From The Desk Of The Athletics Director: November, 2016

Greetings Highlanders Fans!

The pages are turning quickly on the 2016 calendar, and as the seasons change from fall to winter, our athletics seasons start to change as well.

Women's Soccer concluded its 2016 season on a roll, but came up just short of securing a Big West Tournament berth for the third time in four years.

Men's Soccer is in the Big West Tournament, and the team heads to Sacramento State for its first round match on Saturday, November 5. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 pm PT. If you live in the Sacramento area, I hope to see you out at Hornet Field supporting your Highlanders, as they go in search of their first-ever appearance in the NCAA College Cup.

Volleyball still has three home matches remaining as of this writing, including Senior Night on Friday, November 18 at 7 pm against CSUN, and Cross Country is headed to NCAA Regionals in mid-November. With that, our thoughts turn to the SRC Arena, and the 2016-17 Basketball Seasons.

The Women's Team begins defense of its Big West Conference regular season championship on Friday, November 11 as the Highlanders take on San Diego State at the SRC at 5 pm PT.

The Men's season gets underway at Portland on November 11 at 7 pm PT, before the Highlanders return to the Inland Empire for their home opener on Sunday November 13 at 2 pm.

The following week is Homecoming 2016, which include Volleyball's Senior Night, and culminates in the Men's Basketball Team's Saturday November 19 game against Fresno Pacific. Tip is at 4 pm, and you will want to secure your tickets in advance, as that is always one of our best-attended games of the year. Be sure to call 951-827-4653 to order yours, and for additional information about any of our home athletics events.

Also on that day, we will be sending our Men's Team off in style at the second annual Spirit Walk at Highlander Scot Fest. Scot Fest runs from 1-3:30 pm, with the Spirit Squads performing at 2:10 and the introduction of the Men's Basketball Team shortly thereafter as the Highlanders make their way to the SRC.

Immediately following that send off, I invite you to join us at the Athletics and Dance Building for the start of our Extreme Makeover Highlander Edition. As you no doubt know by now, the university recently launched Living the Promise: The Campaign for UC Riverside. As one of the premier philanthropic and donor recognition opportunities in this campaign, the Bear's Den Locker Room Project represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to impact the experience of UC Riverside student-athletes.

From 2:45-3:30 we are hosting an event in the current locker room area to share our vision of what that space will be, and the positive impact it will have on future generations of Highlanders.

For more information, please contact Krysta Plato at 951-827-6823 or click here to register.

Of course basketball games won't be the same this year with the passing of our longtime official scorer Cathy Lennox '69. She scored more than 1,000 games for the Highlanders over nearly 50 years, and her smile will certainly be missed courtside.

On the alumni front, congratulations are in order for former Men's golfer Brendan Steele. The former Highlander won the second PGA Tournament of his career at the Safeway Open on October 16.

We also had two of our recent alumni take the next step in their professional dreams as former Women's Soccer player Celina Valencia '15 signed to play professionally in Spain, and former Men's Basketball player Jaylen Bland '16 was drafted in the first round of the NBA D-League Draft.

I had the opportunity to catch up with former Women's Tennis player Jill Wood '99 at the NACWAA convention in Kansas City, Missouri, and I look forward to engaging with more alumni during future travels to share ways Highlanders can participate in the 3 Ps—partner, promote, and presence.

The UC Riverside Coaches' Radio Show gets underway on Monday, November 14 at 6 pm at a brand new location, as we move to Zacatecas Café on the corner of University and Iowa across from University Village. I hope that you will join us throughout the 2016-17 season to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Highlanders from the perspective of our coaches, student-athletes and alumni.

Speaking of alumni, balloting is currently underway for the Athletics Hall of Fame induction class of 2017. If you are a member of our Hall of Fame, or on the Athletics Association Board or Hall of Fame Committee, you should have received a ballot from our chair, Chris Jensen. If you did not, please reach out to Arturo Cabrera at 951-827-5432, and he will make sure that you receive one.

We expect to announce the names of the inductees in late November, in preparation for the Athletics Hall of Fame celebration which is scheduled for April 15, 2017 at the Mission Inn.

With the holiday season fast approaching, let me close by wishing you and yours a very safe and happy Thanksgiving.

All The Best – And Go Highlanders!

From The Desk Of The Athletics Director: November, 2016

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