– Defensive Line Coach, Kyre Hawkins, led off and discussed his player group, which he calls his “Trench Mob”. That is, they work in the trenches and mobbed the Sacred Heart QB with 5 sacks in a 49-0 beat down. Coach Hawk also noted that he joined Coach Carty’s staff because having played for JMU, he knew the quality and culture of our football program.

– We had two MVPs from the Penn game join us: #35 LB Gavin Moul, was honored for his 14 sacks vs. Penn, and #57 Long Snapper,Noah Vitko, for his accuracy in support of our kicking game. Both are talented sophomores that we are fortunate to have in our move to the FBS level.

– We had a guest from the Scared Heart Pioneers, Deputy Director, Charlie Dowd. Charlie informed us about Scared Heart, and had interesting stories about his time as a minor league baseball general manager and his extensive career in sports administration.

– Hall of Fame Sportswriter Kevin Tresolini (pictured on top), joined us to discuss a lot of interesting topics, including:

– Changes in the newspaper industry, and how much of sports reporting is done in realtime on the internet. X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram are heavily followed for his reporting.

– Regarding the move to FBS and Conference USA next year, Kevin said that UD was “well suited” to make the move. He was unsure at first, but stated that the level that we are moving to is in reality, the equivalent of 1-AA when we joined it. There was a vote by hands raised that indicated a strong majority of support.

– When asked about payments to players (NIL money), Kevin said “yes”, he agrees with it. It is the sacrifices, skills and talents of the athletes that brings the fans to buy the tickets.

– Kevin also shared the last time that he met with Tubby Raymond, when he did a story about Tubby painting the picture of senior football players.

Club Officer and Member, Harold “Smitty” Smith and family also participated in the coin toss.

We had a good meeting last week, hearing from Tight End Coach Garrett Smith. Punter, #39 Josh Cupitt accepted his Special Teams MVP award for his performance vs. NCA&T. Josh’s 3 punts averaged 55 yards per kick! Josh, from Reading, PA told us of his transfer journey from Towson.

Coach, Jen Steele, gave a spirited update on our outstanding Softball program. Now in her 7th season, Coach Steele has brought the program back to prominence. We learned about the new softball stadium, recruiting, scheduling and much more. There is much anticipation for our final CAA season and move to Conference USA. Jen introduced her staff, including Emily Winburn who set virtually every pitching record while performing as a Blue Hen.

MVPs for the exciting win over the Penn Quakers:
Offensive MVP: #14 Ryan O’Connor
Defensive MVP: #35 Gavin Moul
Special Teams MVP: #57 Noah Vitko

Next Meeting: Friday, September 27

– We honored Club Member, Bill Harris, for attending 250 consecutive Blue Hen Football games!

– Special Teams MVP, Jake Thaw, grad transfer from FBS Champion Michigan, shared his story of joining the Hens to have more on field opportunities to play. He had a scintillating 27 yard punt return vs. Bryant, as well as a 16 yard pass reception.

– Other MVPs, not able to attend, were QB Ryan O’Connor and DB KT Seay.

– Art Link, Asst. Head Coach – Defense and Special Teams, spoke of his pleasure in having Jourdan Townsend back, now as a coach. Recruiting wise, Art shared that recruiting has changed, as we are now recruiting juniors in high school. With the move next year to FBS level and Conference USA, our visibility to athletes has improved. We offer scholarships only after a potential recruit’s coaches have been interviewed, and the athlete must visit UD. In Art’s words, once a recruit visits, our “yield” on signing that player is “super high”. Commenting on NCA&T, Art noted that the Aggies have two good running backs, a strong kicker and a stout defense.

– Volleyball Coach, Kim Lambert, provided a spirited overview of her squad. After winning the CAA and participating in the NCAA tournament last year, the team opened with stiff competition and close competitive loses to Michigan and Iowa. There is a mix of veteran and underclass athletes that Kim feels is the best in the CAA and will be near the top in CUSA next year. Circle the calendar for the home contests vs. Towson on 9/28 and 9/29. It’s “personal”.

– Member, Lil Koster, donated to the Club a beautiful, hand crafted Fightn’ Blue Hens quilt. We intend to have a silent auction for this gorgeous item as a fund raiser for the Club. Thank you, Lil! Front and back photos below.

– Seats remain available for our away game bus trips to Monmouth, Richmond and Villanova. Sign up online here