One of the things that I have set as a goal for the sports information department is to get more of our former players and coaches back in touch with Hardin-Simmons. I just want to let you know of several different things that we are doing on the web site to help you stay involved.
First, we have set up a Hardin-Simmons Athletic Department page on Facebook. If you are a facebooker and want to join you can click here. We are also adding a twitter page. Twitter is something new to me, but I think it is a great way to get information out quickly. You can join the twitter page here.
Another thing I am going to try to do is add articles about former players and coaches that have gone on to other places. If you see articles that have HSU athletic-related ties, send me the address and we are adding them on the web site.
All of this information can be found under the Keeping In Touch Tab on the web site.
I also encourage you to sign up for the letterman’s golf tournament that will be held on June 19 at Fairway Oaks.
You can contact me by phone (325) 670-1473 or e-mail (cgrubbs@hsutx.edu) or you can contact anyone on the staff through our athletic department directory.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Busy Weekend Ahead ... Come on Out
I apologize for taking so long to update the blog, the spring is just such a hectic time for me.
It is not like I haven’t had some things to write about. First of all Ashley Huston needs to get a tip of the cap for her performance at the indoor NCAA Championships. She placed fourth in the high jump and won the pentathlon to score enough points for HSU to finish eighth as a team. She has already automatically qualified for the outdoors in the heptathlon and has provisionally qualified in the high jump, long jump and 100 hurdles. The Cowgirls could have two or three other qualifiers for the spring outdoor meet and right now RaceBerry Jam has them picked to placed third, based on athletes that have qualified so far. Not bad for a first year program.
Congratulations to the two diamond sports. They both have a chance to clinch ASC West Division titles this weekend. The Cowboys will play Texas Lutheran at Hunter Field this weekend and if they win the series they will be the No. 1 seed from the ASC West and will have their second straight ASC West title. This team is exciting to watch, they have already set the record for home runs in a season in the Division III era and Regan Dixon has hit a school-record 14 home runs this season. Come out and enjoy the nice weather and support the Cowboys this weekend.
The softball team is in first place in the ASC West and has won 19 of their last 20 games. They play second place Howard Payne this weekend at Ellis Field starting at 2 p.m. on Friday. If you did not see it, freshman Taylor Namey had a huge weekend at Concordia last week, especially the Friday doubleheader when she hit five home runs in the two games. She has tied Arin Spence’s school home run record with 11 this season.
The tennis teams will compete at McMurry this weekend in the ASC Tournament. The women won their 11th straight ASC West title and they are the favorites in the women’s tournament. They will play at 8:30 on Saturday morning. The men play Friday morning at 8:30 a.m.
The spring sports are starting to wind down their season’s and before you know it summer will be here. We have had another good year at Hardin-Simmons that could turn out to be great over the next month and a half.
I hope to see you at the games this weekend.
It is not like I haven’t had some things to write about. First of all Ashley Huston needs to get a tip of the cap for her performance at the indoor NCAA Championships. She placed fourth in the high jump and won the pentathlon to score enough points for HSU to finish eighth as a team. She has already automatically qualified for the outdoors in the heptathlon and has provisionally qualified in the high jump, long jump and 100 hurdles. The Cowgirls could have two or three other qualifiers for the spring outdoor meet and right now RaceBerry Jam has them picked to placed third, based on athletes that have qualified so far. Not bad for a first year program.
Congratulations to the two diamond sports. They both have a chance to clinch ASC West Division titles this weekend. The Cowboys will play Texas Lutheran at Hunter Field this weekend and if they win the series they will be the No. 1 seed from the ASC West and will have their second straight ASC West title. This team is exciting to watch, they have already set the record for home runs in a season in the Division III era and Regan Dixon has hit a school-record 14 home runs this season. Come out and enjoy the nice weather and support the Cowboys this weekend.
The softball team is in first place in the ASC West and has won 19 of their last 20 games. They play second place Howard Payne this weekend at Ellis Field starting at 2 p.m. on Friday. If you did not see it, freshman Taylor Namey had a huge weekend at Concordia last week, especially the Friday doubleheader when she hit five home runs in the two games. She has tied Arin Spence’s school home run record with 11 this season.
The tennis teams will compete at McMurry this weekend in the ASC Tournament. The women won their 11th straight ASC West title and they are the favorites in the women’s tournament. They will play at 8:30 on Saturday morning. The men play Friday morning at 8:30 a.m.
The spring sports are starting to wind down their season’s and before you know it summer will be here. We have had another good year at Hardin-Simmons that could turn out to be great over the next month and a half.
I hope to see you at the games this weekend.
Monday, March 2, 2009
10 Years And Counting
This week marks my 10th anniversary at Hardin-Simmons and what a topsy-turvy ride it has been.
We have had great teams and bad teams, gone through tough times and shared the thrills of victory and the agony of defeat. I have been very fortunate to be along for the ride for the last 10 years.
I have seen seven new sports added to the lineup with men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and cross country as well as softball. I have seen the Grape Street Complex go from a rocky, dirty lot that was full of horses to a beautiful athletic complex – with a softball field, a pair of soccer fields, a track and two fieldhouses.
In 10 years I have seen coaches come and go and for the most part I have been in the athletic department longer than anyone other than coaches Keeling, Coleman and Wartes and athletic director John Neese. Marcus Wood and I came at the same time. When you work in athletics for a living you see plenty of people come and go in your life, whether it is coaches or players or support staff.
In my time at HSU I have seen games in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, California, Wisconsin (more times than I want to count), Minnesota, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Massachusetts. I also don’t want to count the number of miles I have driven to scenic outposts like Alpine, Clinton, Miss., Pineville, La.; Clarksville, Ark. It is crazy when you take a four and a half hour trip to East Texas Baptist and you feel like it is a home game.
All of those times on the road also are some of my best memories as well. I have seen many memorable things and many humorous things. To the road crew over the years – John Neese, John Wilson, Phil Ashby, Jimmy Pogue, Al Pickett and Tim McCarry it has been a blast and it is one of the favorite parts of my job.
Traveling on the road is not all about the games for the Road Crew. We usually find interesting things to see or do. We have seen baseball games in Oakland, Chicago, Minnesota and Milwaukee. We saw a humongous airplane (the Spruce Goose) in Oregon and they some big Art place in Chicago, while I sat in the car. We saw the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn.; along with the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield and the Space Needle in Seattle. We have seen the Mississippi River, the Pacific Ocean and Mt. Rainier.
Traveling is a fun part of the job, but my favorite part of working at Hardin-Simmons is the students. Getting to play a role in their collegiate playing experience gives me a huge amount of gratification. With very few exceptions we have been blessed with good kids at Hardin-Simmons. Do they always do the right thing? No. They are 18-22 year olds and they make mistakes. However, for the most part they do the right things on and off the playing venue and it is a blessing to have my daughter grow up around such great role models.
Do I have my favorites? Of course, that is only human nature. Do I have the ones that I don’t like? I can count on probably less than one hand the number of players I have come across in 10 years that I can say I don’t like.
I have had the opportunity to publicize 78 All-Americans, 35 ASC Titles winning teams and 36 teams that have played in the NCAA Tournament. We have had two teams make it to the NCAA Semifinals and two more to the Elite Eight.
The thing that I get to see every day that most casual fans don’t is what our kids go through to be at Hardin-Simmons and the sacrifices they make to play sports. They work hard year round to stay in the best possible condition and many are doing that while taking a full class load and working a part-time or even a full-time job.
After working in a Division I school, I saw the type of people and athletes that are on that level and it makes me appreciate where I am even more the older I get. Are the D1 kids more athletically talented? For sure. Are they better people? Not even close. I get to work with great kids every day and I thank each of them for letting me be a small part of their lives.
From the star All-American to the last player on the depth chart they all serve their roles and most importantly they all play because they love the game. It is not about being on television, or playing in front of thousands of people. For our kids it is about playing for their teammates, their schools and themselves. They do it for little public notoriety, but if you think that they don’t do it for the love of the game go to a locker room after the season has ended and you know exactly what it means to them.
Another great thing about my job is working with a great group of coaches and administrators. We have coaches that work very hard at what they do and they have great pride in maintaining the great legacy and reputation we have at Hardin-Simmons. There is a reason that HSU has more than 20 more ASC titles than the next closest competitor. It is because we have great people, who work hard and do things the right way. I appreciate all of the coaches for letting me do my job. They all are very cooperative to my needs and they always allow me to get close to their programs.
I also want to thank John Neese. He hired me to come here and we have a great relationship in and out of the office. He used to be an SID and he knows how the job needs to be done. He basically has given me all of the tools that I have needed over the years to run the sports information office and we have been on the cutting edge of sports information at the Division III level.
We were the first Division III school to do livestats for our home events and we were the first school to have an outside company host our web site. We also broadcast a high number of events on the Internet.
To all of the parents out there it has been a pleasure getting to know your child. I have had the occasional psycho-parent that likes to complain for no apparent reason, but I have had far more positive feedback from parents. I always encourage factual corrections and more often than not those come from parents.
I would like to give a special tip of the cap to Pat and Mitchell Harris. I have been at HSU for 10 years now and for nine of those there has been a Harris either coaching or playing on the women’s basketball team. Kristen played her final game on Sunday and it will be sad not to see them at games as often, because they did not miss many over the last nine years.
I also want to thank my wife Lori for putting up with me for all this time. She has spent lots of lonely weekends at home while I have been working events both home and away. When we first came here we thought we would be here three or four years and be on down the road. However, we have started to really put down our roots and Abilene and would like to be here forever. Our daughter was born here and we love Abilene.
I really can't believe it has been 10 years since I stepped out of the hotel I was living in and saw a orange sky and the wind was blowing 30 MPH or more and I thought ‘What have I done?’. It has been a great ride and I hope it lasts a lot longer.
We have had great teams and bad teams, gone through tough times and shared the thrills of victory and the agony of defeat. I have been very fortunate to be along for the ride for the last 10 years.
I have seen seven new sports added to the lineup with men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and cross country as well as softball. I have seen the Grape Street Complex go from a rocky, dirty lot that was full of horses to a beautiful athletic complex – with a softball field, a pair of soccer fields, a track and two fieldhouses.
In 10 years I have seen coaches come and go and for the most part I have been in the athletic department longer than anyone other than coaches Keeling, Coleman and Wartes and athletic director John Neese. Marcus Wood and I came at the same time. When you work in athletics for a living you see plenty of people come and go in your life, whether it is coaches or players or support staff.
In my time at HSU I have seen games in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, California, Wisconsin (more times than I want to count), Minnesota, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Massachusetts. I also don’t want to count the number of miles I have driven to scenic outposts like Alpine, Clinton, Miss., Pineville, La.; Clarksville, Ark. It is crazy when you take a four and a half hour trip to East Texas Baptist and you feel like it is a home game.
All of those times on the road also are some of my best memories as well. I have seen many memorable things and many humorous things. To the road crew over the years – John Neese, John Wilson, Phil Ashby, Jimmy Pogue, Al Pickett and Tim McCarry it has been a blast and it is one of the favorite parts of my job.
Traveling on the road is not all about the games for the Road Crew. We usually find interesting things to see or do. We have seen baseball games in Oakland, Chicago, Minnesota and Milwaukee. We saw a humongous airplane (the Spruce Goose) in Oregon and they some big Art place in Chicago, while I sat in the car. We saw the Mark Twain House in Hartford, Conn.; along with the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield and the Space Needle in Seattle. We have seen the Mississippi River, the Pacific Ocean and Mt. Rainier.
Traveling is a fun part of the job, but my favorite part of working at Hardin-Simmons is the students. Getting to play a role in their collegiate playing experience gives me a huge amount of gratification. With very few exceptions we have been blessed with good kids at Hardin-Simmons. Do they always do the right thing? No. They are 18-22 year olds and they make mistakes. However, for the most part they do the right things on and off the playing venue and it is a blessing to have my daughter grow up around such great role models.
Do I have my favorites? Of course, that is only human nature. Do I have the ones that I don’t like? I can count on probably less than one hand the number of players I have come across in 10 years that I can say I don’t like.
I have had the opportunity to publicize 78 All-Americans, 35 ASC Titles winning teams and 36 teams that have played in the NCAA Tournament. We have had two teams make it to the NCAA Semifinals and two more to the Elite Eight.
The thing that I get to see every day that most casual fans don’t is what our kids go through to be at Hardin-Simmons and the sacrifices they make to play sports. They work hard year round to stay in the best possible condition and many are doing that while taking a full class load and working a part-time or even a full-time job.
After working in a Division I school, I saw the type of people and athletes that are on that level and it makes me appreciate where I am even more the older I get. Are the D1 kids more athletically talented? For sure. Are they better people? Not even close. I get to work with great kids every day and I thank each of them for letting me be a small part of their lives.
From the star All-American to the last player on the depth chart they all serve their roles and most importantly they all play because they love the game. It is not about being on television, or playing in front of thousands of people. For our kids it is about playing for their teammates, their schools and themselves. They do it for little public notoriety, but if you think that they don’t do it for the love of the game go to a locker room after the season has ended and you know exactly what it means to them.
Another great thing about my job is working with a great group of coaches and administrators. We have coaches that work very hard at what they do and they have great pride in maintaining the great legacy and reputation we have at Hardin-Simmons. There is a reason that HSU has more than 20 more ASC titles than the next closest competitor. It is because we have great people, who work hard and do things the right way. I appreciate all of the coaches for letting me do my job. They all are very cooperative to my needs and they always allow me to get close to their programs.
I also want to thank John Neese. He hired me to come here and we have a great relationship in and out of the office. He used to be an SID and he knows how the job needs to be done. He basically has given me all of the tools that I have needed over the years to run the sports information office and we have been on the cutting edge of sports information at the Division III level.
We were the first Division III school to do livestats for our home events and we were the first school to have an outside company host our web site. We also broadcast a high number of events on the Internet.
To all of the parents out there it has been a pleasure getting to know your child. I have had the occasional psycho-parent that likes to complain for no apparent reason, but I have had far more positive feedback from parents. I always encourage factual corrections and more often than not those come from parents.
I would like to give a special tip of the cap to Pat and Mitchell Harris. I have been at HSU for 10 years now and for nine of those there has been a Harris either coaching or playing on the women’s basketball team. Kristen played her final game on Sunday and it will be sad not to see them at games as often, because they did not miss many over the last nine years.
I also want to thank my wife Lori for putting up with me for all this time. She has spent lots of lonely weekends at home while I have been working events both home and away. When we first came here we thought we would be here three or four years and be on down the road. However, we have started to really put down our roots and Abilene and would like to be here forever. Our daughter was born here and we love Abilene.
I really can't believe it has been 10 years since I stepped out of the hotel I was living in and saw a orange sky and the wind was blowing 30 MPH or more and I thought ‘What have I done?’. It has been a great ride and I hope it lasts a lot longer.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Welcome Spring Time
It’s that crossover time of year, where basketball is wrapping up and the spring sports are in full gear. Just last Saturday we had seven teams competing, so you have plenty of chances to get out and support your HSU teams.
It has been a roller coaster year for the men’s hoops teams, but the Cowboys go into this weekend’s games tied for third place in the ASC West Division. They close the season with four straight games on the road, but they are all against teams that the Cowboys are tied with or below in the conference standings. It would be quite an accomplishment for this team to make it to the ASC Tournament and as we have seen in the past anything can happen once you get into the tournament. The ASC is probably a one bid conference this season so it could be an all out battle royal in Richardson for the tournament. UTD has not clinched, but they are in the driver’s seat to host.
The Cowgirls continue to rack up the victories and they are one game behind McMurry in the standings. HSU needs help to host the ASC Tournament. The Cowgirls need to win out and have someone beat McMurry. HSU would have the tiebreaker over McMurry if HSU wins out and they ended in a tie, by virtue of HSU sweeping Concordia and McMurry losing to Concordia. The Cowgirls are looking for their 11th straight 20-win season.
Congrats to Lindsey Newcombe for being selected to the D3Hoops.com team of the week. She won her fourth ASC West Player of the Week this week. She is putting together one of the best seasons in Cowgirl history.
Congratulations go out to Ashley Huston who provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor meet in the pentathlon. She won the Texas Tech meet last weekend.
The Cowgirl tennis team opened the season with a win over Division I Prairie View A&M.
The basketball teams had senior day last Saturday and the six seniors were recognized. Mollie Brawner and Kristen Harris for the women’s team and Marcus Smith, Terrence Willis, Rian Stubbs and Rob Yeatts all got starts ton Saturday. Smith is out of the season with a broken foot, but he participated in the opening tip and was immediately subbed out.
Stay tuned to www.hsuathletics.com for all of the new of HSU athletics. Also, the dates have been set for the Lettermen’s Golf Tournament (June 19) and the Joe Black Golf Tournament (Sept. 11). There is also a reunion of 20 years of Cowboy football being planned alongside the lettermen’s tournament.
It has been a roller coaster year for the men’s hoops teams, but the Cowboys go into this weekend’s games tied for third place in the ASC West Division. They close the season with four straight games on the road, but they are all against teams that the Cowboys are tied with or below in the conference standings. It would be quite an accomplishment for this team to make it to the ASC Tournament and as we have seen in the past anything can happen once you get into the tournament. The ASC is probably a one bid conference this season so it could be an all out battle royal in Richardson for the tournament. UTD has not clinched, but they are in the driver’s seat to host.
The Cowgirls continue to rack up the victories and they are one game behind McMurry in the standings. HSU needs help to host the ASC Tournament. The Cowgirls need to win out and have someone beat McMurry. HSU would have the tiebreaker over McMurry if HSU wins out and they ended in a tie, by virtue of HSU sweeping Concordia and McMurry losing to Concordia. The Cowgirls are looking for their 11th straight 20-win season.
Congrats to Lindsey Newcombe for being selected to the D3Hoops.com team of the week. She won her fourth ASC West Player of the Week this week. She is putting together one of the best seasons in Cowgirl history.
Congratulations go out to Ashley Huston who provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor meet in the pentathlon. She won the Texas Tech meet last weekend.
The Cowgirl tennis team opened the season with a win over Division I Prairie View A&M.
The basketball teams had senior day last Saturday and the six seniors were recognized. Mollie Brawner and Kristen Harris for the women’s team and Marcus Smith, Terrence Willis, Rian Stubbs and Rob Yeatts all got starts ton Saturday. Smith is out of the season with a broken foot, but he participated in the opening tip and was immediately subbed out.
Stay tuned to www.hsuathletics.com for all of the new of HSU athletics. Also, the dates have been set for the Lettermen’s Golf Tournament (June 19) and the Joe Black Golf Tournament (Sept. 11). There is also a reunion of 20 years of Cowboy football being planned alongside the lettermen’s tournament.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Catching Up
What a historic day for our country, it is an amazing day when you see something that has never happened before. I hope President Obama is ready for the huge undertaking of getting our country back in order.
I apologize for taking so long to update my blog. Sometimes things just start flying by and you forget some things. It amazes me that it is already the 20th of the month.
Not only has it been a historic day for our country, I was telling coach Briggs earlier today that she made some history – not really her but her team. In particular the starting five of Haylee Allen, Lindsey Newcombe, Bo Warm, Kristen Harris and Mollie Brawner all have GPAs of 3.55 or above and this morning I nominated all five for Academic all-American. That is a first for me to nominate the whole starting lineup. No wonder they have been doing so well on the court, they are a smart group.
If you have not seen the Cowgirls play, they are really an exciting team to watch. They play extremely well together as a team and do not care who is the leading scorer. In fact four players average more than 12 points per game and the team is averaging close to 87 points per game over the last 10 games or so. They have so many ways to beat you on the offensive end. This team really, really has a chance to do some damage in March. They are 11-3 with two 1-point losses. In case you haven’t noticed, the ASC continues to be a brutally tough league. Outsiders don’t see how tough it is, especially the top eight or nine teams.
As for the men’s team, the Cowboys snapped a seven-game losing streak on Saturday against Texas Lutheran. Casey Riddle was great down the stretch and willed the team to victory with 13 straight points in the final five minutes, then Carlos Singer hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds to play. I must admit I was particularly happy for Casey’s performance. I have always admired the underdog and Casey has persevered his way into the starting lineup and took advantage of it. I also like seeing kids from small towns succeed. So many times the kids from small schools are overlooked and all they really need is a chance.
The Cowboys continue to work really hard and is getting better and better. The good thing is that at least three of the spots for West teams are up for grabs and the Cowboys are right in the mix for one of those three spots.
Thursday night HSU hosts Howard Payne and everyone needs to come out and support the teams. They really appreciate it when you come to the games and make noise.
Congrats to the track team on their first meet last weekend at Texas Tech. They will run two of the next three weekends at Texas Tech to conclude the indoor season.
Spring sports are firing up practices over the next few days and will be going before we know it.
Just a note of condolences to Sul Ross State on the loss of Jermaine Swearington, an All-ASC running back. He was killed in Midland earlier this week. Ironically, it was on the one year anniversary of the death of our own Brentdrick Walker.
Another person I would like for you to keep in your prayers is David Bates. David was the longtime bus driver for the Cowboys and Cowgirls and he was the team's number one fand and official's number one nightmare. He always was so good to our coaches and players and always got us to places safe and secure. Dave has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and we really need to keep him in our prayers.
I apologize for taking so long to update my blog. Sometimes things just start flying by and you forget some things. It amazes me that it is already the 20th of the month.
Not only has it been a historic day for our country, I was telling coach Briggs earlier today that she made some history – not really her but her team. In particular the starting five of Haylee Allen, Lindsey Newcombe, Bo Warm, Kristen Harris and Mollie Brawner all have GPAs of 3.55 or above and this morning I nominated all five for Academic all-American. That is a first for me to nominate the whole starting lineup. No wonder they have been doing so well on the court, they are a smart group.
If you have not seen the Cowgirls play, they are really an exciting team to watch. They play extremely well together as a team and do not care who is the leading scorer. In fact four players average more than 12 points per game and the team is averaging close to 87 points per game over the last 10 games or so. They have so many ways to beat you on the offensive end. This team really, really has a chance to do some damage in March. They are 11-3 with two 1-point losses. In case you haven’t noticed, the ASC continues to be a brutally tough league. Outsiders don’t see how tough it is, especially the top eight or nine teams.
As for the men’s team, the Cowboys snapped a seven-game losing streak on Saturday against Texas Lutheran. Casey Riddle was great down the stretch and willed the team to victory with 13 straight points in the final five minutes, then Carlos Singer hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 13 seconds to play. I must admit I was particularly happy for Casey’s performance. I have always admired the underdog and Casey has persevered his way into the starting lineup and took advantage of it. I also like seeing kids from small towns succeed. So many times the kids from small schools are overlooked and all they really need is a chance.
The Cowboys continue to work really hard and is getting better and better. The good thing is that at least three of the spots for West teams are up for grabs and the Cowboys are right in the mix for one of those three spots.
Thursday night HSU hosts Howard Payne and everyone needs to come out and support the teams. They really appreciate it when you come to the games and make noise.
Congrats to the track team on their first meet last weekend at Texas Tech. They will run two of the next three weekends at Texas Tech to conclude the indoor season.
Spring sports are firing up practices over the next few days and will be going before we know it.
Just a note of condolences to Sul Ross State on the loss of Jermaine Swearington, an All-ASC running back. He was killed in Midland earlier this week. Ironically, it was on the one year anniversary of the death of our own Brentdrick Walker.
Another person I would like for you to keep in your prayers is David Bates. David was the longtime bus driver for the Cowboys and Cowgirls and he was the team's number one fand and official's number one nightmare. He always was so good to our coaches and players and always got us to places safe and secure. Dave has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and we really need to keep him in our prayers.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
HSU Wins in Overtime
Newcombe MVP and Allen on the all-tournament team. Check the web site in about an hour for the story and boxscore.
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