AD Michael Lipitz address the George Washington faithful
Revolutionaries Roundup with Michael Lipitz
10/15/2024 6:22:00 PM | General
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GW community,
Welcome to the first edition of this quarterly communication on the latest news and notes from GW Athletics. We'll cover all the happenings at GW and answer your questions, so please let us know for future editions.Â
FALL SEMESTER
From Welcome Week festivities across campus, including Athletics' Welcome Back BBQ with our entire department, to first-year student-athlete orientation led by our student-athlete veteran leaders, to Athletics' Fall Kick-Off with President Granberg at the Smith Center in September, it's been a great start to the fall semester. I'm enjoying getting to know our dedicated and talented student-athletes, coaches and staff. They are tremendous representatives of their teams and their university in the classroom, in competition, and in our local communities.
The 2024-25 academic year tipped-off with a Welcome Back BBQ for all GW student-athletes.
I've also enjoyed meeting many of you at a series of public events this fall. Another opportunity arrives at our Athletics Open House on Saturday, October 19th from 9:30-11:00am in the Tin Tabernacle Club in the Smith Center as part of Alumni & Families Weekend. The following weekend, GW Women's Basketball will host an open practice on Sunday, October 27th at 2:00 pm. I hope you can join us on campus for these and other upcoming events.
COMPETITIVE EXCELLENCE
GW has had several Atlantic 10 Performers of the Week early this fall, with our volleyball team leading the way with multiple honorees. The GW Revs are off to our best start on the volleyball court in almost a decade, while our women's cross country team was picked to finish in the Top 3 of the conference this season and is fresh off the program's first-ever win against Georgetown.
Treahy joins teammate Salem Yohannes as the pair of GW Revs to be honored with A-10 volleyball weekly honors.
Men's basketball standout Darren Buchanan Jr. was recently named an All A-10 Preseason Second Team honoree and was selected as one of 14 NCAA Division I student-athletes to take part in the organization's Elite Symposium for Men's Basketball. Darren and his teammates along with our women's basketball team are excited to get the 2024-25 season underway with a double-header on Nov. 4. We all know there's no better environment than a packed Smith Center and our players feed off your energy. Catch all the action by securing your season tickets today.
And, be sure to mark your calendars for the spring when the A-10 Men's Basketball Tournament returns to DC at Capital One Arena from March 12-16. GW is also proud to host the Atlantic 10 Softball Tournament from May 7-10 on the Mount Vernon campus.
Darren Buchanan Jr. looks to improve on an A-10 All-Rookie Team campaign a season ago.RESOURCES
I extend my sincere appreciation to the more than 1,500 of you who generated an all-time record $560,000 for GW student-athletes during the 14th annual Buff & Blue Fund Challenge. Your support is greatly appreciated and never taken for granted. We truly cannot do it without you.
In addition to our traditional fundraising efforts through the Buff & Blue Fund, we encourage all alumni and fans to support GW student-athletes by contributing to Friends of George, the Official Collective of GW Athletics. Friends of George is a fan-driven and alumni-led name, image and likeness (NIL) program committed to maximizing our student-athletes' ability to grow their brands and earn compensation. We invite you to directly support GW student-athletes by joining Friends of George, today.
Friends of George enhance the support and empowerment of GW student-athletes.STATE OF COLLEGE ATHLETICS
Following decades of relative stability, college athletics continues to undergo transformational change. From conference realignment, to full cost-of-attendance scholarships and Alston educational awards, to the transfer portal, and legalized sports wagering, the pace and magnitude of change continues to accelerate. The recent class action settlement in the House v. NCAA case in federal court projects to deliver next year the most significant changes yet, including direct revenue sharing payments to student-athletes and a shift from sport scholarship limits to roster limits.
Navigating the rapidly evolving college athletics landscape requires constant focus and an entrepreneurial mindset. But whatever changes come, GW student-athletes remain our North Star. Intercollegiate athletics has long been one of the greatest leadership laboratories and we remain committed to providing that transformational opportunity for many future generations.
Paige Mott is a graduate transfer from Northwestern who shot .527 from the floor in 30 games last season.FUTURE OF GW ATHLETICS
As I shared during my introduction the first week of the fall semester, GW Athletics is embarking on a strategic planning process, in concert with the ongoing university strategic planning effort. Clearly defining our priorities and the strategies we'll employ to achieve them has never been more important, especially given the sea change in college athletics. We're excited for the work that lies ahead and will provide additional information as planning proceeds this year.
Alongside strategic planning, we have launched a facilities master planning effort in partnership with HOK, the global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. The basketball performance center remains our top facilities priority and central to our future facilities planning and investments. We look forward to sharing more information about all future facilities initiatives.
If you haven't added GW Athletics to your Google, Outlook or other calendar of choice, click here so you don't miss any of the action. Have a great weekend…and Raise High!
Michael Lipitz,
Associate Vice President & Director of AthleticsÂ
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