St. John's University Athletics
A.D.'s Corner: October 22, 2007
10/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
Oct. 22, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y. - As I write the October edition of the A.D.'s Corner, we are well into our fall season and there are many exciting developments in our athletics program. Our men's soccer and volleyball teams are headed toward NCAA appearances, while our women's soccer squad looks to possibly host a BIG EAST Tournament first round game and is making a strong case for a NCAA berth as well.
Our athletics program recently held two successful fundraising events. On October 4, our annual Basketball Tip-Off Gala was held at the Metropolitan Club with STJ alum and three-time NBA champion Bill Wennington as the keynote speaker. The evening featured a look back on our storied basketball history with a round table that included Lou Carnesecca, Norm Roberts and Bill himself. On October 15, we held the Gimmler Golf Classic at the prestigious Deepdale Golf Club, giving many of our supporters the unique experience of playing this great golf course. Fundraisers of this nature are vitally important for our student-athletes to be best positioned to compete in the highly competitive BIG EAST Conference. Proceeds raised help us keep our facilities competitive and give us an opportunity to provide the added support that often makes the difference in how our programs perform. I urge you to support St. John's Athletics by joining the Red White Club, where you will receive many benefits including invitations to exclusive events such as our Red White Day with the Red Storm on October 27. On that day guests will have the opportunity to witness a closed door practice with our men's basketball team followed by a lunch with the coaches and players.
Our Basketball Tip-Off Gala was the first event in a season long celebration of our 100 Years of Basketball. Throughout the year you will see features at home games, on the Red Storm Report TV show, and on a dedicated section of our website. Also, on December 15 there will be symposium discussing our program's history, while the premier event of the celebration will be a gala dinner in New York City on the evening of March 7.
All fans are invited to our next Preseason Preview Reception, featuring our basketball coaches Norm Roberts and Kim Barnes Arico, which will be held at Stout NYC on Nov. 6. It's the best way for fans to come out and get the latest information on our teams, discuss the excitement of our upcoming seasons, and ask questions of the basketball coaches.
The men open up at home at Carnesecca Arena with St. Francis (N.Y.) on Nov. 14, and the women's first home game takes place on Nov. 25 vs. Dartmouth. Take part in our 100th Year of Men's Basketball, and celebrate another successful season on the women's side and order your tickets by calling 1-888-GO-STORM.
Over this winter we will be upgrading Kaiser Stadium as a follow-up to this past spring's dedication of the facility, which honors former student-athlete, baseball coach and athletics director Jack Kaiser.
I thank all of you for your terrific support of St. John's athletics and look forward to seeing you at one of our home games in the near future.
Lets go Red Storm!
Chris Director of Athletics