Open Letter From AD Greene 7/15/19

[gr82be 14,423]

Enjoy!

 

https://auburntigers.com/news/2019/7/15/general-everything-school-from-the-desk-of-allen-greene.aspx

From the desk of Allen Greene

General 7/15/2019 2:00:00 PM By Allen Greene

'Everything School': From the Desk of Allen Greene

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We are a(n) Football Everything School

It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!

It's been 27 days since the last pitch in Omaha and we're 38 days away from our first fall competition of 2019-20. Many people have asked, "What do you do in the summer?" and my response is simple: "We prepare for the fall!"

Before we completely turn our attention to the upcoming year, the successes of last season deserve a quick pause to reflect on a banner year. After all, we have a lot to be proud of.

Count Only on What I Earn

Final Four. College World Series. National championships. Let's take a moment to review the excellence Auburn's student-athletes achieved this year.

With Coach Malzahn again calling plays, Auburn scored 56 first-half points in our 63-14 Music City Bowl victory – the most points scored in any half of a bowl game. Ever.

Three months later, many of you returned with us to Nashville to watch Coach Pearl's team roll off four victories in four days, winning the SEC Tournament for the second time in Auburn history.

If the season had ended that day, it would have been one of our best ever, but our guys were just getting started. From Salt Lake City to Kansas City to the Twin Cities (we like 'cities'), Auburn captivated the country with fast-paced, unselfish play, beating Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky to become the first team in the history of our state to reach the Final Four.

When the season ended, our Auburn men managed to shine even brighter in defeat than they had in victory, handling the disappointment with grace and class that earned admiration from coast to coast.

My experience as a student-athlete and professional baseball player taught me to keep battling and never quit, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Coach Thompson is instilling that same quality in our baseball program. Despite significant injuries and regular-season slumps, our Tigers persevered.

Down to our last pitch in a key game against the host team in the Atlanta Regional, Steven Williams hit a home run for the ages.

Then in Chapel Hill, with the College World Series on the line, Auburn scored 13 runs in the top of the first inning.

Their grit carried them all the way to Omaha after winning the first super regional in Auburn history.

In the history of Division I, Auburn is one of only four schools to win a bowl game, advance to the Final Four and reach the CWS in the same season, dating back to 1947 when the College World Series began.

No wonder folks are rightfully referring to Auburn as an "Everything School."

There's a common theme throughout the halls of Auburn Athletics: we are more concerned about the success of our teammates than we are about our own.

Auburn's legendary equestrian coach, Greg Williams, puts it like this: "Plant a seed for a tree you'll never shade under." With unselfishness as a guiding principle, Auburn equestrian was once again second to none, completing the first perfect season in the sport's history.

On a Saturday morning in April in Waco, Texas, the national championship came down to the final ride. Ashton Alexander came through in the clutch for Auburn and for her teammates. What was on Ashton's mind as she prepared for the make-or-break ride?

"I had to put the 39 other girls before me and to know all the work they've put in," she said. "It was for them, not just for me."

The night before, another Auburn woman won a national championship when freshman gymnast Derrian Gobourne earned the highest score on vault.

Never to yield. That's what our women's golf team did at the NCAA Championship this spring. After advancing to match play, Auburn trailed top-seeded Texas significantly and it was getting late on the back nine.

Then came an epic rally, with freshman Brooke Sansom clinching a spot in the Final Four with a birdie putt on the 20th hole. Coach Melissa Luellen, who has won national championships as a student-athlete and as a head coach, called it "the most unique moment I've ever experienced in sports."

Women's basketball returned to the NCAA Tournament. Softball pitched back-to-back shutouts at the SEC Tournament, becoming the lowest seed to ever reach the semifinals. Jovan Rebula won the SEC men's golf individual championship. Gymnastics advanced to the Sweet 16. Soccer made the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year. Our men's golf and women's swimming and diving teams each finished 12th at NCAAs.

Track and field's Kylee Carter, from nearby Beauregard, brought home the silver medal in javelin from the NCAA Outdoor Championships, then won the gold for Team USA at an international competition in Mexico, just as she did at the SEC Championship.

I Believe in Education

While our athletic success was well documented, the work of our student-athletes in the classroom deserves some chalk. Auburn is a formidable institution that boasts of top-ranked programs in business, engineering, veterinary medicine and many other disciplines. Not only do our student-athletes compete against the nation's best while in uniform, they also compete against the nation's brightest in our labs and lecture halls.

Auburn student-athletes have averaged a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA for 11 consecutive semesters, dating back to the spring semester in 2014. Talk about a winning streak!

Ten of the baseball players who took the field in Omaha are part of the 62 Auburn student-athletes who earned a selection to the 2019 Spring SEC Academic Honor Roll, joining the 74 Tigers on the Winter Honor Roll and 57 from those playing fall sports.

Kevin Wyss, a senior on Auburn's track and field and cross country teams, received a 2019 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, earning three years of financial support totaling $138,000 while he continues his studies.

I Believe in the Human Touch

As a community, this spring has tested our resolve. We've shed tears for the 23 lives lost when tornadoes hit Lee County. Our student-athletes and staff helped clean up and rebuild.

We grieved again when Auburn Police Officer William Buechner was killed while protecting and serving our itcommunity.

We celebrated the lives of Rod and Paula Bramblett and pledged to be there for their children. Auburn has lost its voice, but the same Auburn Creed that guided Rod and Paula guarantees we will never lose our way.

I Believe in Auburn and Love it

Personally, serving as Auburn's director of athletics has been my most rewarding professional endeavor. We have 550 student-athletes who sacrifice, serve and lead. The opportunity to compete for and win championships while developing Auburn men and women, raising the profile of Auburn University through excellence in intercollegiate athletics, motivates me and our staff every day.

Having joined the Auburn team in the spring semester of 2018, this marks the completion of my first full season to have the privilege of leading the orange and blue. To see our student-athletes hoist trophies and diplomas is fulfilling in ways that are difficult to describe. Watching them become servant-leaders is equally gratifying.

Looking to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, we will continue to work aggressively to make sure Auburn has everything it needs to support our student-athletes at the highest level. Whether it is facility enhancements, mental health support or a simple acknowledgement of their work ethic, we will pay particular attention to the holistic development of the young men and women who represent Auburn.

Many of you have already pledged to join us, and we will continue to ask others to invest in the programs that bring us such joy. Your commitment, generosity and steadfast assistance will position Auburn to compete for championships for generations to come.

As the historical marker on Ross Square reads, "Owing much to the past, Auburn's greater debt is ever to the future."

Together, we will ensure Auburn's future exceeds even the best days of our past.

Thank you for the many sacrifices you make to purchase season tickets, travel to away games, or sneak away from a function to watch the Tigers on your phone. Rest assured, your passion makes the difference in the lives of our student-athletes.

Most importantly, thank you for believing in Auburn and loving it!

War Eagle!

[AUGoo 2,663]

Wow!

Lot easier to read than anything Housel put out.  He cured my insomnia!

[triangletiger 1,599]

Does 'Everything School' mean everything's cool?