From the Desk of Athletic Director Glenn Hofmann
This is the second edition of "From the AD's Desk".
There is not a more exciting time of year for collegiate coaches
and administrators than the fall. With students back on campus you
can feel a tangible sense of excitement and activity that has been
missing since students last left in May. While our student-athletes
were gone our staff worked extremely hard on our number one
priority – improving the student-athlete experience. With
this in mind our men’s and women’s cross country and
tennis teams returned to locker rooms for the first time in
their respective program’s history. Our men’s lacrosse
program now has a full-time coach with the promotion of Mike Morgan
and all of our programs will take part in “Judgment
Day” –a motivational leadership program this Sunday
night.
Two of our other priorities are revenue enhancement and
communication, and we have begun to take steps in this area as
well. In conjunction with our alumni association we have an
ambitious schedule planned to reach out to Merrimack graduates
throughout the country. Our first event was in Amesbury and was
hosted by Dan and Cathie Harding. Over 50 supporters attended and
the passion for and interest in Merrimack Athletics was obvious
from the minute I walked into the Harding’s beautiful
home.
Banners celebrating our past championships and NCAA Tournament
appearances will soon be hanging outside the Volpe complex and a
comprehensive e-newsletter campaign for each sport will be launched
this fall. Many of you will also soon be receiving our annual
report reviewing last year’s accomplishments and looking
ahead to this year’s challenges. We have also put together a
comprehensive fundraising plan aimed at helping us improve most of
our facilities so that we can continue to be competitive in the
Northeast-10 and Hockey East. Finally a new radio contract was
signed so that all of our hockey games can be broadcast live in the
Merrimack Valley and an on-line store with sport-specific
merchandise will be launched within a couple of weeks.
So it has been quite a summer and I’m truly appreciative of
the hard work our staff has put in and excited about how our ideas
have been embraced by the Merrimack community. I will always
remember my first day at college when my parents made the five hour
drive from Northern New Jersey to Olean, NY. I came to a campus not
knowing anyone and honestly scared to death about what I was told
would be the best four years of my life. I thought about that when
our student-athletes were moving in a couple of weeks ago and then
again on Saturday when the remainder of the students were moving
into their dorms. For me the transition to college and being away
from home was difficult at times and I’m sure it was even
harder for my parents. But in time I really enjoyed my college
experience. I hope incoming freshmen student-athletes will adjust
quickly and learn to appreciate Merrimack as much as the
upperclassmen already do.
My sense is the transition might be harder for parents than
student-athletes. I know when I started as Director of Athletics in
April I knew this was the right place for me the first day I walked
on campus. There is just something about the place that really
makes it special. I look forward to seeing parents of our
student-athletes, alumni and Warrior fans throughout the year.
Best Regards,
Glenn
