June 10, 2004
TO: Fans, Friends, and Supporters of LSU Athletics
FROM: Skip Bertman, LSU Athletics Director
The last several weeks have been busy around the LSU Athletics program, so I want to take this opportunity to update you on some important issues.
It always bodes well when a school still has teams in competition in the second week of June, and that is the case for the LSU baseball and track & field teams. LSU is playing host to Texas A&M in an NCAA Super Regional at Alex Box Stadium this weekend while the Tiger and Lady Tiger outdoor track & field teams are in Austin, Texas, to compete for national titles.
All of LSU is still beaming with pride over the performance of our softball team in the Women’s College World Series. Coach Yvette Girouard’s Tigers finished third in the nation and our own Kristin Schmidt became the first player in WCWS history to be named tournament MVP without playing in the title game. An Alex Box Stadium crowd of over 6,200 fans gave Kristin a standing ovation when she threw out the first pitch at the baseball regional tournament last Sunday.
ACADEMICS
Not only are LSU teams achieving great success on the fields of play, the Tigers and Lady Tigers have also had one of their greatest years in the classroom. Earlier this year I gave you a summary of their academic accomplishments for the fall semester. Now I’m proud to report that the spring semester was even better.
A total of 218, or 54 percent, of our student-athletes had a grade point average of 3.0 or higher during the spring semester. That’s well over half of our student-athletes who scored 3.0 or better. In all, 98 of our student-athletes were named to the dean’s list of their respective colleges, and 30 of our young men and women recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA. Congratulations to these Tigers.
Eight LSU teams averaged 3.0 or better, led by the men’s tennis squad that posted the highest team GPA at 3.50, followed by the women’s golf team at 3.34, gymnastics team at 3.24 and volleyball team at 3.18.
If you follow men’s basketball, you know that many prestigious programs have been criticized in recent years for poor academic performance and low graduation rates. You will be glad to know that your LSU men’s basketball team is making high marks in the classroom. The Tiger scholarship players posted a cumulative GPA of 3.06 for the spring semester, including senior Charlie Thompson who was among LSU’s 4.0 students.
My thanks to our coaches and academic support staff for their leadership, our faculty for their talents, the Tiger Athletic Foundation for providing the finest academic center for athletes in the country, and especially our student-athletes for their commitment.
We hope you take as much pride in the academic accomplishments of your Tigers as you do in their athletic performances. We have a group of student-athletes on our campus right now who are going to make great contributions in all walks of life long after their athletic careers are over.
SEC SPRING MEETINGS
Last week I attended the Southeastern Conference Spring Meetings in Destin, Florida, along with coaches Nick Saban, John Brady and Pokey Chatman, plus several members of our administrative staff.
Among the major topics of discussion was the NCAA academic reform movement, which I discussed with you in my last Cyber-side Chat. Also, the SEC member schools ratified new measures for compliance with NCAA rules as developed by a special task force during the last year. Hopefully these important measures will lead to Commissioner Mike Slive’s goal of having no SEC schools on NCAA probation in five years.
Also, we heard presentations from the television networks that broadcast SEC football and basketball games. As of last week no games were finalized but, the way it looks today, our football games vs. Oregon State and at Florida should be carried by ESPN, and CBS should televise our games at Auburn and Georgia. CBS has already announced that it will televise our game against Arkansas on November 26.
TIGER STADIUM
As we continue with construction on the west side of Tiger Stadium, we are developing plans for the most efficient method for getting fans in and out of the stadium on game days. As many of you know, a construction fence has reduced the pedestrian access routes into several gates on the west side of the stadium.
In the coming months we will be providing you with more information on how fans will enter and exit the west side of Tiger Stadium. Please plan to arrive at your seats early and be patient this season as we improve the LSU football experience for the future.
We welcome your feedback, so write to us at LSUvision@etigers.net and tell us how we can make LSU Athletics better for you. I cannot promise a response to every letter we receive, but I can promise that each one will be read.
Thank you for your support of Tiger Athletics.