NATIONAL RUNNER-UP
Our women’s bowling team finished the season as national runner-up and Southland Bowling League champions. We’re proud of everything our Red Wolves accomplished this season and the future is bright for our women’s bowling program.
Brooklyn Buchanan and Emma Stull earned All-Tournament honors and were named to the National TenPin Coaches Association (NTCA) All-America Team. Brooklyn and Emma, along with Maggie Thoma and Karli Van Duinen, also earned all-conference recognition as announced by the Southland Bowling League earlier this week. Congrats to all four on these honors, and to head coach Justin Kostick and our entire team on a fantastic season.
HOWL ON WHEELS
We were excited to announce plans to bring back our coaches-caravan tour, which gets underway in Jonesboro at Tomlinson Stadium before the A-State Baseball regular-season finale on May 20. Rebranded as the “Howl on Wheels: Red Wolves Road Show,” our tour will also take us to Bryant on May 22, Little Rock on May 23, Fayetteville on June 1 and Memphis on June 6.
I’m looking forward to being joined by Chancellor Dr. Todd Shields and several of our head coaches – including Butch Jones, Bryan Hodgson and Destinee Rogers – and we look forward to visiting with each of you on the caravan stop closest to your home. Each of our “Howl on Wheels” events is free and open to the public.
STATE AWARDS
It was great having all our student-athletes together last month at the Fowler Center for our State Awards banquet to celebrate their academic success, athletics achievements and community service this year. Our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) did a great job planning and organizing everything.
Dressed in formal attire, our Red Wolves were greeted by a red-carpet walk into the facility and enjoyed a social function, food, games and more. The event was highlighted by the announcement of our Athletics Department’s major award winners. Congratulations to all our student-athletes who were honored.
PACK DAY RECAP, #CommitToSix, FAMILY SEASON TICKETS PACKAGE
We are proud to share that over 2,000 A-State Football supporters participated in Pack Day on Saturday, April 15. Our football team issued their annual awards during the spring game and met with fans on the field at its conclusion, signing autographs and taking photos. Those in attendance also had the opportunity to enjoy food trucks, corn hole and games at Halsey Thrasher Harpole Tailgate City at Mike Watson Park while receiving a sneak peek of what our premier tailgating area could look like in the fall.
Our staff is working to enhance our entire game day fan experience, which includes improvements to Red Wolf Walk. We can’t wait to enjoy the pregame festivities and game days with you in the fall.
Join us for our home slate next season by committing to six Saturdays at Centennial Bank Stadium! Your support and commitment to our football program not only helps our student-athletes, but it also elevates the fan experience by creating a great game day atmosphere and home-field advantage.
The week leading up to our home opener versus Memphis is the annual “Paint the Town Red” tradition, and fans are encouraged to wear red to the game. Other themes for the 2023 season include Band Day, Homecoming, Senior Day, Heroes Day and Fan Appreciation Day.
If you or someone you know is interested in committing to all six home games at Centennial Bank Stadium next fall, you can use the promo code “FAMILY” to receive four tickets on the Upper East side for $149. You can redeem this promo code by calling 870-972-2401 or clicking HERE.
SPRING COMMENCEMENT
Arkansas State University spring commencement ceremonies are set for this Saturday at First National Bank Arena, and we want to congratulate all our graduating student-athletes. We have over 35 student-athletes from 14 sports earning their degrees this semester, and we’re looking forward to watching them walk across the stage this weekend with their diploma in hand. Our Athletics Department is excited to host them and their families for a graduation celebration ahead of commencement Saturday morning in the Woodard McAlister Family Club.
BASEBALL HOME STAND
Our baseball team is in the midst of a five-game home stand that includes a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against Old Dominion this weekend, ahead of our final midweek game next Tuesday (May 9) against Little Rock.
JTown’s is the official game sponsor for our weekend series, which includes a special $5 taco and souvenir drink combo as part of our Cinco de Mayo promotion. Our “Two-Dollar Tuesday” promotion will be in place again for our home game against Little Rock with $2 general admission tickets and $2 ice cream bars available.
MEN’S GOLF COMPETITING IN NGI, NAGLIC TO PLAY AT NCAA REGIONAL
Currently ranked No. 79 in the country, our men’s golf team will continue the season after accepting an invitation to play in Golfweek’s inaugural National Golf Invitational (NGI) May 18-21 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz.
We were also thrilled to learn yesterday that for the fifth time in the last six NCAA postseason competitions, our men’s golf program is going to be represented. Congratulations to Luka Naglic, who was selected as an individual to compete in the upcoming NCAA Regional. Luka will tee it up May 15-17 at the Auburn University Club as part of the field that features 10 individuals and 13 teams. Luka became the sixth A-State player to qualify as an individual and the first since 2018.
In addition to this honor, Luka was joined by his teammate Thomas Schmidt as All-Sun Belt Conference selections. Their selections give our men’s golf program a league-high 20 all-league picks since 2015-16, and the Red Wolves have had at least two players earn nods each year since.
WOMEN’S GOLF FINISHES THIRD AT SBC CHAMPIONSHIPS
Our women’s golf team had another strong showing at the Sun Belt Championship, finishing third for the second-straight year. Their 888 total over three days of play marked the lowest score at the conference championship in program history. In addition, Elise Schultz and Olivia Schmidt were both named to the All-Tournament team. Congratulations to the Red Wolves for another strong season on the golf course.
RED WOLVES FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
Providing efficient communication has been part of our Development staff’s diligent work to present our supporters with the opportunity for the best possible experience. With that in mind, we have created a monthly newsletter that will be distributed to all active Red Wolves Foundation (RWF) members. The goal of the newsletter is to deliver exclusive content to people who are supporting our student athletes through the RWF.
The first edition, published April 18, included a feature story on Pauline Meyer, an All-Sun Belt Conference performer on our cross country and track and field teams. I think you’ll enjoy getting to learn more about her in this “Winning Mentality” piece that was written by Miya Garrett.
ACADEMIC PROGRESS RATE
The NCAA has released the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) data (2018-19 through 2021-22), which reflected the continued success by our student-athletes in the classroom. Four of our sport programs earned a perfect 1,000 score and nine either matched or improved their four-year score from a year ago. Our four programs – men’s golf, women’s bowling, women’s golf, volleyball – posting a perfect 1,000 tied the second most in school history.
We’re proud of the commitment to academics displayed by our Red Wolves. Including last fall and this spring, 49 of our student-athletes have earned their degrees from Arkansas State University this academic year. We also had 203 Athletics Directors Honor Roll members in the fall, representing 57 percent of all our student-athletes. We posted a 3.06 all-department GPA in the fall and had 50 Red Wolves record a 4.0 GPA for the second most over the last decade.
SUN BELT OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Championship season is here for our outdoor track and field teams, with the Sun Belt meet scheduled for May 11-13 in Myrtle Beach, SC. Our men’s and women’s teams have combined to win five of the last eight Sun Belt titles given out in outdoor track, and we look forward to another exciting week watching our Red Wolves compete.
Our student-athletes prepared for the conference meet by hosting the Red Wolves Open last month at the A-State Track and Field Complex. In all, A-State produced 15 event titles in the home meet. In addition, there were three new facility records set – Aimar Palma Simo in the hammer throw, Camryn Newton-Smith in the long jump and Cheyenne Melvin in the 800 meters.
CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT
Arkansas State University will hold its 2023 Spring Commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 6, at First National Bank Arena, and approximately 2,100 students are candidates for graduation. The ceremonies will be held at 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and are open to the public. Additional information is available by clicking HERE, and congrats to all our A-State graduates!
GET YOUR WOLVES UP!
This week’s #WolvesUp photos features Wolf, son of Chris and Holly Rogers, and Jhett, son of Jordan and Jerika Johnson, with their Wolves Up at our Pack Day Spring Game.
Remember to use the hashtag #WolvesUp in your social posts and tweet your photos to me @JeffPurinton if you have any pictures with your Wolves Up! or promoting A-State. We will select photos to feature in each edition of State of the Pack.
Remember to use the hashtag #WolvesUp in your social posts and tweet your photos to me @JeffPurinton if you have any pictures with your Wolves Up! or promoting A-State. We will select photos to feature in each edition of State of the Pack.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
View the list of scheduled events, broadcast information, start time and stat links on our composite calendar. (Note: All times are listed in Central Time.) Access live stats from your desktop or mobile device by visiting AStateStats.com.
TICKETS
Season and single-game tickets for our fall and winter sports are available by visiting AStateRedWolves.com/Tickets or calling the A-State Ticket Office at 870-972-2781. You can contact the Red Wolves Foundation at 870-972-2401 for additional information and/or to purchase tickets in our premium areas.
Read more from the original source:
State of the Pack: May 4. Article may or may not reflect the views of KLEK 102.5 FM or The Voice of Arkansas Minority Advocacy Council
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