Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Message from Director of Athletics Pat Chun
8/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | General
Dear Owl Nation,
The 2015-16 year is here and we are off to a great start. Congratulations to our women’s soccer team which began the year with a 2-0 record and to Erica Burt, who was named Conference USA Defender of the Week.
On Sunday night, we welcomed ESPN’s Shannon Spake back to her alma mater to speak to our 
student-athletes. She challenged us to “Separate yourself through character and hard work. For if you don’t separate yourself, you will be just like everyone else.” We thank Shannon for giving us great inspiration to start off the new year.
I’m happy to report that we have set a new school record for football season tickets. We will open against Miami on Friday, Sept. 11 with a record crowd on Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium. It will be a great opportunity to showcase what we believe is the best college football experience in South Florida.
I would be remiss if I didn’t touch on some highlights from last year. When we look back on 2014-15 as a year, it will be remembered as the year we cemented our foundation and started our launch towards excellence. Here are a few of our many points of pride:
- 2.92 overall grade point average was achieved by our student-athletes, the highest in school history
- 51.5% of our student-athletes earned at least a 3.0 GPA, the highest in school history
- 2,600 community service hours were the most in Department of Athletics history
- From our women’s track and field team, Sitia Martinez and Frida Thorsas won Conference USA Championships in the 400 meter hurdles and heptathlon, respectively
- Agnes Bucz represented FAU at the NCAA National Swim Meet
- Our softball and baseball teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament
- Largest one-time gift in University history, $16 million for the Schmidt Family Center for Academics and Athletics Excellence
- Across the board increases in either total number of season tickets or tickets sold for all ticketed sports
- Student attendance at football games increased by 21%
- Inaugural Boca Raton Bowl launched with over 2.2 million households viewing the game from FAU Stadium
- 57% increase in the number of corporate sponsors
President Kelly has set a clear vision for our University. FAU will become the fastest improving university in the country. We are undoubtedly on our way.
Volleyball opens its season at FAU Arena with two games on Friday and two more on Saturday. We will look for you this weekend and at all of our events this year.
Go Owls!
Sincerely,
Pat
