Highlanders! 

Well…what a difference a year makes...

We are incredibly excited about the upward trajectory of our UC Riverside Athletics program and what a year we had in 2022-23!  

As we inch closer to the start of the 2023-24 academic year, I want to take a moment to share with you some of the successes we enjoyed over the past year. Also, I want to emphasize that the success we are experiencing right now is rooted in the culture we have built, the stability that has been created and the alignment we have – alignment that is not just within Athletics, but exist across our campus and community.   

CULTURE, ALIGNMENT & STABILITY

Everything we do starts with culture and alignment. Ours is a culture that is inclusive, listening and caring and one that is designed to meet people where they are to help them get where they need to go. Now, we have alignment throughout Athletics and across campus which keeps everyone focused on our mission which is to build and prepare student-athletes for opportunities in life through sport. Great culture and alignment contribute to stability and stability is the key to long-term success.  

UCR Athletics has turned the corner. We are working in lockstep with our campus, Conference and community to ensure the long-term viability of our program and we are locked in when it comes to culture, alignment and stability. 

ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Our student-athletes achieved a cumulative GPA of just under a 3.2 this year and our graduating senior class boasted a 3.3 GPA. All 17 teams had a team GPA of 3.0 or higher and as a program, UCR Athletics earned a 985 APR mark and earned the NCAA APR award this year. We had 180 student-athletes earn Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition and 82 student-athletes earn Big West All-Academic Honors in the 2022-23 academic year (31 in the Fall, nine in the Winter and 42 in the Spring).

NIKE AND BSN SPORTS: NEW APPAREL, FOOTWEAR & EQUIPMENT PARTNERSHIP

The success and positive change our program is experiencing
reached a new high when we announced on May 11, 2023, that UCR Athletics entered into a five-year partnership with BSN SPORTS (the leading marketer, manufacturer and distributor of sporting goods apparel and equipment) and NIKE, Inc. (the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports, and fitness activities. Special thanks to our consultants and partners at Turba Sports, who worked in lockstep with us throughout the process to help solidify a deal with a partner everyone is excited about!

NAME, IMAGE & LIKENESS (NIL) COLLECTIVE ESTABLISHED 

In an effort to keep pace with the ever-changing NCAA landscape, Raise the Riv, powered by Student Athlete NIL (SANIL), was announced in the spring of 2023 as the official NIL Collective for Highlander student-athletes. Raise the Riv is designed to help leverage NIL opportunities for UC Riverside's student-athletes. SANIL is not officially affiliated with UCR Athletics but is acknowledged by the department and will operate within NCAA, The Big West and state of California parameters to enhance opportunities for UCR student-athletes. In conjunction with SANIL's Student Athlete Empowerment ("SAE") program, Raise the Riv will facilitate NIL transactions between UC Riverside Student-Athletes and fans, donors, and businesses and UC Riverside joins SANIL's client roster which also includes Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Loyola Marymount, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Santa Clara, and Wake Forest, among others.

BUILDING A CHAMPIONSHIP CULTURE

Big West Champions

Led by head coach, Tim Cupello, our Men's Soccer team won both The Big West regular season and Big West Tournament titles in 2022, earning a second trip in four years to the NCAA Men's College Cup. It was also the second Big West Tournament title for Coach Cupello's program in four years (2018, 2022).  

Track & Field's Linda Perez (1500m), Shiloh Corrales Nelson (Shot Put) and Women's Track 4x400m Relay Team (Saniyah Starks, Delaney Harris, Sierra Sutton and Ray Olukoju) also took home Big West titles.  

Coaches of the Year and Players of the Year  

Men's Basketball head coach, Mike Magpayo, (who led our team to its first 20+ win season ever at the Division I level and a 22-12 record overall in a historic season), and Men's Soccer head coach and Big West champion, Tim Cupello, both earned well-deserved Big West Coach of the Year honors. 

Multiple student-athletes earned Big West Player of the Year honors including Men's Soccer goalkeeper Carlos Gonzalez; Women's Golfer Tiffany Le (who finished top 15 in the NCAA this year), Men's Basketball's Jamal Hartwell (6^th Man of the Year) and Lachlan Olbrich (Freshman of the Year).

NCAA Postseason Qualifiers

Tiffany Le (Women's Golf) captured a runner-up finish at the Big West Championship, earning a historic NCAA berth and finishing in the top 15 in the nation and was the first women's golfer in program history to compete at the NCAA Championships. Our Women's Golf team also competed in the inaugural National Golf Invitational in Maricopa, Arizona. 

Linda Perez, Collette Lowengrub, JT Ober III and Shiloh Corrales-Nelson represented Track & Field at NCAA West Prelims, while Ray Olukoju once again broke her own school record in the 200m and was one of five Highlanders at the USA Track & Field U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon. 

And, our Big West Champion Men's Soccer team battled against Portland in the opening round of the 2022 Men's College Cup, only to fall just short of victory, 2-1.  

All-Big West and All-MPSF Honors

This year we saw 26 student-athletes earn All-Big West honors and three take home All MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) honors. 

100 Most Impactful People in Men's College Basketball

In addition to our coaches and student-athletes, it was an honor for me as your AD to be recognized by Silver Waves Media as one of last year's 100 Most Impactful People in Men's College Basketball.

COMPETING ON A GLOBAL STAGE

Several of our student-athletes competed for their home countries this summer in international competition highlighted by former Women's Soccer student-athlete, Quinley Quezada, helping the Philippines Women's National Team earn its first-ever World Cup victory during this year's Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand!

In addition, Softball head coach, Nikki Palmer, and Women's Soccer head coach, Nat Gonzalez, continued their tenure as head coaches for Israel's National Team (Softball) and Puerto Rican Women's National Team (Soccer), this summer.

Two of our teams took international trips in 2022-23 where they competed against world-class and professional level competition, enjoyed great cultural and educational experiences and bonded in the incredible way international tours have the ability to bring teams together. Men's Basketball spent the beginning of September 2022 in Australia on a 10-day tour where they played four professional teams and visited several cities while our Big West regular season champion Men's Soccer team visited Mexico City in late June 2023 as part of a UC partnership with AlianzaMX and UNAM on a seven-day trip where they competed against one pro and two university teams.

FACILITIES ENHANCEMENTS

We experienced a number of facilities enhancements this past year, including the beautification of our fields at Softball and Baseball, new turf at Soccer, and new stands in the Student Recreation Center (SRC). We have more improvements underway this year (e.g., new scoreboard at Soccer, shared use strength and conditioning facility with Recreation, and more) and our partners on campus with our Recreation team have been outstanding! The result of our collective work enabled our fans and students to witness and experience the transformation in our Student Recreation Center (SRC) where our Men's and Women's Basketball and Women's Volleyball teams play. 

Thousands of fans filled the stands at Soccer as well as the newly renovated SRC stands this year where they enjoyed the new chair back seating in the SRC along with new acoustic panels, lighting, a refreshed floor and more. The fan experience culminated in a dramatic Big West regular season and tournament championship for Men's Soccer in mid-November, as well as an electric environment in a sold-out arena in early March in a Men's Basketball battle for first place in The Big West against UC Irvine. Thank you to all our students and fans who came out this year to support! What a season!

WORKING WITH THE UC OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT (UCOP) AND THE UC REGENTS

Our Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), Michelle Almazan, Men's Soccer student-athlete, Issa Badawiya, and I presented to the UC Regents in January 2023 during a session the Regents held on the UC student-athlete experience. Alongside UC San Diego's Athletics Director, Earl Edwards, and his SWA and student-athlete representative, we were able to successfully convey what we are doing collectively to support our student-athletes as well as what our student-athletes in the UC need to be successful. It was great for UCR to have a seat at the table with the Regents and a voice on key issues impacting our student-athletes.  

We are also working with UCOP on a couple of important pieces of legislation at the state level which will impact college athletics in the years to come (stand by for more on that as we move into 2024).  

LEADERSHIP AND THE INSTITUTION AND STUDENT-ATHLETES WE SERVE

I have had the privilege and honor of leading UCR Athletics for nearly six years now (three as the AD) and I am incredibly proud to serve our student-athletes, coaches, staff and campus every day. I remind our staff and coaches daily of the importance of staying focused on our mission of building and preparing student-athletes for opportunities in life through sport. There are no days off in leadership and we must be diligent in valuing and protecting the inclusive and positive culture we have established in Athletics. Caring for and about one another, listening to and meeting our colleagues where they are is critical to our success and something we cannot take for granted.  

We will continue to step up and meet the challenges we face on today's NCAA landscape – together and in lockstep with one another. There are no challenges too big for us to tackle and together we will continue to find a way forward because it is simply just what we do.  

The best part of leading this program for me is seeing the positive impact we have on and for those who are in and around it as well as making our university and community proud. Our team truly cares about doing things the right way and all of this has helped elevate our program to new heights and enabled us to be a force to be reckoned with in The Big West Conference.  

We look forward to spending time and connecting with you at the games, on campus and in the community. As always, thank you for your support and encouragement. It is truly appreciated.  

Here's to an incredible and amazing year ahead and remember – just keep chopping! 

Go Highlanders!

-  Wes