Oct. 7, 2014
Dear Bears Fans:
Fall is in full swing, and all of our fall sports are well into conference play. It has been an extremely busy season with so many new amenities for our student-athletes and fans.
As you are aware, we have successfully christened two new facilities this fall and renovated two others. The Allison North and South fields came on line to rave reviews, and the renovated Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Academic Achievement Center has changed the landscape of that entire area.
The Wynn Achievement Center officially opened on September 5 and houses our academic support area for our student-athletes. It was renamed to honor long-time athletic administrator Dr. Mary Jo Wynn for her 40-plus years of service to the university. A special thanks goes to the committee, led by former Lady Bears' Head Coach Cheryl Burnett who oversaw this project and saw it through. This was a team effort, and our student-athletes are really the beneficiaries of this center. I encourage you to stop by when you're visiting campus.
We also had a record crowd of 18,634 for the first home football game at the renovated Robert W. Plaster Stadium. What an unbelievable day in our university's history! It was a day we all will remember-new student section, new turf, great weather, team victory, fireworks, inaugural BearWalk, skydivers, the new era of BearFest Village and of course an amazing turn out by our students and community. Did I mention the Bears won 38-0??!!
I'd like to thank the countless number of groups, departments and individuals who made it happen. We had many stars that day that went above and beyond to make it an unforgettable day. I encourage you to keep coming back and enjoying the tailgating and team's success. We will continue to improve and make tweaks to BearFest Village. This past game we added an Alcohol Free Family Zone immediately behind McDonald Arena.
Congratulations goes out to head volleyball coach, Melissa Stokes on winning her 400th match. That's an incredible honor especially in the short amount of time in which she accomplished the feat. Way to go Coach Stokes!
I know many of you have heard about our softball player, Allie Alvstad. She is a sophomore from Tulsa who was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. I couldn't be prouder of her and her fight to defeat this dreaded disease. With the support of the university community and friends all over the country, I have all the faith she will be back and ready to go next year. The outpouring support for Allie has been incredible. It's truly amazing to see so many people aware of her situation and helping financially, with their prayers and just helping spread the word. It's been inspiring to me but more importantly to Allie and her family. We're all behind you Allie: Clear eyes…full hearts…can't lose!
If you want to donate to Allie's Journey or get information on upcoming fundraising events, please visit the #AllieStrong page.
Homecoming is slated for the weekend of Oct 17-18. What a great time to get back on campus if you haven't been back for a while. Much has changed. Please go to the Homecoming website to review all the special activities the university has planned.
A couple of events I would like to highlight would be the home football game against South Dakota on Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets are still available along with space in Bearfest Village, but both will go quickly, so don't hesitate. We are also starting a new tradition with a men's and women's basketball intrasquad scrimmage at McDonald Arena prior to the football game. The event will take place immediately after the parade around 10 a.m., and is a collaboration between MSU Athletics and the College of Arts and Letters. The $5 admission charge for the scrimmage will go to support the COAL Master Class Series. It's just another way for us to work with the academic community and their initiatives.
And finally, we have rolled out a new single-game pricing structure for men's basketball. I hope you will take time to look at the many different options we are offering this year. These recommendations stemmed from a task force of community members established over the summer to help us better market our programs. This group was led by alumnus Stan Lippleman, vice president of marketing at Bass Pro. The committee met numerous times to discuss a variety of areas involving both men's and women's basketball. I know you will be pleased with some of the changes surrounding our programs and the game-day atmosphere this season at JQH Arena. I appreciate the time the committee allocated to this effort.
If you haven't already done so, please renew your season tickets. It's imperative for the success of our athletics department that we continue to grow our fan base and season ticket revenue. I sincerely appreciate all of our season ticket holders and their commitment to our program.
For immediate updates and information regarding the Bears follow us on twitter at @MissouriStBears and @kmoatsmsubears or log on to www.MissouriStateBears.com! I look forward to seeing you around campus!
Go Bears!!
Kyle Moats
Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
