Trojan Fans,
2016 is almost in the books and what a year it has been for Little Rock Trojan Athletics. We continue to see our young people have success on the court, field and pool while performing well in the classroom and in the community.
Congratulations to coach
Adrian Blewitt and our women's soccer program for winning a school-record 12 matches and their highest finish in the Sun Belt Conference; the future is bright for Little Rock soccer. This fall, we witnessed men's golf winning the Memphis Invitational along with swimming & diving posting many school records in the pool as they finished their fall schedule 5-1 in dual meets.
In the community, we have seen all our programs involved at a high level with various community service projects. I am proud of our partnership with Salvation Army this holiday season as many of our student-athletes rang bells around the city before the semester break. Junior soccer standout, Quin Wilkes, serves as our SAAC president and is doing a great job involving and organizing our young people through various programs on campus and in the community.
Little Rock Athletics' Graduation Success Rate was released earlier this fall and our department continues to boast the state's highest GSR of all Division I schools at 81 percent. Men's Basketball posted a perfect 100 percent alongside men's golf, women's golf and volleyball. Our academic success continues to validate the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes, coaches and support staff
All eyes are now on basketball and I want to express sincere gratitude to all of you that have renewed your support this season. In addition, over 500 new fans have joined #LittleRocksTeam as our department once again saw close to a 30 percent increase in season ticket sales for the second year in a row.
With the non-conference portion of our schedule wrapping-up, I am pleased with where both programs stand.
Joe Foley and our women have proved they can compete with anyone in the nation and we all should be proud of the fight they showed against No. 5 Mississippi State at the Stephens Center. With non-conference matchups against Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and LSU on Dec. 21, our young ladies will be ready for Sun Belt play later this month.
Men's basketball continues to find a way under first-year coach
Wes Flanigan. #LittleRocksTeam sits at 9-2 with a couple big wins over St. Bonaventure and Tulsa. With two road games remaining in non-conference play, SBC action will return to the Jack later this month. Earlier this week, we received the exciting news that our Jan. 2 contest versus Louisiana will be aired nationally on ESPN2. This speaks to the respect and development of our men's basketball program.
On Jan. 2, we have a real opportunity to showcase our university, city and basketball program. "Program" speaks to our coaches and student-athletes as well as our fan base. We will need each and every one of you in the Jack that evening to help us put our best foot forward on national television. Again, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this opportunity – a strong showing of support that evening will help us take the next step for Little Rock basketball and our entire university.
As 2016 comes to a close, please know how much we appreciate all you do to support our young people and coaches. Take a moment to reflect back and take pride in all we have accomplished together. At the same time, know we are not finished as I am confident our best days are still ahead.
Happy Holidays and Go Little Rock!
Chasse S. Conque
Director of Athletics
