Also plenty of facilities updates mentioned, including locker rooms for swimming/diving and baseball, the tennis facility at Uptown Square, Wilson renovations, the bubble practice facility, and the sailing center. Here's his entire email for any who may have missed it:
Greetings Green Wave faithful!
Much has transpired since my first letter to you in early February.
The wonderful career of retiring head women’s basketball coach Lisa Stockton was celebrated and the program welcomed alum Ashley Langford as her successor.
Our beach volleyball program finished the year ranked in the Top 20 with five all-conference representatives and four national Top Flight selections under Conference USA Coach of the Year Eyal Zimet.
Bowling also finished the season ranked and qualified for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Intercollegiate Singles and Team Championships. Additionally, Kristen Derr was named a National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) All-American.
Swimming and Diving and track and field both boasted individual national qualifiers, while Baseball captured back-to-back American Athletic Conference titles with another fabulous run through the conference tournament in Clearwater. Head Coach Jay Uhlman, his staff and our student-athletes showed incredible fortitude as they earned the program’s first NCAA Regional victory since 2016 on its season-ending trip to Corvallis.
Also on the track, Zander Dunbar won the AAC’s 800-meter outdoor title while the program set six school records this year.
The Green Wave’s academic success has continued as well with 11 programs either equaling or exceeding in their APR (Academic Progress Rate) numbers from a year ago.
This year’s Hall of Fame induction class was also just announced and the Green Wave is thrilled to recognize the accomplishments of some of our all-time greats in and around the football game against South Florida on September 28.
On the facility front, making the necessary improvements to enhance the experience for our programs and fans remains a top priority.
In March, a newly constructed standalone Swimming & Diving locker room, located within the Reily Center, was unveiled. This elevates the program’s daily experience and provides our student-athletes with a place they can truly call home.
If you’ve visited campus this spring, you’ve probably noticed that the James W. Wilson, Jr. Center is undergoing a significant renovation. I’m pleased to say that this modernization is on track for completion this summer and will positively impact the experience of all our student-athletes, coaches, staff and visitors in what will be a transformative upgrade to the heart of our athletic complex.
On the lakefront, construction continues on the 4,500 square-foot Alexander Community Sailing Center, which overlooks the Municipal Yacht Harbor at West End Park in New Orleans’ marina district. We remain incredibly grateful to Libby and Robert Alexander for their visionary support of Tulane Sailing, and to our great partners at Community Sailing New Orleans for their commitment to this project and to our program.
Also, diligent pre-site work continues regarding the construction of two critical Investing in Excellence facility projects: the multi-purpose indoor facility adjacent to Yulman Stadium as well as the new tennis facility at University Square. The exact date that construction will begin on the “Bubble” has not been determined but campus believes that it will start in the next few weeks. We anticipate the project being completed later this year.
In addition, renovations to baseball’s “wet locker room”, a functional space located off the Tulane dugout in Turchin Stadium, will begin this summer. Entirely donor-funded, this upgrade will help the program in its journey for a three-peat during the 2025 season.
In fundraising, the Green Wave Club is celebrating a second consecutive record year in FY24 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024), surpassing $3.28 million in unrestricted donations with three weeks remaining in the fiscal year. This surpasses last year’s record total of $3.029 million in unrestricted Green Wave Club giving.
We’re also less than 300 donors away from surpassing last year’s record of 3,155 Green Wave Club members, so if you’ve yet to renew your support of the Green Wave Club this year, we ask that you consider doing so before June 30. You can make a gift online at greenwaveclub.com/donate or over the phone by calling (504) 865-5356.
On the national landscape, many of you have likely been following the developments surrounding the NCAA’s $2.78 billion settlement of the House, Hubbard and Carter lawsuits.
The impact of these changes on Tulane Athletics is something that I have been discussing with President Fitts and other members of his cabinet. Those discussions will continue and all involved certainly realize that these changes will have an impact on how business is done in our industry and on our campus.
This is a time of enormous change in our industry. What will not change is our commitment to giving our student-athletes a first class, impactful and transformative experience on our campus.
I wish everyone an enjoyable summer and … ROLL WAVE!
Sincerely,
David Harris
Tulane University’s Ben Weiner Director of Athletics Chair