From The Director of Athletics' Desk...

The month of May marked a quick transition for Daemen Athletics.  We spent the first two weeks hosting events to celebrate a successful year and to say "see you again" to our graduating seniors.  We are so excited to see our seniors complete the goal of graduation and become ambassadors for our program as alumni.

The day after graduation we were back in the office getting ready for all that lies ahead for Daemen Athletics.  This included finalizing our NCAA Provisional Report documents and launching a new strategic planning initiative. We have also begun to reflect on "what is the brand of Daemen Athletics," as we move into a new phase for the program.

As a staff, we spent the year emphasizing that Daemen Athletics is not a about a single sport, coach, administrator or student-athlete, but rather an educational atmosphere where students learn to reach academic and athletic goals, while cheering each other on in the process.  As I listened to our coaches and administrators laud our teams, it became clear that their focus is on our student-athletes and helping them reach their personal goals.  We are fortunate to employ an athletics staff who are in college athletics not for their own personal notoriety or to move on to the next big job, but rather to use athletics as yet another way to educate young people.  It is becoming clear that an important aspect of our brand is the relationships we build and the focus we place on the student-athlete experience.

So, as we watch our seniors leave to tackle their next set of challenges, we look forward to getting to know our incoming freshman and the exciting energy they will bring to Daemen Athletics.  Just as we hope to hear from our new alumni as they move on to the "next phase of life," we are starting to plan for how Daemen Athletics can better our current academic and athletic environments and spread our special brand.
 
I do hope you can join us in celebrating Daemen Athletics at the 3^rd Annual Wildcat Golf Classic presented by the Arthurs Malof Group at Morgan Stanley on Thursday, August 13^th, at Glen Oak Golf Course in East Amherst, New York. For information about the event or Daemen Athletics in general, please contact me at bniland@daemen.edu or (716) 472-5951.  As always, we are grateful for your support of Daemen Athletics and I look forward to sharing more information on the progress of the program next month.     
                                
Be FIERCE!


Bridget Niland
Director of Athletics