Trojan Fans,
Now that basketball season has come to an end, our department is entering the heart of competition for our spring sports. Our men's golf team recently took first place in its home tournament at Chenal Country Club and senior Zach Coats took individual medalist honors. Under the leadership of head coach
Jake Harrington, the team has played well all season in some very competitive national tournaments and is ranked in the top 100 for the first time in many years. Our women finished second in their annual home event at Maumelle Country Club and both squads will compete in the Sun Belt Championships later this month.
Baseball has started conference play as we host Texas State this weekend in a three-game series at Hogan Field. On April 25, we face UCA at Dickey-Stephens Park and I hope you will make an effort to attend. I foresee this game becoming a marquee matchup on our schedule each year that can attract a couple thousand fans.
Track & field hosts its annual meet at the Coleman Complex this weekend in conjunction with a Trojan Tailgate that will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Fans are encouraged to attend as this will also serve as Senior Day for 15 Trojans graduating in May.
Sun Belt Coach of the Year
Joe Foley and the Little Rock Trojans posted another 20-win season (25-9) and won a Sun Belt Conference championship. While it sounds like a broken record, Joe, his staff and our young ladies once again brought great national attention to our university as they advanced to the second round of the Women's NIT. Sharde' Collins became the second Sun Belt Player of the Year honoree in program history and the future continues to be bright for the program on the heels of another great recruiting class.
Coach Wes Flanigan and our men got off to a great start at 9-2 but faced adversity throughout conference play. We owe a great deal to our six seniors who helped put Little Rock basketball back on the map during their time as Trojans. I have spent a great deal of time with Coach Flanigan the past few weeks and I am encouraged and optimistic about the future of our program. With our returning players and several new signees, we will likely have a very young but promising team in 2017-18. Building a consistent program takes time, and I have much faith in Wes to lead our program back to competing for a Sun Belt Championship in the very near future.
Earlier this winter we announced our partnership with Learfield Sports which will oversee our corporate sponsorship program. Little Rock Trojan Sports Properties will be led by new General Manager
Josh Hartman and Coordinator for Business Development
Courtney Scott. We are excited to welcome Josh and Courtney as our newest members of #LittleRocksTeam and look forward to our very important partnership with Learfield.
Spring is a very busy time for our young people as they balance school, practice, and competition. We will say goodbye to over 60 graduating seniors – our largest class ever. In addition to graduation, this group will gather for our senior etiquette dinner and honors luncheon to be held in the coming weeks. It is certainly a special time for our graduates who have contributed so much to this department and university. Once a Trojan, always a Trojan.
Our department is most grateful to you, our loyal supporters. Our staff continues to work extremely hard to engage our community and offer a first-class experience for our student-athletes and those that support them through their journey at Little Rock. Your feedback, ideas and the opportunity to open new doors in the community are always welcomed so please share with us. Again, thank you for making Little Rock Athletics a special part of our community. We simply could not do it without you.
Go Little Rock!
Chasse S. Conque
Director of Athletics
