Ever tried Rugby? There’s a club for that.

At UD, rugby isn’t an NCAA sport, but it is immensely popular. The Rubgy club/team thrives on almost a cult following, mixing casual athletic camaraderie with competetive matches against teams like the UD alumni, Texas Tech, and St. Edwards. 

A spring sport, and since it is not an official NCAA organization, the Rugby team is open to practically anyone. It is quite common for soccer and basketball players to play Rugby in order to both stay in shape and to be involved in another athletic club. 

The team practices Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:15pm-8:30pm on the Rugby Pitch, across the street from the Madonna and Teresa dorms. The team encourages anyone and everyone to come play, NCAA athlete or not. 

The official link to the Rugby club page is here. Todd Jacobson is the president of the club and can be reached at tjacobs@udallas.edu. 

 

New Cross Country/Track & Field Coach

Matt Buchhorn will be the new men’s and women’s cross country and track & field coach, taking over the position from Dore Madere, who will assume a post at the office of student life, but assist Buchhorn when possible. 

Prior to his appointment, Buchhorn was the assistant cross country/track coach at University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. 

This is the latest staff change in the athletics department since head trainer Meagan Murphy moved back to her home in New York to attend school, and was replaced by Kevin Blasczienski. 

Men’s Basketball defeat St. Mary’s in home opener

On Friday November 18th, in front of a large and excited home crowd, the UD Crusader’s Basketball team defeated St. Mary’s University.

The Crusaders outperformed St. Mary’s throughout the majority of the first half, being 15 for 29 in field goals to St. Mary’s 9 for 27, however, St. Mary’s completed 83 percent of their free throws in the first half to UD’s 25 percent, making the halftime score 36-30 in favor of the Crusaders.

In the second half, much of the action was back and forth as St. Mary’s attempted to catch up. But the Crusaders met the challenge, improving their field shooting as well as their free throws and keeping St. Mary’s from scoring any of their eight 3-point attempts. In the final few minutes of the game, St. Mary’s pressed forward heavily and UD scrambled to defend. In the end, the Crusaders kept St. Mary’s at bay and achieved their first win of the season with a score of 75-71.

Poll: Does the timing of basketball season hurt the teams’ support?

The last post I wrote lauded student participation at the last home men’s basketball game. As everyone celebrates Thanksgiving and beings to look forward to Christmas break, it is easy to forget that the Basketball teams continue their season while we are all at home under the mistletoe. This begs the question: does the timing of the basketball season with Christmas break hurt their student support?

Men’s Basketball benefits from Odyssey Days

The men’s basketball game on Friday versus St Mary’s University was perhaps the best attended sporting event I have seen in my 3+ years at UD. Why? Odyssey Days and the resulting publicity. Future UD students from around the nation visited UD at the end of last week, invigorating the school’s weekend events.

The basketball game was packed – every seat was taken. Free ice cream was offered and t-shirts were given away at half time. There were coordinated chants during the game, and the fans were awesomely loud. It was a completely integrative experience, and surely the high school students that attended will have a better opinion of UD for it.

Will current UD students wish that every game will be like this? Sure, but this raises the bar for student involvement at athletic events, which is a good thing. Plus, we can all look forward to the next Odyssey Days.

UD Men’s Basketball Active In Social Media

The UD Men's Basketball Facebook Page

The UD Men’s Basketball team is proving to be ahead of the curve and is surprisingly active on Twitter and Facebook. Coach Samples has utilized a Twitter account to keep fans up to date on everything from practices to game statistics. Any UD basketball fans out there should definitely follow him.

The team also has an impressive presence on Facebook. Their page displays Twitter updates, picture galleries, and a “wall” for fans to socialize on. Already, the evidence suggests that this is a great way for fans to get involved with the team and show support before and after games.

Poll: Should the NCAA offer payment to athletes, or is amateur participation a means of building character?

As the years go by, collegiate athletics become more and more high-profile and many Division I schools gain revenue through TV contracts and ticket sales for showing NCAA athletic events. Yet, the NCAA maintains that their athletes retain amateur status and that they do not receive payment (monetary or otherwise) for participating in athletic events. While we realize that, for Division III schools like UD, athletics is more of a privilege than a means of profit, we would still like to know what you think.

Four-Year Letter Winners Receive Gift

As fall seasons end and winter/spring seasons draw near, some senior student-athletes are bowing out of the world of college sports. Something that the athletic department (headed by Coach Dick Strockbine) does to honor these student-athletes is to present them with a watch. This token of appreciation, marked with a golden UD crest at its center, represents the time and effort and blood and sweat that student-athletes have invested in their respective sports over their careers. Recipients must have won a varsity letter in all four of their seasons playing at UD, so this is an exclusive gift to cherish and be proud of – not everyone earns these.

Athletics By The Numbers: Women’s Edition

Have you ever wondered which UD Women’s sports teams carry the largest rosters? Or which have the longest seasons? Here, we give you the answers:

• Basketball – 11 players, 25 games

• Cross Country – 15 players, 7 events

• Lacrosse – 10 players, 11 games

• Soccer – 23 players, 21 games

• Softball – 14 players, 21 games

• Track and Field – 7 players, 8 events

• Volleyball – 13 players, 39 games

Athletics By The Numbers: Largest Squads & Longest Seasons (Mens Edition)

What sports have the highest student involvement? Which offer players more games or events? For the men’s half of UD athletics, below lies the answers. Generally, the larger the squad, the longer the season.

Players:

• Soccer – 35
• Lacrosse – 28
• Baseball – 22
• Basketball – 17
• Cross Country – 8
• Golf – 7
• Track and Field – 7

Games/Events:

• Baseball – 27
• Basketball – 17
• Soccer – 17
• Lacrosse – 16
• Track and Field – 8
• Golf – 7
• Cross Country – 6

A corresponding post for women’s sports is up next.