Blue Hen football pride has been part of the Delaware DNA for
the past 135 seasons. At the last Blue Hen Touchdown Club of
the season, that legacy was on display.
Bill Zwaan, former UD quarterback and long-time college coach
regaled us with stories of iconic and Hall of Fame Coach Tubby
Raymond. His most important lesson he learned from Tubby was
to set high standards for his team by putting into place the goal of
winning of championships.
Current Blue Hen cornerbacks coach, Corico Wright, confirmed
these high expectations by repeating the mantra used by Head
Coach Ryan Carty for his team and staff: Committed, Relentless,
Finish.
These are core values that shout the tradition known as University
of Delaware football. This legacy is as special today as it was
decades ago.
Go Hens!
Narrative and photos, Courtesy of Mark Werrell
Above: Ed Ginder with the UD sidelines “Chain Gang”
At our Friday, 11/15/2024 meeting, we heard from Running Backs Coach Andrew Pearce and Special Teams MVP, Josh Cupitt. Coach Pierce discussed the fine athletes in his running back room, and the outstanding performances on and off the field by, running back Marcus Yarns. Marcus will definitely be missed and has well earned the opportunity to show his skills to NFL coaches at the East-West Shrine game.
Josh Cupitt expressed his appreciation for the confidence shown in him by our coaching staff, as opposed to his prior experiences. Josh was recognized for his 68 yard punt, which completely switched the field at a crucial moment late in the Campbell game.
Our guest speaker was outstanding Defensive Lineman from 1982-1986, Joe McGrail. Joe spoke about the special bonds that he holds with his teammates and his honor of being selected Team Captain by his teammates. Joe expressed his feelings about what is special about UD Football and his appreciation for Coach Ryan Carty in carrying on the UD tradition. Joe recounted that he played with the #1 UD player, Rich Gannon, and the greatest UD linebacker of all-time, Darrell Booker. Joe’s presentation would not have been complete without some memorable stories involving his Hall of Fame Coach, Tubby Raymond.
Last, but not least, we had the UD sidelines “Chain Gang” in attendance, and honored Ed Ginder for his 50 years of professionalism on the Delaware Stadium turf. Thank you, Ed!
Join us this Thursday, November 21st for our last meeting of the year, prior to the season ending game at Villanova. We will hear from Cornerbacks Coach Corico Wright and Bill Zwaan, quarterback from 1973-1975, and outstanding former coach at West Chester University.
Photos: Gloria Wiggins – Thank you!
Photo Above: The Green On Memorial Day 2024
Here are the meeting notes from Friday
Blue Hen Touchdown Club, 11-8-24
Rocco DiMeco
In characterizing Saturday’s game, Blue Hen Coach Rocco DiMeco,
Special Teams Coordinator and Linebackers coach, stated that it is a
championship game for Rhode Island and they will be “loaded for bear”. A
win will propel them toward a CAA championship and a loss will dim their
hopes.
To overcome such motivation on the part of the Rams, the Hens must
remain focused on what they do best and do it for each play for all sixty
minutes. Here’s hoping that their focus remains sharp and clear!
Sarah Jenkins, Head Coach, Women’s Basketball
As hesitant as the football staff is about commenting on injuries, the
ebullient Coach Jenkins said her team has been devastated by either
season-ending or long-term injuries. Her squad has been reduced to 9
players down from an original roster of 13. The losses include two starters
and two promising first year players including two point guards and a back
up center.
The ever optimistic Jenkins asked for some patience from the fans as the
team is coming together and grinding to acclimate to the losses in order to
find success.
Martin Ingelsby, Head Coach, Men’s Basketball
The equally as understated Ingelsby quipped he thought he might lose his
invitation to speak to the BHTC faithful if he lost on Thursday night.
Fortunately, the team defeated Robert Morris, 81-77 and his invitation
remained intact!
With seven new players this year (5 transfers and 2 freshmen), his
emphasis is on playing faster and having more players participate to
withstand the new pace. In both games this year, he has played 10 players
with meaningful minutes. Along with the faster pace, Coach Ingelsby also
is striving for improved three-point shooting aiming on increasing the
team’s scoring average to over 80.
Our Next Meeting Is Friday, November 15th. Speakers are Running Back Coach Andrew Pierce and Alumnus Joe McGrail.
Photos by: Mark Werrell, Mark Campbell, Russ Crook
Pictured above: Haley Alioto, Chris Rogers, Jerry Oravitz
“We took it on the chin”, said Blue Hen offensive line coach Chris Rogers about our final trip to Richmond. The hope is that this will humble the team as they direct their efforts to Albany. Delaware is every opponent’s Super Bowl this year stated Rogers as he related the comments of a Richmond defensive lineman, “We did it!” celebrating the victory over the FBS-bound Hens.
Coach Rogers thanked the club for their support as he said that not every school has a support group like the Touchdown Club. His players feel the support and they work hard every day to accomplish not only their team and individual goals but also strive to win for the fans. Three starting seniors could have entered the portal but remained to play with their brothers for one last year. Rogers stated that the offensive line will make a big deal about Villanova week. Last year it was, “this is just another game”, but they have decided to make it more about the rivals from the Main Line.
Haley Alioto, the Assistant Director for Football Operations and On Campus Recruiting, told the lunch attendees that her team does everything football except the X’s and O’s. From hotel accommodations to transportation and from non-football student-athlete issues to hosting families of recruits, the Football Operations team proactively ensures that problems are
minimized. This includes going to an away game site the day before the game to inspect the hotels and working with
Admissions and Compliance before a recruit and his family are invited for an official visit.
Haley is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a degree in Sports Management and Event Planning. She was a
synchronized skater during her four years in Newark. She currently is working toward an MBA.
We also heard from Zhaibri Jeffries, Associate Director for Development. “Z” is a graduate of Temple University and has extensive experience in management and development, most recently at Ohio State University. He is working hard to move forward on funding for our pending facilities project. “Z” is a good guy to get to know.
Pictured Above: Club Member and 1974 Lineman, Bill Records
At our meeting on October 17th, we heard from Defensive Coordinator, Manny Rojas, along with Defensive MVP from the Maine game, Ty Davis and Special Teams MVP, Josh Cupitt. Offensive MVP, Marcus Yarns, could not join us.
A highlight of the meeting was hearing from our own, Bill Records. Bill Records was a lineman on the 1974 National Finalist Blue Hen squad. That 1974 team compiled a remarkable 12-2 season which included memorable wins over McNeese State (in a classic 4th qtr. comeback), as well as Youngstown St. and UNLV in the playoffs. There was also a narrow, contested loss to Temple at the Vet and a thorough destruction of Villanova.
Bill recounted the numerous team records and player achievements. The records of the late, great running back, Nate Beasley were especially noted.
Join us this Friday, October 25th, as we hear from Offensive Line Coach, Chris Rogers. Our special guests are Haley Alioto and Michael Armstrong, who will give us a “behind the scenes” look from the football office. Haley and Michael will share with us the extensive efforts that they make in recruitment, organization and preparation that goes on all year round. They do so much that is unheralded by the average fan, but is so essential to our success.
Photos by Mark Campbell
Photo Above: Ty Davis & Teammates Celebrate His TD INT
The Club met prior to the Maine game, and heard from Assistant Coach Quarterbacks, Sean Goldrich and two of our MVPs for the Monmouth game, Jack Hall from the Defense, and Nate Reed for Special Teams. Marcus Yarns, our Offense MVP had class and could not attend.
Coach Goldrich related his experience playing at UNH under his coach, Ryan Carty. His time at UNH vs. Maine was always a fierce rivalry.
Jack Hall, from Richmond, VA gave a spirited response to the upcoming game versus the Richmond Spiders.
Nate Reed referred to his transfer from East Stroudsburg University, and his strong leg in sending kickoffs to the endzone was noted.
The next day, UD pulled away from Maine in the second half, winning 44-21. Next up is Richmond. Seats on the BHTC day trip to Richmond remain available for purchase on this website. 
Photos by: Mark Campbell
Above: Max Patterson catches a TD pass that was improperly ruled incomplete.
Prior to the “barn burner” at Monmouth University, the BHTC honored MVPs from the Sacred Heart game: Anwar O’neal, KT Seay, and Jake Thaw. Our guest speakers were:
– Coach Terence Archer. Coach Archer shared with us his four years at Monmouth as a linebacker, and his six years as an assistant coach, and his appreciation for his mentor and head coach at Monmouth, Kevin Callahan.
– Our group heard from JP Gulli of the 302 Collective. JP and his partner, Chris Dohl are working hard to grow UD’s NIL collective. This is an important initiative, as we move to FBS football next year, and membership in Conference USA.
– On Friday, October 11th, we will welcome: Coach Sean Goldrich, AND Andy Hall, QB from the 2003 IAA National Championship team and Inductee into the UD Athletics Hall of Fame.
Here are some photos of the meeting and an example of the numerous Blue Hen tailgates in Central New Jersey:
Photos by Mark Campbell
News and Notes from our 9/28/2024 Meeting:
– 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.
We meet this Thursday, prior to our game at Monmouth. Please register in advance on our website. Go Hens!
PHOTOS: MARK CAMPBELL Thank you, Mark!
Above: Club Member, Bill Harris, with Wendy Harris, recognized for attending 250+ UD FB games, Home & Away!
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
Coach to speak: Kyre Hawkins, Assistant Coach / Defensive Line
Guest Speakers: Charlie Dowd, Deputy Athletics Director, Sacred Heart University
Kevin Tresolini, DelawareOnline/ The News Journal
Above, MVP Jake Thaw & BHTC Vice President, Mark Werrell
– 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
– We next meet on Friday, 9/20 prior to the Penn game. We will hear from Tight Ends Coach Garrett Smith, and Softball Coach, Jen Steele. GO HENS!
Photos, Mark Campbell