Hello and welcome to another exciting year of Wildcat Athletics! We are thrilled to have our student-athletes back on campus where they are reconnecting with teammates and coaches and beginning the work necessary for each team's success. 

The start of a new academic year always brings new faces. Whether we're talking about first-year or transfer students, our coaches did a tremendous job recruiting student-athletes here, and we welcome them with open arms. We should all remember that, despite what's been happening in the big power five conferences, our focus remains on providing a balanced collegiate experience for student-athletes, in accordance with the NCAA Division II mission as well as the educational mission of Daemen University. It's a responsibility that we take very seriously and one that our coaches continue to deliver on year in and year out.  

The arrival of new people means the welcoming of their family and friends to our extended family. As those student-athletes make their transition here to Daemen, there's bound to be some questions that arrive. To that end, we have developed a Daemen Families FAQ page, covering everything from NCAA rules compliance to how you get tickets for Daemen games and events. I strongly encourage any of our new family members to check it out, and there's likely some good reminders there for returning families as well. 

Unfortunately, as new student-athletes are arriving, we're having to say goodbye to someone who has made a lasting impact on the teams and student-athletes she's worked with. After 13 years as part of Daemen's athletic training staff, Karen Roehling will be moving on to a new chapter in her career this month. Throughout her time here, Karen has provided tremendous care and been a strong advocate for student-athletes, expanding upon her role within athletic training to include two separate stints as our Senior Woman Administrator. While it's certainly sad to see Karen go, we wish her the very best in all that the future holds. 

In closing, just a few notes from the summer months…

• We have recently launched two new websites that should be of interest to any Daemen Athletics fan:

  • Through a partnership with Sidearm Sports, we launched a newly re-designed daemenwildcats.com, the official website of Daemen Athletics and home to any and all information you may need about our teams.

  • Secondly, we have partnered with Advanced Online to relaunch our online team store - daemenwildcatsfanshop.com - featuring everything from apparel to backpacks, tailgating items and pet supplies.

• Our annual golf outing was held August 4 at the Buffalo Tournament Club. Thank you to the many corporate sponsors and golfing participants who helped us raise $26,000 - a 17% increase from the previous year! Those funds will allow us to move forward with a planned reimagination of unused space within the Daemen Athletic Facility, bringing a new Student-Athlete Performance Center to fruition.

• External funds were also used to complete two facility improvement projects:

  • The branding and outfitting of two locker rooms adjacent to Lumsden Gymnasium.

  • The installation of a Team IMPACT Wall of Fame where we can highlight the children whose lives are being impacted by their relationships with Daemen student-athletes. We are one of only two institutions in the whole country with a physical Team IMPACT Wall of Fame display; ours was made possible through an ongoing partnership with Tompkins Bank which continues to support our work with Team IMPACT. Even more noteworthy is the fact that this display was the brainchild of two student-athletes - Marina Maerkl and Maggie Burns - who played a pivotal role in Daemen being awarded as the Team IMPACT NCAA Division II Campus of the Year. 

I hope you've found this to be an informative read. Here's hoping to seeing many of you at a Wildcat game or two this fall. Go Wildcats!

Sincerely,

Traci Murphy
Director of Athletics