TULANE TALK

November 2, 2007

Good Morning:

This is a great time for Green Wave athletics. While our football season has been filled with many heartbreaks, we have also been blessed with the record-breaking season of senior running back Matt Forte, who last week was named a Heisman Trophy candidate by CSTV.com. Matt has received numerous accolades and comparisons to the greats of his sport.

But the person Matt is off the field is even more impressive than his athletic achievements. Polite, humble and respectful are just a few of his many attributes. Any parent would be proud to have Matt for a son.

While Matt and his teammates continue to break records, other Green Wave teams are just getting started with their seasons or are in the midst of very successful ones. Both our men’s and women’s basketball teams held exhibition games last night and seem primed for exciting seasons ahead. Our volleyball team (23-5) has won six in a row and looks to continue that streak with games tonight and Sunday.

Our baseball team, a perennial national powerhouse, is gearing up for a long-awaited full season in the beautifully rebuilt Turchin Stadium. The team has been settling into their new home with constant practices and the intra-squad games of their annual Fall World Series. The team will continue this series with scrimmages today, Saturday and Sunday.

In what has become an annual event, the baseball team, will also hold a clinic at 9 a.m. prior to the start of Saturday’s noon game. The clinic will be attended by students of St. Michael’s Special School, a New Orleans institution for children with learning disabilities. In my opinion, no matter how many championships they win, our team will never have a finer moment than this clinic. This event truly embodies all that is right with college athletics and is just one of numerous community outreach efforts
undertaken by our student-athletes.

So while a particular season may not turn out quite the way we had planned, always remember that there is never any doubt of our student-athletes’ commitment and dedication to both their team and their community. Certainly that effort is worthy of our continued support and appreciation.

Have a great Green Wave weekend,