URI Athletics Experience
STUDENT PROFILE
Fatts Russell ’21 is one of college basketball’s most electrifying players. Entering his senior season, he is one of 20 players nationally to be named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, given annually to the best point guard in the country. The U.S. Basketball Writer’s Association District I Player of the Year in 2019-20, he ranked third in the Atlantic 10 with 18.8 points per game and second in the nation with 2.87 steals per game.
ATHLETICS BY THE NUMBERS
486 Student-athletes
56% Of all student-athletes are on the dean’s list
A
t its best, intercollegiate athletics teaches student-athletes resiliency and teamwork. It also requires intensive preparation through hard work and commitment. At the University of Rhode Island, our student-athletes strive to excel and are among our top student leaders. For student-athletes, the intercollegiate athletics experience opens doors and provides opportunities for a bright future. Successful teams bring prestige to the University, create Rhody pride among students and alumni, and attract talented recruits. To maintain a winning tradition, the University must: • Invest in state-of-the-art facilities
250 Student-athletes on the Atlantic 10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll last year
• Offer financial resources to recruit and retain the best coaches in the nation • Enhance the student-athlete experience through academic advising, health and wellness programs, strength and conditioning, sports medicine, and nutrition
Investing in the URI Athletics Experience: Facilities “ A state-of-the-art facility means
Competition at a championship level requires first-class facilities, and URI’s Ryan Family
so much more to our program
Student-Athlete Complex provides top-level strength and conditioning and sports medicine
than just keeping our players in top condition. Updating our facilities gives us a competitive edge in recruiting, while giving our current athletes an improved overall experience in terms of preparation,
services, as well as an academic advising center. Substantial enhancements to historic Meade Stadium were recently completed, including the installation of new synthetic turf and stadium lighting. Two key facility enhancements are now on the horizon for URI Athletics—a new practice facility for the men’s and women’s basketball teams and a new outdoor track.
Athletics Facilities Priority #1 Basketball Training Facility—$8 million
flexibility, and better coordina-
Twenty-four-hour access to a practice facility allows student-athletes to train whenever
tion of athletic and academic
free time is available—increasing their productivity and academic success by providing
services.”
flexibility to manage class and practice time.
DAVID COX, URI MEN’S HEAD BASKETBALL COACH
A dedicated practice facility attracts elite student-athletes by offering a game day experience with a court to replicate the surface of the Thomas M. Ryan Center, as well as climate control, video stations, scoreboard, and timing system. Renovations to the Tootell West Gymnasium and adjacent corridors will provide URI with that much-needed facility.
The repurposing model has proven successful for URI Athletics, as evidenced by the renovation of the East Gymnasium into the Eleanor M. Carlson Strength and Conditioning Center—now considered one of the best facilities of its type in the Atlantic 10. A new dedicated practice facility also increases the University’s revenue-generating capacity by opening up the Ryan Center to additional outside income. In turn, these revenues can reduce student fees.
Athletics Facilities Priority #2 New Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track With breakout stars like Lotte Black ’19 M.S. ’21 (fourth in the nation at the NCAA Championship in the 1500 meter), Kristina MacLure ’20 (won the 400 meter hurdles at the Atlantic 10 Conference meet and competed in the NCAA first round), Anthony Delasanta ’21 (400 meter winner Atlantic 10 indoor), and Jack Reichenbach ’22 (Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team for indoor and outdoor), URI track programs are competitive, on and off the field.
C T I C E C O U RT S
A new track and field venue is a key priority, providing performers like these with an all-purpose facility for training and competition, as well as access for educational, scholastic, and community use. Investing in a new track and field complex would allow
C O N C E P T U A L S T U D Y F O R T H E B A S K E T B A L L T R A I N I N G FA C I L I T Y
URI to add a new training and competition surface, equipment storage, offices, public restrooms, and spectator seating.
(Photo above) Architectural rendering of the basketball training facility.
STUDENT PROFILE
Track and Field standout Lotte Black ’19 M.S.’21 is at her happiest outdoors, preferably on a track, playing volleyball, rollerblading, or just staying active. Black, who crossed the finish line in fourth place at the NCAA championship, now owns five school records and two Atlantic 10 Conference records. A College of Health Sciences graduate who is now pursuing her master’s degree, Black was a two-time winner at both the Atlantic 10 Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships. As one of URI’s most accomplished student-athletes, Black says that the discipline required to perform at the highest levels carries over to the classroom.
Investing in the URI Athletics Experience: Student Support “ A successful intercollegiate student-athlete gets a worldclass education in time management and organization. They are juggling the demands of their sport (20 hours of practice per week), expected
Student-athletes must learn how to manage their time. They face a particular challenge in juggling competition, classes, and practice, and maintaining top physical and mental well-being. URI Athletics is seeking enhanced funding for its summer-term program to cover tuition, fees, and books for more student-athletes. Current funding for the summer term supports a limited number—only those needing credits to graduate immediately or those with academic eligibility challenges. Additional funding would keep students on track for graduation, while allowing others to better manage their course load, in and out of season.
to be in class 15 hours a week, study two hours for every
Enhancing the Summer Term for Student-Athletes
hour in class, and graduate in
Working with the University College Advising Programs for Student-Athletes Office,
four years.” MICHAEL SCOTT, ACADEMIC ADVISOR / LEARNING SPECIALIST
enhanced summer funding would enable more students to earn credits toward graduation, providing academic as well as athletic benefits. Allowing student-athletes to remain on campus for a summer term would extend training time for the fall season from nine months to 10 or 11 months. Approximately half of student-athletes would be able to maintain URI as a year-round home and benefit from an extended training season and additional coursework.
Investing in the URI Athletics Experience: Rising to the Top “ A competitive operating budget is our greatest opportunity for sustained success. There is a direct correlation between
For many URI teams, the budget is in the middle of the pack when it comes to funding the essentials needed to be a top competitor—from team travel to state-of-the-art equipment to health and wellness services. URI’s overall Athletics operating budget ranks 7th out of 14 against its Atlantic 10 Conference peers. *Source: Equity in Athletics Data Analysis (EADA), U.S. Department of Education, 2019.
capital backing and a winning program.” THORR BJORN, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
Critical priorities for competitive excellence • Recruiting and retaining the best coaches (head coaches and assistants) • Expanding recruitment nationwide and internationally • Team travel—charter flights to reduce travel time, gain experience against top competition, and minimize missed class time • Equipment and uniforms, including smart technology uniforms for temperature control and biomedical feedback for heart rate, exertion, etc. • Health and wellness—full-time nutritionist and sports psychologist to oversee mental wellness and nutrition needs unique to student-athletes
RECENT SUCCESS STORIES
• Men’s Soccer has won the 2018 and 2019 A-10 tournaments and participated in NCAA tournaments for two consecutive years. • The Men’s Track & Field Team won the 2020 Atlantic 10 Indoor Championship. •A llie Reilly ’19 set a world record with a time of 7:22.5 over 2,000 meters on an erg (stationary rowing machine) at the 2019 World Rowing Indoor Championships PR3 in Long Beach, Cal. •T hree URI teams were honored by the Atlantic 10 in the spring for their academic progress rate achievements: men’s golf, women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball earned the distinction, which goes to the teams that rank in the top 10 percent of their respective sports for their NCAA annual Academic Progress Rate score.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Transformative Investment in URI Athletics URI Athletics cultivates the traits that give our student-athletes a competitive advantage in
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any field. The entire University benefits from winning athletic programs, as national media
URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement
exposure generates publicity and interest in URI.
Garrett Waller, Associate Athletic Director for Development 401.874.5287 or gwaller@uri.edu
The life of a student-athlete encompasses so much—from training to facilities to academic advising—and the University needs to offer a first-class program. Your support provides transformative, life-changing experiences and elevates the University and the entire URI community through a shared sense of pride in fielding competitive teams and shaping future leaders.
“ The athletics experience touches upon so many facets of the overall URI experience. It fosters collaboration on the playing field and in the classroom and creates an inclusive environment. Student-athletes represent the University; they embody our successes, our hopes, and our dreams for the future.” THORR BJORN, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
foundation & alumni engagement
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