Congratulations to the men’s volleyball team for earning the at large bid to the NCAA men’s volleyball championship! Although the team lost the conference championship game of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to Stanford University this past Friday, April 30, the team’s overall outstanding performance throughout the season led to its selection by the NCAA to play in the national championship playoffs.
Northridge, currently ranked second in the nation, will play Penn State this Thursday, May 6. The winner of that game will face either first-ranked Stanford or Ohio State for the national championship, which is scheduled on Saturday, May 8.
The men’s volleyball success follows many outstanding performances the past few weeks by Matador athletes. On April 25, for instance, the women’s polo team played for the Big West Conference championship but lost to UC Irvine. And on April 30, the women’s tennis team played in the quarterfinals of the Big West Conference championship series but fell to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
My congratulations to all the student-athletes for their strong performance throughout the year, and best wishes to the men’s volleyball team in their quest for the national championship!
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Earlier this week, I had the privilege to attend the 2010 Varsity ‘N Academic Athletics Honor Roll induction ceremony, an annual event that celebrates the academic success of Cal State Northridge’s student-athletes.
I never hesitate to express my admiration for our student-athletes who dedicate themselves to physical and mental perfection on the playing field while also striving for academic success in the classroom. The honor roll celebrates the scholar-athletes who have achieved academic excellence by completing a minimum of one season of varsity competition and earning a minimum 3.2 GPA for the previous two semesters.
It was a joyful and memorable evening—standing-room only! And many of the honorees were accompanied by their families, which made the ceremony especially meaningful and moving.
This year’s honor roll inducted 69 individuals, representing 36 different academic disciplines and 18 teams. Of the 69 honored, 28 were repeat inductees. Since its founding, 398 student-athletes have been inducted.
In addition, two honorees are traditionally recognized at the event as the female and male scholar-athlete of the year based on academic performance. This year’s top scholar-athletes were Lauren Michaels, a junior on the Women’s Track & Field majoring in Marine Biology being inducted in the honor roll a second time, and Justin Burridge, a junior from Men’s Volleyball studying Finance.
My congratulations to Ms. Michaels and Mr. Burridge—and all the honorees—for this well deserved recognition. Your ability to do well academically while also committing yourself full time to collegiate athletics competition makes you outstanding role models and wonderful ambassadors for Cal State Northridge.
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Last month, I had the great pleasure to attend the Matador Hall of Fame luncheon honoring a new group of inductees. This year’s honorees were Priscilla Rouse Becker ’90, Terry Craven ’70, the late Dorothea “Granny” Heitz ’69, Garrett Noel ’94, and the 1967 Junior Rose Bowl football team.
This annual event is an opportunity to celebrate the important contributions that intercollegiate athletics makes to the University, and to remember the rich tradition of competitive excellence that exists here. The successes and accomplishments of the outstanding young men and women who have competed for Cal State Northridge over the years remain memorable touchstones for the athletes and the people who supported and rooted for them.
The day also reminded me that we celebrate not just the athlete and his or her achievements on the playing field, but the totality of the student-athlete. The student-athlete not only focuses on physical prowess also but on academic achievement, which requires enormous discipline and engagement. The student-athletes and others who attended the luncheon remembered their days as Cal State Northridge student-athletes fondly, and many have maintained strong ties to the campus.
I was fortunate to know personally one of the honorees, the late Dorothea “Granny” Heitz. Granny was a longtime and beloved fixture at Northridge games and other events. As an alumna, she remained engaged with the campus throughout her life. Because of her work, the Dorothea “Granny” Heitz Outstanding Volunteer Leadership Award is named in her honor and presented every year at the Alumni Association’s Volunteer Service Awards. She and the other honorees at the luncheon are wonderful examples of how athletics help bring a University community together.
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Congratulations to the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball team for winning the Big West Conference Tournament Championship! The win caps an exciting and sometimes turbulent season during which the team also won the conference’s regular season title outright. The tournament championship, of course, also sends the team to the NCAA Division I finals tournament for the second time in the squad’s history.
I had the great pleasure to attend the team’s two games in the Big West tournament, including the championship game. As many who watched know, the game went into overtime, but the team demonstrated the kind of resiliency and determination that has been its hallmark throughout the season to win the game.
As we join together to cheer the team in what is one of the premier athletics events in the country, I think it’s important to remember that the players are not only outstanding competitors, but also Cal State Northridge student athletes who attend classes and work towards degrees. They are to be admired and commended for their hard work and efforts both on the basketball court and in the classroom.
All of us should also take great pride in the attention that these student athletes—along with their coaches and the whole Intercollegiate Athletics program—has brought to Cal State Northridge. Their performance and success reflects on the institution as a whole.
Please join with me in wishing the team great success as it heads into its first round NCAA tournament game against Memphis in Kansas City, Missouri, on Thursday, March 19. Game time is set for 11:25 a.m. Central Time.
Go Matadors!
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