Plan on being at the Bob Carpenter Club on Thursday, September 7th. We expect to hear from Assistant Coach, Art Link (Special Teams/Safties) and Guest Speaker, Dan Watson, Deputy AD Sports Performance & Recreation (photo above).Please register and pay for attendance on our secure website. Doing so saves much time and effort for the Club. Thank you!

Dan will review the advances in technology and techniques in sports performance.

Here is a review of our first meeting on August 29th:

The inaugural Blue Hen Touchdown Club lunch for 2023 featured
Head Coach Ryan Carty and Director of Athletics (yes, her official
title is a bit longer) Chrissi Rawak. Both answered numerous
questions and provided the lunch attendees with great
information. Their appearances brought some much needed
excitement to Blue Hen fans!

Coach Carty
 1-2 freshmen on offense and 3-5 on defense will likely see
game action against Stony Brook.
 With the changing rules (transfer portal etc.), Coach Carty
stated that there is more mass to evaluate. Since our
coaches do the bulk of the recruiting, they are even busier.
 The kicking game will be better. Both kickers have strong
legs and have a field goal range of 50 yards. Alex Schmoke
the transfer from St Francis is also very good at placing
kickoffs when needed.

 Rule Change: The clock will no longer stop temporarily after
first downs except in the last two minutes of each half.

Chrissi Rawak
 The new video board is fantastic and was used for lacrosse
games in the spring as well as for the freshman event held in
the Tub this past weekend (it was also used for a family
movie event this summer!).
 There was a 90% renewal rate for season tickets and 500
new season ticket holders.
 The athletic department continues to bring a special
experience for each student athlete. The values created are
a large part of the recruiting process whether that process is
for first year students or transfers. Delaware has and must
embrace the transfer portal in order to win.
 The “302 Tour” this summer included 40 student athletes
from various teams and 15 coaches and staff to show
everyone that the University represents the entire state (or
302).

 The next capital project (Phase 2) will be a remodel of the
entire north end zone; a new building on the other side of
that endzone which will house offices, locker rooms, and
conference rooms for 7 teams, including football; renovating
or replacing the existing field house. There will be a public announcement with details when a funding level is achieved.
 Heidi Sarver, Director of the UD Marching Band, will be
retiring after this season.Heidi will be a guest speaker at one of our October meetings!
Art Link pictured below:

NEWARK, Del. – University of Delaware Football Head Coach Ryan Carty has announced the 2023 captains that will lead the Blue Hens during the upcoming season. The Blue & Gold will be led by a veteran group of defensive linemen Chase McGowan and Ethan Saunders, linebacker Dillon Trainer and offensive lineman Brock Gingrich. The four captains were chosen by a vote of their teammates and coaches.

McGowan is coming off his third-straight All-CAA selection with another strong campaign on the UD front line last season. The Stafford, Virginia native led the squad in both TFL (9.5) and sacks (5.0) while finishing with 30 tackles and was a constant presence in the opponents’ backfield with five quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. In 40 career games, McGowan has 63 tackles with 24.0 TFL and 15 sacks.

Saunders saw significant time in the defensive line’s main rotation last year, appearing in 12 of UD’s 13 games in 2022. He finished with nine tackles, including a season-high three tackles against Monmouth, as well as 2.0 TFL, and 1.5 sacks.

Trainer will look to step into a bigger role in 2023. He appeared in three games last year and has seen time in 22 games over his first three seasons in the Blue & Gold, totaling 21 tackles.

Gingrich has appeared in 23 games in his career with 17 starts at center over the past two seasons including all 13 games in 2022. He led an offensive line last year that helped the Delaware offense average 137.9 rushing and 274.5 passing yards per game. Heavily involved in the community, Gingrich was named a nominee for the 2023 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team earlier this summer.

The Blue Hens open the 2023 season on Thursday, August 31 with a CAA road matchup at Stony Brook. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Seats remain available on the bus to Stony Brook with the BHTC. $75 for members, $80 nonmembers. Register on our secure payments page!

And, along with football, are the BHTC lunch meetings! The first lunch is Tuesday, Agust 29th. The Bob Carpenter Club doors opem at 11:00 AM. Lunch served at 11:15, program starts at Noon. We expect to get an outlook on all sports, and Football specifically from A.D. Chrissi Rawak and Head Coach Ryan Carty. We have a dynamic group of speakers in the following weeks. Stay tuned for updates!

Go Hens!