Miami Ohio University Athletics
A.D. Brad Bates Looks Back at 07-08 Year
6/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | General
June 13, 2008
While we have much work to do to realize our lofty visions, there were many memorable moments from the 2007-2008 academic year so I invite you to take a sentimental journey through these milestone achievements and inspiring accomplishments.
There were four, significant and historical milestones this past year:
- For the first time in school history, the 85-percent graduation rate of the Miami University student-athletes exceeded that of their classmates' ninth-ranked public university graduation rate of 81-percent.
- For the first time in school history our women's basketball team won the MAC Tournament and received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament (a.k.a. March Madness).
- Our ice hockey team was ranked No. 1 in the nation for ten weeks as Miami hosted the most nationally-attentive games of the 2007-08 season when the No. 2 ranked Michigan Wolverines traveled to Oxford to play our RedHawks.
- For only the third time in Miami history our women's teams collectively won the prestigious Conference All-Sports Jacoby Trophy!
In terms of non-competitive memories, there are no equals to Miami students when they fully engage their intellect and enthusiasm to showcase our school spirit and pride in creative and ingenious ways.
...from the Cincinnati football game `White-Out'
...to Courtney Furia's graduation-day speech as she shared the podium with Robin Roberts
...to our women's basketball team supporting our women's swimming and diving team in Buffalo
...to the Xavier men's basketball game atmosphere, to Steve Antoniotti's presentation at the Senior Dessert
...to the make-shift Goggin campground prior to the Miami-Michigan hockey matchup to our energize crowd as we hosted the Conference field hockey championship
...to the electricity generated in Millett as our volleyball team met top-20 Ohio
...to the synchronized skating team traveling to Ann Arbor to support the volleyball team in the NCAA tournament Our students - athletes or not - continue to epitomize the crossroads of imagination, "mojo", enthusiasm, spirit and creativity.
Competitively, although not championships, we cannot ignore the seeds beginning to take root as `foundations' of future success:
...football won their fourth division championship in five years
...field hockey went to the championship game for the second time in three years
...four of our seven winter sports earned invitations to post-season tournaments
...our softball team earned their fifth tournament berth in six years
...three of our four fall teams that play in a sport with a conference tournament earned their way into the tournament championship game
As for championships, we saw history repeated and history created as our volleyball team swept through the entire conference tournament including 16th-ranked Ohio in the finals to win the MAC Championship, and our women's basketball team won the MAC Tournament Championship thereby earning an invitation to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
We had individual champions in women's cross country, track and field and swimming and diving...
... And we will watch two Miami student-athletes (swimmers Karen Frazier and Ryan McHugh) compete in the United States of America Olympic Trials this summer!
Good year?... Yes.
Great year?... We're just getting started!
