The University of Mississippi Athletics
STAFF BLOG: George Smith Provides UMAA Foundation Update
9/2/2008 | Athletics
The Ole Miss athletics department's senior staff and leadership publish biweekly blogs under OleMissSports.com's Inside Athletics to offer fans added insight into the overall operation of the department.
If you were lucky enough to be at the game Saturday and witnessed our win over Memphis, then you were a participant in the beginning of a new era of Ole Miss Football under Coach Houston Nutt. What a season opener! The execution was superb, there were no delays, no jumping off-sides and no turnovers. We were a well coached, very organized team that was fun to watch.
The UMAA Foundation has been busy with ticket allocations and last minute details in preparation for the 2008-09 season. The first ballgame is always the most difficult, but we thank you for your patience and hope you'll let us know how we can be of assistance in the following months.
Staying on schedule is our main priority for the Baseball Stadium renovation. There have been some legitimate delays, and the construction crew has unearthed everything imaginable during the excavation. But we are meeting with them on a weekly basis and have been assured that all seating should be ready for the season opener. There will be some last minute tweaking, but nothing to hinder that first pitch. When completed, we will have the most fan-friendly, top notch baseball facility on any university campus.
The Basketball Practice Facility is on target and Yates Construction has set a Fall 2009 date for completion. Coaches Andy Kennedy and Renee Ladner are excited about the positive impact this will have on their teams and will be glad when they can utilize this new addition to campus. On a side note, I watched the men's team in a pickup game and feel that, without a doubt, this is the most athletic group we have had in a while. There will be no breaks with this team.
Please join us in welcoming Jeff Ulmer as the new President of the UMAA Foundation. Jeff comes to Ole Miss from Vanderbilt University and has done a great job with their development program. He will join the staff in October, so I encourage you to stop by our office and get acquainted.
As always, your support is appreciated more than you will ever know. Look around at the facilities your donations have allowed us to build and know that the coaches we have in place are using them to take Ole Miss to the next level. This is an exciting time to be a Rebel and it is only going to get better.
Again, thanks for all you do for Ole Miss Athletics.
George Smith
UMAA Foundation Executive Director