American Conference Championship at the MAC meet in Muncie on Nov. 2 while Associate Head Coach Tito Medrano's men's squad made history by winning its first-ever MAC crown! Winning four straight titles is an amazing feat, while winning a conference title without a men's indoor or outdoor track team is virtually unheard of! 

The Rockets didn't stop there, as our women qualified for the NCAA Championships with a strong third-place finish at the NCAA Regionals, placing ahead of five Big Ten schools -- Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana and Purdue. On the men's side, freshman Dominic Serem became the first Rocket in 49 years to earn an individual berth to the men's NCAA Championships, thanks to a third-place finish at the regionals. 

Redshirt freshman Mercy Kinyanjui not only won the MAC individual women's title, she pulled off an incredible double by also capturing the NCAA Great Lakes Regional crown, the first Rocket to do so in 22 years! In addition both our coaches were recognized as Coach of the Year by their MAC peers, with Coach Grove-McDonough taking the honor for the fourth consecutive season! 

Good luck to our women's squad and to Dominic as they head to the NCAA Championships in Madison, Wisc. this Saturday, Nov. 23! 
 



VOLLEYBALL MAKES MAC TOURNEY FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR!

Congratulations to our women's volleyball team, which qualified for the MAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season! Head Coach Jason Oliver's team finished the regular season with a 17-13 record, 10-8 in Mid-American Conference play, which is also its fourth straight season with a winning record in MAC play. 

Our Rockets enter the MAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed and play No. 3 seed Ball State in quarterfinal action on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Bowling Green's Stroh Center. The semifinals are on Saturday with the championship match on Sunday. It's just a short ride down I-75 so I encourage you to head down and cheer on our Rockets as they battle for a MAC Championship title! 

Click HERE to MAC Tournament info and bracket. 
 


ANOTHER GREAT CROWD IN THE GLASS BOWL!

Take a bow, Rocket fans! The official attendance for our football game vs. BGSU on Oct. 26 was 29,697, the 14th-largest home crowd in school history and the most since 2016. 

Coming off a crowd of 25,027 for the Homecoming Game on Oct. 5, this marked the first time in 22 years that we have had back-to-back games of 25,000+ in the Glass bowl! 

 

BASKETBALL TEAMS OFF TO A GREAT START

Our basketball teams are off to great starts as they both set out to defend their Mid-American Conference crowns! 

Tod Kowalczyk's men's team (4-1) is setting out to win its fifth-straight MAC title or as Coach Kowalczyk has called it "Going for the Nickel," while first-year Head Coach Ginny Boggess is leading our women (2-1) in their attempt at capturing a fourth consecutive crown!
 

Special recognition goes to Coach Boggess, who won her first game as our head coach with a heart-stopping 71-68 win over Marshall on Nov. 4. Her Rockets came back from 16 points down to defeat the Thundering Herd. Win No. 2 for Ginny was just as exciting, as the Rockets rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat Northern Kentucky on Nov. 17. 

 

We have some exciting non-conference games coming up before the holidays, and then MAC play begins on New Year's Day when our women host Northern Illinois.  

You can still purchase season tickets or one of our convenient ticket packages. You won't want to miss the action at Savage Arena this year! 

Men's & Women's Basketball season ticket information can be found here: WBB Tickets  & MBB Tickets

WTOL'S "GOOD DAY" COMES TO SAVAGE ARENA 

One of the many inherent advantages Toledo Athletics has over most of our peers is the robust local media coverage our programs receive. I would argue that no other Mid-American Conference school gets the kind of thorough media coverage that we do, whether that's coming from the Toledo Blade or one of our local TV or radio stations.  

I was reminded of that advantage last week when WTOL's "Good Day" brought their live morning show to Savage Arena to spend an entire hour showcasing our men's and women's basketball programs ("Good Day" also paid a visit to the Glass Bowl last August). Hosts Amanda Fay and Steven Jackson got a chance to visit with our student-athletes and coaches, as well as highlight the new videoboard and ribbonboards in Savage Arena, and talk about all the excitement that our two reigning MAC Champions are generating in our community. 

As I like to say, this doesn't happen everywhere. We are fortunate to have the media spotlight shine on all the incredible achievements of our student-athletes. It's part of the #TeamToledo pride that makes our community such a special place and makes Toledo Athletics stand apart from our competition! 

NIL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ROCKET STUDENT-ATHLETES

Another advantage our Toledo community provides for our athletics program are the many Name, Image Likeness (NIL) opportunities for our student-athletes. Recently, some of our student-athletes received some of the terrific NIL support from our #TeamToledo community! 

Last month, women's basketball players Sammi Mikonowicz and Hannah Noveroske received new cars from Jim White Toyota, while wide receiver Jerjuan Newton signed a pair of NIL deals with Powerade and Inside the Five.  

In addition, we recently announced yet another apparel partnership – Athletics Thread. These partnerships continue to diversify our merchandise offerings, while providing our student-athletes with a portion of the proceeds. 


 

NO LETTING UP NOW!
While we are understandably proud of our all of our accomplishments, we are by no means resting on our laurels. On the contrary, now is the time for us to step on the accelerator and forge ahead to even greater heights. And a big part of what drives our success -- and will continue to drive it in the future -- is the incredible support we receive from donors, alumni and fans like you.  

I have talked a lot lately about changing landscape of college athletics. Whether it's NIL, the transfer portal or the disbursement of revenue to student-athletes per the House settlement, change is a here. But the way I see it, every change brings new opportunity. Those athletic programs that take advantage of this new environment will thrive, and those who do not will be left behind. While we don't know every detail of what the future holds, I can assure you that everyone at the University of Toledo – from Interim President Schroeder to our Board of Trustees to our coaches and staff – is committed to moving our programs and our athletic department forward, just as we have over the last few years, to historic heights! 

So I invite you to join us to join me in our quest to make Toledo Athletics the Gold Standard of college athletics by continuing to support the Rockets in any way you can. Our goal is to continue to produce championship-level programs while providing our outstanding student-athletes the support they need to thrive in their sport, in the classroom and in life. That takes all of us pulling together as one #TeamToledo! 

Team Toledo, you can support our student-athletes through the Rocket Fund or 1923 Society. 

I'd like to close this month's report a little differently. The most special aspect of my job is interacting and supporting our amazing young people. As you may know, we have them in droves. I'd like to take a moment and recognize Women's Tennis student-athlete Shalini Tallamraju. She was recently accepted into medical school, after winning multiple MAC championships and graduating from UToledo with her Bachelor of Science in Biology.  

Shalini embodies our core purpose of "graduating champions who will change the world" and is a shining example of what we hope for all Toledo student-athletes -- to graduate with a championship ring on one hand and a meaningful degree in the other, sprinting across the stage because they are so excited and prepared for what's next. Our student-athletes study a variety of majors, from pharmacy to business to engineering, and everything in between including pre-med biology. They truly represent the gold standard of college athletics and serve as an important reminder of what we can't lose sight of, even as we navigate the transformational changes happening within the college athletics landscape. 

 

Lastly, have a safe holidays and Happy Thanksgiving. This is the time of year to reflect on everything we are thankful for, and I'd like to express my gratitude to everyone in our #TeamToledo community who help make Toledo Athletics!  

This is truly a great time to be a Rocket! 

This Community. This University. This Athletics Department. 
Together, we will accomplish the "impossible." 

Go Rockets!