Positively Dr. Gragg - June 2023 - Northwestern Athletics

Wildcats,

This weekend marks one of the most joyous, celebratory periods on our campus as Ryan Field, Welsh-Ryan Arena, and Ryan Fieldhouse host Commencement activities. I have experienced this at different institutions as a student-athlete, as an administrator, as an athletic director, and as a father, and I can tell you that the pride never wanes.

Graduation is the fulfillment of the promise that we make to all of our students – and their families – in recruiting. At a place like Northwestern, where every student seems to have excelled academically for so long, earning the degree can almost feel like a foregone conclusion when they arrive. But the fact is none of our students did this alone while they were here in Evanston. Transporting them from fresh-faced first-year to accomplished alumnus is the work of so many dedicated coaches and staff. Watching them walk across the stage in cap-and-gown should make our entire department proud. It is the finish line of a race that they've worked so hard to run, and one that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

As we reach the end of the academic year, it is truly staggering to look back on all that NUDAR has accomplished since August (CLICK for video). It has been just 295 days since women's soccer headed to Kansas to kick off their season, a season in which they were picked to finish 11^th in the Big Ten and instead finished ranked 11^th in the nation. Football won the Aer Lingus Classic. Field hockey went to the national title game, again. Cross country went to the NCAA Championships for the first time in two decades. Men's golf won the Windon and qualified for the NCAA regionals. Wrestling earned its first Midlands title and had 9 student-athletes qualify for the NCAA championship. Men's basketball took the entire Northwestern community on an incredible ride back to March Madness. Women's golf qualified for the NCAA championship once again. Softball won both the regular-season and Big Ten Tournament championships. We had All-Americans, Coaches of the Year, Players of the Year and Freshmen of the Year. We led the nation in Graduation Success Rate and we broke records for Academic All-Big Ten honors. We purposefully advanced a culture of diversity and inclusion and excellence.

And, of course, lacrosse capped a remarkable season with the program's eighth NCAA title. It was incredible to be on the field in (rainy) Cary, North Carolina, to see Coach Amonte Hiller, her staff, and her student-athletes return to the pinnacle of their sport. I was joined by new Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, who was thrilled to celebrate the Conference's only spring NCAA championship with us.

After all that, it is time to rest and recharge. This will be the last newsletter you receive from me until September. Our profession sometimes seems like an industry without days off, holidays or vacations. Some of our teams, especially the fall programs, are locked in on seasons that will be here before we know it. So please remember to step away from the chaotic pace of college sports, and get your body and mind right to come back refreshed and ready to keep moving our department and our University forward.

Thank you for all you do to make Northwestern proud!

Positively,

Dr. Gragg

QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Don't accept that the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon." – Paul Brandt

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

Positively Dr. Gragg - June 2023

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