From the Desk of Athletic Director Glenn Hofmann

This is the fourth edition of "From the AD's Desk"

Edition 3 / Edition 2 / Edition 1

Two weeks ago I was getting set to write my monthly “message from the A.D.” after what had turned out to be one of the most exciting and fulfilling weekends so far for me at Merrimack. It started on Friday afternoon when our women’s soccer team beat UMass-Lowell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Albany. As I was driving back from Albany, I turned the radio on for the hockey pre-game show. Our opponent was Boston University and it was a race against time to get to the start of the game at Lawler. Things got complicated once I turned onto campus. So many cars, so many people, so little time! I did make it for the puck drop and as it later turned out so did nearly 3,000 other people. We sold out the game and just as importantly we beat the Terriers to improve our home hockey record to 6-0. Let’s not forget we honored the football team at the first intermission for capturing their second career Northeast-10 Championship by routing Pace 46-14 in their final game the previous weekend. Nearly 700 students turned out not to mention countless alumni, many of whom hadn’t been back for a game in some time. Everyone left with smiles on their faces and vowed to return again.

For a Director of Athletics it doesn’t get much better than a weekend filled with results like that. I didn’t write my message that Sunday though, mainly because I was heading back to Albany for the second round of the NCAA Tournament. And with our basketball season getting underway, before another sellout crowd on opening night against Bentley things have been pretty hectic the last couple of weeks.

Which brings us to Thanksgiving and I can’t tell you how thankful I am to be at Merrimack. Our student-athletes and coaches this fall had quite a season. School win records for field hockey and volleyball, a National Coach of the Year award for field hockey coach Anne Rounce, the first for a Merrimack coach since 1986, conference player of the year honors for a pair of sophomores -- men’s soccer player Robbie Sabadoz and quarterback James Suozzo, Libero of the Year honors for junior volleyball player Alyssa Pickert and All-American and conference rookie of the year honors for field hockey freshman April Daugherty.

Add to that an overall home record of 41-14-1 (74% winning percentage) and the song we play by the Black Eyed Peas after every win “Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night” certainly was heard quite often this fall.

And yet for all of those accomplishments what has been most gratifying is the effort I have seen from so many of our student-athletes both in the classroom and athletically. Ask our strength and conditioning coach which teams have shown the most improvement and work ethic in the weight room and he’ll answer cross country and tennis. I played tennis in college (and I didn’t ever see the weight room) so I can honestly say I share your thoughts and surprise that those are the teams he’d mention. I’ve seen our hockey, men’s lacrosse and men’s basketball players swimming in a pool during leadership training and giving it everything they have in order to complete the task (and not drown). I have seen our baseball team not only working out early in the morning but professionally work almost all of our home events and represent our department and College in a professional and enthusiastic manner. And I have seen the look on the faces of alumni and fans that have been back to campus. And that look has been one of in some cases surprise and in all cases pride on what our student-athletes are accomplishing.

There are no short cuts to success. And thankfully our student-athletes and staff understand that which will allow us to continue to make progress towards all of our goals.

Finally, as always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to e-mail me. I will be sure to get back to you with answers. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.


Cross Country (M) Cross Country (W) Field Hockey Football Soccer (M) Soccer (W) Volleyball Basketball (M) Basketball (W) Ice Hockey Indoor Track (M) Indoor Track (W) Baseball Lacrosse (M) Lacrosse (W) Softball Tennis (M) Tennis (W) Outdoor Track (M) Outdoor Track (W) Lawler Completion Project Athletic Staff Directory Blue Line Club Cheerleading Compliance Composite Calendar Desktop Wallpaper Directions Facilities From the AD's Desk Intramurals Marketing & Promotions Merrimack Championships Quick Facts Recruiting Questionnaires SAAC SID Downloads Sponsorship Sports Medicine Strength and Conditioning Student-Athlete Welfare Summer Clinic Information Visitors Guide 2010 Commencement Photos 2009-10 End of Year Banquet 2010-11 Hockey Tickets	[Printer Friendly] Nov 25, 2009 From the Desk of Athletic Director Glenn Hofmann This is the fourth edition of "From the AD's Desk" Edition 3 / Edition 2 / Edition 1 Two weeks ago I was getting set to write my monthly “message from the A.D.” after what had turned out to be one of the most exciting and fulfilling weekends so far for me at Merrimack. It started on Friday afternoon when our women’s soccer team beat UMass-Lowell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Albany. As I was driving back from Albany, I turned the radio on for the hockey pre-game show. Our opponent was Boston University and it was a race against time to get to the start of the game at Lawler. Things got complicated once I turned onto campus. So many cars, so many people, so little time! I did make it for the puck drop and as it later turned out so did nearly 3,000 other people. We sold out the game and just as importantly we beat the Terriers to improve our home hockey record to 6-0. Let’s not forget we honored the football team at the first intermission for capturing their second career Northeast-10 Championship by routing Pace 46-14 in their final game the previous weekend. Nearly 700 students turned out not to mention countless alumni, many of whom hadn’t been back for a game in some time. Everyone left with smiles on their faces and vowed to return again. For a Director of Athletics it doesn’t get much better than a weekend filled with results like that. I didn’t write my message that Sunday though, mainly because I was heading back to Albany for the second round of the NCAA Tournament. And with our basketball season getting underway, before another sellout crowd on opening night against Bentley things have been pretty hectic the last couple of weeks. Which brings us to Thanksgiving and I can’t tell you how thankful I am to be at Merrimack. Our student-athletes and coaches this fall had quite a season. School win records for field hockey and volleyball, a National Coach of the Year award for field hockey coach Anne Rounce, the first for a Merrimack coach since 1986, conference player of the year honors for a pair of sophomores -- men’s soccer player Robbie Sabadoz and quarterback James Suozzo, Libero of the Year honors for junior volleyball player Alyssa Pickert and All-American and conference rookie of the year honors for field hockey freshman April Daugherty. Add to that an overall home record of 41-14-1 (74% winning percentage) and the song we play by the Black Eyed Peas after every win “Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night” certainly was heard quite often this fall. And yet for all of those accomplishments what has been most gratifying is the effort I have seen from so many of our student-athletes both in the classroom and athletically. Ask our strength and conditioning coach which teams have shown the most improvement and work ethic in the weight room and he’ll answer cross country and tennis. I played tennis in college (and I didn’t ever see the weight room) so I can honestly say I share your thoughts and surprise that those are the teams he’d mention. I’ve seen our hockey, men’s lacrosse and men’s basketball players swimming in a pool during leadership training and giving it everything they have in order to complete the task (and not drown). I have seen our baseball team not only working out early in the morning but professionally work almost all of our home events and represent our department and College in a professional and enthusiastic manner. And I have seen the look on the faces of alumni and fans that have been back to campus. And that look has been one of in some cases surprise and in all cases pride on what our student-athletes are accomplishing. There are no short cuts to success. And thankfully our student-athletes and staff understand that which will allow us to continue to make progress towards all of our goals. Finally, as always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to e-mail me. I will be sure to get back to you with answers. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.