Greetings Wildcat fans! I hope you're finding some time to relax and stay cool during this summer heat wave.  Although our student-athletes are not on campus, things have really been heating up for Daemen Athletics, much like the weather.
 
In recent weeks, we've developed two partnerships which will have a profoundly positive impact on our student-athletes.  First, we have come to an agreement with The Park School of Buffalo on a partnership which will allow us to develop land on their campus located on Harlem Road for use as a natural-grass competition venue for our men's and women's soccer programs.  Coming to this arrangement means having a venue with a greater Daemen presence than what we've had in the past.  Much work needs to be done and the coming weeks will see a flurry of activity at the site, including the necessary attention to the playing surface itself by grounds-keeping professionals. The field will be outfitted with a customized scoreboard from Daktronics, a portable press box with our Daemen logo, and special signage indicating that the field is home of Daemen Soccer.  We are excited about the partnership which would not have been possible without the help of Chris Lauricella and Marcus Hutchins whom we thank for working with us to make this happen.  Daemen and Park share similar visions which I believe will make this a great partnership.  I should mention that while this indicates a change in our current playing situation for our soccer programs, Daemen remains committed and talks are ongoing with the Town of Amherst to develop a piece of land near the I-90 and I-290 interchange which in coming years will become our permanent home.
 
Secondly, earlier this month we announced the hiring of Andrew Bennett as our new men's golf coach.  That alone is major news as Andrew's presence will bring much-needed stability to our men's golf program, the kind of stability we've been searching for since transitioning to the NCAA Division II level.  As a former PGA member with experience at some of the finest courses in the eastern U.S., Andrew certainly brings the necessary knowledge to make an immediate impact.  In addition, with Andrew comes a relationship with The First Tee of Western New York, a nonprofit organization which runs golf programming for kids throughout the year.  Andrew serves as the Executive Director of First Tee, and the organization will have a presence on our campus, allowing our student-athletes to be involved in a voluntary capacity, while also providing greater exposure for our program.
 
It's also been great this month to see so many of the Western New York running community taking part in our Summer Track Series presented by First Niagara Bank.  Each Thursday in the month of July, we've seen these dedicated athletes, young and old, compete at the beautifully remodeled athletic complex at Sweet Home High School.  It's been especially inspiring to see the amount of children we've had, many of whom are following in their parents' footsteps as competitive runners.  As an avid runner myself, I remember the days of the Parker Field track meets of the 1980's and 1990's, and I think we've succeeded in bringing a similar event back to Buffalo.
 
July has also typically been a busy month for our various camps and clinics, and the same rings true again this year.  Our campus has been filled with campers on a daily basis, whether it be for basketball or volleyball camp, or our newly-implemented Olympic camp.  Our coaches and camp staff have done a phenomenal job in teaching the necessary skills to these youngsters, all while ensuring they have a safe and fun learning environment.  Camps and clinics continue to be great revenue drivers for us and we're certainly appreciative of the community's confidence in sending their children to spend some time with us in these summer months.
 
As the calendar turns to August, our camps and clinics will begin to wind down and preparations for the 2016-17 season will reach their climax.  Schedules for our fall sports have begun to be announced from our Athletics Communications office, and addition schedule announcements are forthcoming.  Student-athletes will begin to report for their respective training camps in the middle of the month, and their arrivals will continue in the weeks leading up to the start of Fall 2016 semester on September 6.
 
Lastly, I'd like to remind you that August will also bring our 4th Annual Wildcat Golf Classic presented by RP Oak Hill Building Company, Inc.  This is our single largest fundraising event of the year and we are back at beautiful Glen Oak Golf Club in East Amherst for this year's event which runs on Thursday, August 11.  It's not too late to consider joining us that day, either for the full day which includes lunch, dinner and 18 holes of golf, or for our dinner-only option.  We're also still accepting donations for our basket raffle and auction, as well as tee signs and tee gifts.  If you're interested in learning more about the event, complete details can be found at daemenwildcats.com/wildcatgolfclassic, or you can contact our Game & Events Coordinator, Amanda Zanghi at azanghi@daemen.edu.  Please remember that 100% of the proceeds raised at the golf tournament go to support the student-athletes here at Daemen.  We hope to see you there.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about Daemen Athletics, feel free to email me at bniland@daemen.edu and remember to BE FIERCE!