From the Desk of John Weber

Rams!

I hope you are having a great summer! As the calendar flipped to July it marked the end of the 2023-24 season across college athletics and the excitement of what's to come during the 2024-25 season. As we count down the days to these much-anticipated seasons, I want to take this opportunity to say thank you for fueling a lot of success this past year and to ask for your continued support as we look forward.

Paris Olympics
Congratulations to our three former Rams headed to Paris to represent their country! Gian Clavell will be on the Puerto Rico national team as they qualified in men's basketball for the first time since 2004. Two former track and field athletes Lauren Gale (Canada) and Mostafa Hassan (Egypt) head to Paris as well.

Three current CSU women's track and field athletes Michaela Hawkins, Mya Lesnar and Gabi Morris qualified to compete at the U.S. Olympic trials last month. Michaela in the discus and Mya and Gabi in the shot put.

National Champion
Congratulations, Mya Lesnar! Mya is the first-ever Colorado State women's indoor track and field athlete to win a national title, doing so in the indoor shot put. In the finals, Mya threw two of the best throws of the entire competition. The winning throw came in the opening round of the finals, at 18.53 meters. Deservingly so, Mya was named the 2023-24 Mountain West Conference Female Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year!

Mountain West Conference Championships
Your women's cross country, women's indoor track and field, men's indoor track and field and women's outdoor track and field teams under the leadership of coaches Brian Bedard and Kelly Hart all added to Colorado State's incredible 15th straight year of earning a conference championship. Another special congratulations goes to senior Gabi Morris. Gabi was just recently named the Mountain West Conference Female Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

NCAA Postseason Competition
Winning championships and competing in postseason play is our absolute goal every year. Three teams represented CSU in the postseason this year.

Men's basketball under coach Niko Medved earned its second at-large bid in three seasons to the NCAA Tournament and secured a victory in Dayton, Ohio against Virginia.

Women's golf and coach Laura Cilek earned their first NCAA Regional birth since 2010. The team set a program record with three team and three individual titles this year.

Men's golf and coach Michael Wilson earned their third straight trip to the NCAA Regionals in West Lafayette, Indiana. It was the program's 21^st NCAA Regional berth in program history.

Colorado State was one of only 43 universities with both women's and men's golf teams selected to compete in NCAA Regional competition.

And finally, Men's and Women's Track and Field sent six athletes (Mariano Kis, Mya Lesnar, Gabi Morris, Michaela Hawkins, Yasmin Austridge and Sarah Carter) over five events to the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships combined, earning seven All-America honors.

Eleven Strong
Keeley Hagen and the women's soccer program put together one of the best campaigns in their young history last year advancing to the Mountain West Championship for the first time. Oliva Fout set the program's single-season goals mark with 12 and was named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year. Fout and the rest of the Rams start off our 2024-25 season August 15 when they host Idaho State at our soccer complex!

Singles and Doubles
Rams tennis and Coach Mai-Ly Tran had a trio of players ranked by the ITA in the Mountain Region, and for the first time, the Rams had a pair of athletes ranked in singles. Radka Buzkova hit both the singles and doubles list, reaching No. 11 in the region as a singles player, the third consecutive season she's been ranked in the top 15. Zara Lennon, ranked 15^th regionally, as both were All-Mountain West selections in singles.

The All-Mountain West doubles team of Radka Buzkova and Viktoryia Zhadzinskaya were ranked No. 10 in the region as a doubles team.

Six Softball Rams Named To Mountain West All-Conference Teams
Rams softball and coach Jen Fisher saw six athletes named to the Mountain West All-Conference first and second teams. Six honors are the most by Colorado State since 2019. Maya Matsubara, Peyton Allen and Ashley York were all named first-team All-Mountain West while Molly Gates, Sydney Hornbuckle and Jailey Wilson were all named to the second-team.

Scholar All-America Team
For the 15^th consecutive semester, Rams swim and dive was named a Spring Scholar All-America team by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America based on a team GPA of 3.60. Colorado State's final resume was bolstered by 11 students earning a perfect 4.0 GPA for the semester!

Thank You Band and Spirit
It is also very important to me to say thank you to the students who participate on our spirit squad, golden poms, CSU marching band, Presidential Pep Band, coach Dawn Burton, Associate Director of Bands Dr. Jayme Taylor, and the many people who also contribute. These students, staff and volunteers elevate everything that we do!

College Athletics Is Changing
It is a transformative time in college athletics, and I am excited. Our vision is clear, and we are working relentlessly to become the most loved, most watched, most innovative program in the West. This will take hard work and courage, but we are energized about the future!

As you know, the autonomy five conferences and the NCAA all voted to resolve the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit, as well as other antitrust litigation. The proposed settlement will need to be presented to a federal judge for approval, which could take considerable time.

Although the Mountain West is not a party to the litigation, there is no denying that this proposed settlement, if approved, does directly impact Colorado State. If the settlement is approved, the partnership we have with our students will expand to now include revenue sharing, up to a certain cap. It also appears that additional scholarships will be introduced up to roster limits. The sharing of revenue or providing additional scholarships will be at the sole discretion of each university.

Like all Division I institutions, we will see a reduction in annual revenue distribution from the NCAA due to the NCAA's settlement costs, which are being shared among all Division I institutions. With this said, our goal at Colorado State is very clear and that is to fully participate in whatever the final guidelines are that enable us to partner with our students to maximize their educational and athletic opportunities at Colorado State.

While our goals are clear, we have more work to do to achieve these goals, and it is important that everyone who loves Colorado State is willing to participate as we move forward. Colorado State is a world-class Tier I research institution, with a proud athletic history, in one of the finest cities in the world. Colorado State athletes will have every opportunity to compete nationally. This is how it has been and certainly will continue to be moving forward.

The Fall Will Be Here Soon
The 2024-25 season will be here before we know it! We are just 34 days from soccer kicking off the season when they host Idaho State at their brand-new soccer field.

We are also 49 days away from the annual White Out volleyball match when the Rams host SEC foe Florida on August 30.

Cross country starts its Mountain West Conference title defense that same day when they head north of the border to compete in the Wyoming Invitational.

Football is just 50 days away from taking on Texas in Austin on August 31.

Don't Miss Out!
Speaking of football, I joined Coach Norvell, Tory Horton and Jack Howell this week at the Mountain West Conference Football Media Days in Las Vegas. Congratulations to Jacob Gardner, Tory Horton, Jack Howell, and Chase Wilson for being recognized as Preseason All-Mountain West!

We are excited that Colorado State is part of the EA Sports College Football 2025 video game that will debut next week featuring top 100 overall player Tory Horton and the rest of our Rams. I can't wait to play!

Don't miss out before it's too late to secure your tickets for the Rocky Mountain Showdown! The best value is to purchase season tickets or a mini plan. We need your help to fill Canvas Stadium for a record SEVEN times this year, including a great three-game home stretch in September! We announced two more kickoff times:

Saturday, September 7
Ag Day
Colorado State vs. Northern Colorado
5:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 26
Homecoming and Family Weekend
Colorado State vs. New Mexico
3:00 p.m.

If you have already purchased tickets, thank you! If you have not yet, please consider buying season tickets. The support is critical, and your attendance is meaningful!

Coming off a trip to the Mountain West Championship match, Second-year coach Emily Kohan and your Rams volleyball program will host great competition in Moby Arena this year starting with the White Out match vs. Florida to open the season! Also coming to Fort Collins this year are Michigan State, Colorado and Oregon, followed by another highly competitive conference schedule.

While fall is first, the winter version of Moby Madness and tipoff of basketball season will be here soon. Basketball season ticket renewals are due one week from today on Friday, June 19. Both teams will be great entertainment all year long with the return of Nique Clifford on the men's side and the Ronsiek sisters teaming up on the women's side.

I am excited about what is happening at this great University, and I can't wait to watch our teams compete again soon! We are going to have a lot of fun this year.

Go Rams!

John Weber
Director of Athletics

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