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| Jamie Curtis, SIS/BA '03, Jeff Orschel, SIS/BA '02, Ashley Philips, SOC/BA '02, SOC/MA '03, and David Roberts, SPA/BA '02 |
Alumni
and Coaches Gather for Brunch and Basketball
More
than 25 AU alumni and friends turned out on Sunday, January 21 for a brunch
with AU men’s and women’s basketball coaches, Jeff Jones and
Melissa McFerrin. Sponsored by the Young Alumni Chapter (YAC), the brunch,
held at the Doubletree Hotel in Bethesda, Md., was an opportunity for
AU basketball fans to get the inside scoop on the current season from
the coaches’ perspective.
Over a full breakfast buffet with all the trimmings, each of the coaches
took questions from the attendees and shared their thoughts on recruiting,
Patriot League Championships, scheduling, and their student-athletes’
commitments, both on and off the court.
AU basketball has been steadily gaining interest from
both current students and alumni in recent years, in large part due to
the coaching efforts of Jones and McFerrin. Currently in his seventh season
as head coach of the men’s team, Jones has led AU to the Patriot
League Championships three times and recently surpassed AU Hall of
Famer David Carrasco to become the third all-time most winning AU coach.
McFerrin is in her third season as head coach of the women’s team.
In her first season at AU, she posted a 12-16 overall record, tying her
for the most wins by a first-year head coach in AU history. Her team this
year is off to an impressive start in the Patriot League, having defeated
Lehigh in their conference opener on January 6 and winning key home games
against Colgate on January 13, Holy Cross on January 20, and Navy on January 24.
Coach McFerrin told the group that the youth of her team (there
are only two seniors) is both a challenge and an asset. While her players
lack the experience of more seasoned upperclassmen, they have an enthusiasm
and a team-centered mentality sometimes missing in more mature players.
McFerrin described her most memorable experience as the first time she
met with the entire team in 2004, when she got to see them all together
and know who she would be working with.
Coach Jones commented on the importance of attendance at home games. “A
large crowd helps the players by giving them extra drive when they’re
tired at the end of the game,” he said. Answering a question about
alumni assistance in recruitment efforts, Jones said that he and his staff
always welcome tips from alumni on potential recruits. He can then follow
up on those tips with more research on the players to determine their
suitability for the team.
While the question and answer session proved to be the highlight of the
event, attendees also enjoyed the opportunity to talk informally with
the coaches over brunch, something many of them had never before experienced.
“The coaches brunch was one of my favorite AU events to date,”
said YAC chapter president Ashley Philips, SOC/BA ’02, SOC/MA
’03. “It was so great to have coaches Jones and McFerrin
there. Not only did we get a chance to hear firsthand about their plans
for the team and goals for the rest of the season, but we also got to
interact with the coaches in a more social setting.”
The coaches enjoyed the event as well. “Coaches Jones and McFerrin
were really pleased with the turnout, and we hope to host several of these
throughout the year,” commented David Bierwirth, associate director
of Athletics.
The Young Alumni Chapter, which boasts nearly 5,000 AU graduates from
the last 10 years living in the Washington, D.C. area, was excited to
sponsor this unique event. Last month, AU Athletics introduced
a new season ticket package for young alumni, which, for just $60 (half
the price of regular season tickets), includes tickets to all men’s
and women’s home basketball games in a new reserved end zone seating
area, a year-round pass to all ticketed athletics home games, a subscription
to AU Athletics’ online newsletter, and the annual AU Athletics
wall calendar.
Athletics is anxious to get young alumni more involved, and the ticket package and the coaches brunch were designed to
nurture that involvement. “Athletics have really grown and become
a big part of each student’s time at AU,” notes Philips. “The
partnership between Athletics and the Young Alumni Chapter is an important
one that will hopefully continue to grow as we have more successful events,
like the coaches brunch.”
To learn more about the YAC Athletics ticket package, contact Chris McDOnnell at 202-885-3104.
-Tara
Sherwin
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