richmond athletics 2023-24 ANNUAL REPORT

The Richmond Spiders reached new athletic, academic, and administrative heights during the 2023-24 school year, winning five conference championships and registering record academic outcomes while demonstrating steady organizational leadership in a turbulent intercollegiate athletics landscape.

The 2023-24 school year is the third under the Richmond Athletics Strategic Plan, unveiled in August 2021 and affirmed last year in University of Richmond President Kevin Hallock's A Plan for Richmond. Under its strategic plan, Richmond Athletics is charged with meeting aggressive targets in the areas of Academic Excellence, Competitive Excellence, Student-Athlete Leadership & Development, Compliance, Policy and Governance, and Finance, Advancement, and Facilities while also ensuring that the department continues to reflect UR’s deep commitment to the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

"athletics fosters bonds among generations of spiders ... " — Kevin hallock

Over the past year, Richmond Athletics has provided its Spiders with an unrivaled student-athlete experience in an environment that allows them to achieve their competitive, scholastic, and personal development goals.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Spider student-athletes achieved record-setting results in the classroom in 2023-24, with every varsity team posting a GPA of 3.00 or higher in the spring semester. Outside of terms governed by COVID-19 grading policies, spring 2024 is the first semester on record with every Spider team reaching a 3.00 team GPA.

Richmond’s 17 varsity teams compiled an average GPA of 3.40 during the 2023-24 school year, equaling last year's mark for the highest annual GPA on record outside of school years impacted by COVID-19 grading policies. Swimming and diving recorded the highest GPA of any Spiders team, with a combined 3.795 during the year. Richmond's GPA ranked second among all swimming and diving teams in NCAA Division I.

At the annual SPIDYs award in April, Garrett Clark from men's golf and Casey Merz from soccer were presented with the Presidential Citation Awards for having the highest cumulative GPAs among graduating student-athletes. Ella Hayes from Spider field hockey was named Jepson School of Leadership Studies Scholar of the Year, topping athletes and non-athletes alike.

At the end of spring semester, nearly three quarters (73 percent) of Richmond’s 383 active student-athletes had a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, with the group owning an average cumulative GPA of 3.30.

When the NCAA released its most recent Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores in May, five Richmond Athletics programs (two more than last year) earned perfect scores of 1,000: field hockey, men's cross-country, men's golf, women's golf, and women's lacrosse. 15 of Richmond’s 16 teams received APR scores above the Division I average in their sport, and every team scored 975 or higher, well above the 930 required by the NCAA.

The NCAA released its most recent student-athlete graduation success rates in November. The data revealed that, for the third straight year, 96 percent of Spider student-athletes earned their undergraduate degrees, substantially better than the Division I average of 91 percent. Eight programs achieved perfect 100 percent graduation success rates: baseball, men's cross country, men's golf, women's soccer, women's swimming & diving, women's cross country/track & field, women's golf, and women's lacrosse.

Richmond’s Academic Services department also worked to ensure that Spiders have access to high impact, experiential learning opportunities as well as the opportunity to pursue new courses of study. The department paved a path for 20 student-athletes to enroll in summer Study Abroad experiences spanning the globe from Denmark to Costa Rica and areas in between.

competitive excellence

The Spiders performed their best on the biggest stages in 2023-24, as some of Richmond's most prominent programs completed record-setting seasons. Women's lacrosse, football, men's basketball, and women's basketball combined to win five total conference championships, with women's basketball capturing both the Atlantic 10's regular season and conference tournament titles. Richmond's five conference championships equaled its most in a season since it won six during the 2006-07 season, nearly a generation ago.

Six other Spider teams placed second in their conference, as baseball, men's lacrosse, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, swimming & diving, and women's tennis all collected runner-up finishes at their respective conference championships. During the 2023-24 school year, more than half (10 of 17) of Spider sports programs finished either first or second in their conference.

Spider football won Richmond's first conference championship of the year, locking up a share of the CAA title for the first time since 2015 with a thrilling 27-26 win vs William & Mary on November 18 to secure the Capital Cup and take the lead in the "Oldest Rivalry in the South" with an all-time record of 65-64-5 vs the Tribe. Richmond advanced to the second round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs for a second straight season with a 49-27 win over NC Central in its postseason opener, becoming one of just eight schools to reach the second round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

Richmond finished 15th in the final Stats Perform FCS Top 25 rankings and several Spiders were showered with postseason accolades. The Touchdown Club of Virginia named guard Ryan Coll the top offensive lineman in Virginia, and both Coll, punter Aaron Trusler, and linebacker Tristan Wheeler were selected to various All-American teams. The honor made Wheeler a five-time All-American. He is believed to be the first player in FCS history to be named an All-American in five different seasons. Wheeler added to his long list of accolades in February when he was named Male Athlete of the Year at the third annual RVA Sports Awards.

Women's basketball had perhaps its best season in its 105-year history, winning a program record 29 games while capturing its first regular season and conference tournament Atlantic 10 championships. The Spiders secured their first regular season title since sharing the CAA crown in 1991 with a 61-46 win at St. Bonaventure on March 2. Richmond then marched to the A-10 tournament title, winning three games by double digits in front of a partisan crowd at the new Henrico Sports & Events Center, located just 14 miles north of UR's campus. The Spiders toppled Rhode Island 65-51 in the A-10 Championship game to secure the fourth NCAA Tournament berth in program history. UR pushed 7-seed Duke in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, leading by nine at halftime before falling 72-61. Forward Addie Budnik was crowned the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year and was named Richmond’s nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award in July.

Spider baseball rallied to a second-place finish at the A-10 Championship behind first-year head coach Mik Aoki, knocking off top-seeded Saint Louis along the way. Outfielder Aaron Whitley was named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year as the Spiders equaled their best result in the A-10 tournament since winning the title in 2003.

Women's track & field raced to second-place finishes at both the A-10 Indoor Track & Field Championships in February and the A-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May. Richmond won three gold medals at the A-10 indoor meet, with the 4 x 400m and 4 x 800m relay teams and 1,000m runner Kyra Keurentjes placing first. At the outdoor meet, the Spiders added four more gold medals as the 4 x 400m won the A-10 title, Molly Wise won the long jump, Elizabeth Stockman won the 1,500m race (setting school and conference records with a time of 4:17.00), and Madison Trippett won the 5,000m race. After leading Richmond its best finish at the A-10 Outdoor Championship since 2007, Stockman, Trippett, and teammate Alicia Dawson advanced to the NCAA Track & Field East Preliminary Championship in Kentucky.

Women's tennis shocked top-seeded VCU in the quarterfinals of A-10 Championship for their first win over the Rams in program history. Richmond advanced all the way to the final, ultimately falling to UMass. It was the second A-10 finals appearance for the program in the last four years.

Spider swim and dive placed second at the A-10 Championship in February, finishing in front of nine teams and behind only A-10 champion George Washington. The team won five medals at the event, highlighted by freshman Melissa Nwakalor winning the 50m freestyle in a program record 22.55 seconds.

Other top performances from Spiders in 2023-24:

• Men's tennis finished the season with a 14-8 record, including a 6-1 record in conference play. The team earned the No. 2 seed at the 2024 A-10 Championship.

• Women's golf won the 15-team, 54-hole RiverTowne Invitational in Charleston, S.C. with a program-record score of 5-over par in February. The Spiders also placed second in a pair of tournaments: October's UNCG Fall Invitational and the Low Country Intercollegiate in March, where Hannah Lydic won individual medalist honors.

• Men's golf won the 19-team Any Given Tuesday Collegiate in Pawleys Island, S.C. in April for its first tournament title since fall 2021 as Cole Ekert earned individual medalist honors. The team secured an invitation to the National Golf Invitational in Maricopa, Ariz. following the regular season, where the Spiders placed fourth.

• The women's cross-country team placed third at the Atlantic 10 Championships in October, with Madison Trippett, Elizabeth Stockman, and Laurel Kurtz securing All-Conference honors. The men placed 10th at the event. In April, a trio of members from the men's team, Jordan Bendura, Stuart Terrill, and Henry Haase, placed 1-2-3 at the Monument Avenue 10k and Collegiate 10K Road Race Championship, sweeping the podium in a field of more than 20,000 runners.

• Soccer finished 3-11-4 under first-year head coach Adam Denton, with eight of the Spiders losses coming by one goal.

• Martu Loncarica, who was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year at La Salle in November, became the new head coach of Spider field hockey in December. Loncarica brings more than 10 years of collegiate coaching experience to Richmond.

student-athlete leadership & development

Richmond Athletics continued to prioritize leadership training and personal development for all Spiders as part of Richmond's commitment to providing an unrivaled student-athlete experience and preparing Spiders to lead lives of purpose following their time on campus.

Spider Performance & Development hosted its first Women's Health Symposium in September, featuring Dr. Anna Baur, MD, an OB-GYN at Henrico Doctor's Hospital. The event was part of a year-long SPD focus on the importance of whole-body women's health education for female student-athletes.

SPD worked with Greek Life to host an Anti-Hazing Workshop in partnership with the Love Like Adam Foundation, which promotes hazing prevention education. Student-athletes and members of the University's Greek community participated in discussions and exercises designed to enhance student safety on and off campus.

Top Spider Leadership Initiative programs included a tour of downtown Richmond to learn about the history of Monument Avenue and leadership lessons that can be gleaned from the lives of those who have been memorialized there as well as team-building activities on the University ropes course.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) had record attendance at its monthly meetings as the organization focused its efforts on mental health and athletes supporting athletes during the school year. SAAC Red events provided opportunities for every Spider student-athlete to play in front of a large crowd of their peers, and events such as a winter coat drive with the Richmond Christmas Mother Fund, a partnership with Reinhardt Guest House, and appearances at local elementary schools ingrained Spiders into the greater Richmond community.

Over 100 junior student-athletes and more than 25 employers attended SPD's annual Networking and Etiquette Dinner at the Country Club of Virginia as part of SPD's career and alumni engagement programming. SPD also hosted a pair of Jobs and Internship Fairs for student-athletes and facilitated the department's Mentor-Mentee program, now in its third year.

A pair of newer initiatives aimed to better prepare Spiders for their post-playing careers. During winter break, SPD implemented its first Student-Athlete Career Launcher Cohort. The Senior Transitions programming included a Career Readiness event in the fall and an Adulting 101 forum, complete with tips on managing personal finances, changing a tire, and more, in the spring.

Data collected during the year showed that of the members of the Richmond Athletics Class of 2023, 60 had secured employment, 38 were attending graduate school, and six were pursuing professional athletics.

2023 graduates: 60 full-time employees, 38 graduate students, 6 pro athletes

Richmond Athletics provided a host of new services designed to ensure that current Spiders are operating at their physical and mental peaks:

• Sport Performance and Analytics developed a Sports Performance Intern program and hired a UR student to support its data collection and program design efforts.

• Every team was provided with sports-specific nutritional products for use at various times during a game (pregame, in-game, postgame, etc.) in an effort to provide optimal nutrient timing.

• Women's sports teams collaborated with registered dietitians and a clinical psychologist to create the Female Athlete Body Project to provide education on the unique nutritional demands of the female athlete.

• A contribution from the parents of a Spider student-athlete allowed for two graduate trainees to provide an additional three-and-a-half days of sports psychology coverage, allowing for 15 additional clinical appointments each week. In all, more than 100 different student-athletes had at least one psychological appointment during the year.

• Sports Medicine created a psychiatric clinic to assist student-athletes with medication management and worked with a clinical psychologist to create a referral structure for student-athletes who suffered a significant or season-ending injury.

• Sports Medicine & Sport Performance developed an injury prevention program for teams and individual student-athletes. For those returning from a concussion, Sports Medicine worked with Academic Support Services and the Office of Disability Services to update UR's Return to Learn progression, allowing for an evidence-based, individualized approach for each student-athlete.

COMPLIANCE, POLICY AND GOVERNANCE

Richmond Athletics and the University announced in May that Spider football would be transitioning from the CAA to the Patriot League following the 2024 season, marking the first change in conference affiliation for Spider football since joining the CAA in 2007. "Joining the Patriot League puts our football program in a great position to continue to compete for championships and achieve the type of postseason success that is so important to our players, our university, and Spiders everywhere," said Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hardt.

" ... A conference that is rich in tradition, scholarship, and stability." — AD John hardt on THE PATRIOT LEAGUE, THE FUTURE HOME OF SPIDER FOOTBALL

In June, Richmond hosted the inaugural Virginia Compliance Summit, with senior Compliance administrators from across the state gathering including representatives from Virginia Tech, James Madison, George Mason, Liberty, VCU, Old Dominion, William & Mary, Longwood, Radford, VMI and UR. The group reviewed a wide range of issues including sports wagering, name, image and likeness, Virginia law and the transfer portal.

Four Spiders student-athletes and Assistant AD Jason Vida attended the NIL Summit in Atlanta in June. The two-day summit was aimed at both athletes and administrators and provided instruction on navigating the current landscape surrounding the NCAA's Name, Image, and Likeness policies. At the NIL Awards, which kicked off the event, Spider basketball players B. Artis White and Anna Camden were two of the eight finalists for the Creator of the Year award.

Richmond continued to build on a legacy of providing its student-athletes with some of the nation’s very best athletic facilities in 2023-24. In August, The Princeton Review rated UR’s suite of athletic facilities No. 7 in all of collegiate athletics.

Thanks to the generosity of a group of Richmond football alumni, the Spider Team Meeting Room received a brand-new look for the 2023 season. The space received brand-new LED wall graphics, in-floor tables and chairs for the entire team, and a new podium. Another major renovation was the changes to Robins Stadium's west concourse, which created club level seating and gave fans a new way to watch the Spiders during the 2023-24 season. "Continuing to update and innovate Robins Stadium helps ensure it remains among the best college stadium experiences," said AD John Hardt.

The Spider Athletic Fund continued to ensure that Richmond Athletics has the resources needed to fulfill its mission of educating, inspiring, and assisting Spider student-athletes. With SAF leading the way, the Athletics Department raised more than $1 million during UR’s sixth annual #URHere Giving Day in April, a record total and an increase of 26 percent from 2023. More than 2,200 donors contributed to Athletics during the 36-hour event, another record, and over 200 Spider student-athletes contributed, a figure representing more than half of all current student-athletes.

Giving Day helped spur the Spider Athletic Fund to a record-setting year, with more than $2.35 million raised to support Spider student-athletes, an increase of 28 percent from 2023. SAF collected contributions from over 3,700 donors, 15 percent more than in 2023. That included more than 900 first-time supporters and a 63 percent participation rate among parents of current student-athletes.

With four of the nation's top 10 preseason teams scheduled to visit Robins Stadium, ticketing was introduced for Spider men's lacrosse games for the first time. The Spider faithful showed up in droves, as more than 16,000 fans attended Richmond's eight home games. The program ranked ninth in the nation in attendance, with an average crowd of 2,030 attending UR games during the season.

Record-setting crowds helped Spider women's basketball to a 14-0 record at the Robins Center during the season. Attendance for the team increased by 79 percent in 2023-24 to an average of 1,254 fans per game.

Those who weren’t able to make it to campus to see the Spiders in person were able to watch one of the more than 100 games produced by SpiderTV for streaming on ESPN Plus and FloSports and broadcast on regional television during the course of the school year. Fans were also able to keep up with UR with the launch of the Spiders Morning Jolt, an email newsletter with the latest Richmond Athletics news and notes delivered to the inboxes of more than 8,000 Spider fans on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, and INCLUSION

Spider student-athletes traveled near and far to advance their understanding of the benefits of diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities in 2023-24, returning to campus with a greater sense of their place in the world and at Richmond.

During fall break, Richmond Athletics partnered with International Education's EnCompass Program to send a group of student-athletes to Costa Rica to gain a greater understanding of the intersections between sport, sustainability, and social justice. In January, the University's Office of the Chaplaincy and Athletics sponsored a journey for student-athletes to Greece to explore religious traditions, history, and culture in both the ancient world and the present. Spider Athletics remains committed to finding opportunities for student-athletes to have international experiences and explore new cultures and perspectives.

Mikkel Tyne and DeLonnie Hunt of men's basketball attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit in Los Angeles in May. The duo learned strategies designed to help Black student-athletes excel in competition and in the classroom and how they can best serve as leaders in their athletic departments and among the entire student population.

Richmond remained a leading member of the Atlantic 10’s Commission on Racial Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion. During Black History Month, UR hosted a viewing event for student-athletes, staff, and coaches of the Commission’s presentation of “The Loyola Project” in Spider Hall. In January, both Spider men’s basketball and Spider women’s basketball hosted games themed around the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday as part of a league-wide effort.

Also in February, Richmond Athletics produced its annual Black History Month Spider Spotlight series, highlighting some of UR's most successful Black alumni. Hosted by current student-athletes Logan Anderson and Jojo McShane, the series featured long-form interviews with Jaide Hinds-Clarke, Nick Sherod, and Mark Thompson regarding how their identity shaped their time at Richmond and how it has impacted their post-college path. The department also produced interviews with current student-athletes to commemorate both Asian Pacific Islander Desi Arab (APIDA) Heritage Month and Latinx Heritage Month.

In its fourth year, the Spiders Vote Initiative worked to educate student-athletes on how they can make sure their voice is heard. The effort included a voting rights workshop with Spider football, instructions on how and where to register to vote, and an election night watch party.

The Spider Athletes of Color Alliance (SACA) sponsored programming targeted to students of color, including welcome back events with the Student Center for Equity & Inclusion, seminars with Black professionals in the sports industry, reflections from Black female student-athletes during Women's History Month, and the group's annual Family Feud event with Richmond's Black Student Alliance.

In recognition of LGBTQ History Month, coaches and staff were invited to a guided tour along with an interactive conversation of the exhibit Queer Pioneers at UR's Harnett Museum of Art through the Learn Together program.