From The Desk of Brian White

Dear Owl Fans,

It's nice to have the days longer and the sun shining bright here in Paradise. Our department and student-athletes have been busy representing Owl Nation on the playing courts and fields and out in the community. We couldn't do any of this without your support and on behalf of our entire athletic department, we want to thank you for your unconditional support and give you a quick update on what's going on in the FAU athletic department.

Spring Football Practice is Underway
The FAU football team has begun preparations for the 2019 football season with spring practice. The Owls opened the spring practice schedule March 20 with plenty of new faces and several key returners. This marks FAU's third spring practice under the direction of head coach Lane Kiffin. The Owls will practice three times each week for the 15 NCAA-permissible spring practices. While weekday practices are not open to the public, there will be several opportunities for the public to get a sneak peek at the 2019 team, including the April 13 Spring Game at FAU Stadium and an open scrimmage at Miami's Moore Park on April 6.

Practices Open to the Public
April 6– 11:30 AM – Miami's Moore Park (765 NW 34th Street, Miami, FL, 33127)
April 13– 2:00 PM – 2019 Spring Game (FAU Stadium)
April 20– 11:30 AM – Final Scrimmage (FAU Stadium)

Welcome to the Squad
Not only are there new players on the practice field there are new faces on the football staff this season. Coach Kiffin added the following new coaches to the football staff for the 2019 season.
Glenn Spencer– Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Lance Thompson– Defensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator
Jason Jones– Cornerbacks
DJ McCarthy– Wide Receivers
Jeff Norrid– Offensive Line

Football Signing Day = Success
The Florida Atlantic football team for the second time under Lane Kiffin signed the No. 1 recruiting class in Conference USA during the annual signing period in February. Read what head coach Lane Kiffin had to say about this year's class. [ Full Story]

Diamond Owls with Strong Starts
The FAU baseball and softball teams have been playing since February and both teams have had good starts to the season. The baseball team has been on a roll lately posting a 10-game win streak, a mark that hadn't been reached since the 2013 season. The Owls opened C-USA play with a bang by sweeping the always strong Rice Owls for the first time in program history. The series sweep earned Francisco Urbaez Conference USA Hitter of the week  as he posted three consecutive multi-hit games against Rice. The FAU softball team, the defending C-USA regular-season champions, have played one of the toughest schedules in the country with six games against teams ranked in the top-25 during the non-conference slate. The Owls have split each of their first two C-USA series, taking a series from Southern Miss and dropping a series to UAB. Madisyn Palmer became the career stolen bases leader earlier in the season and has 138 career stolen bases. As a team FAU is ranked No. 8 in fielding double plays and No. 33 nationally in stolen bases.

Coach McCormack Inducted into Palm Beach Sports Hall of Fame
Head FAU baseball coach John McCormack was inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame on March 25. McCormack, who is in his 11th season at the helm of the FAU baseball program, was a part of an induction class that included Annette Deluca, William Harvey, Mike Kissner, Don Smith, Budd Walton and Dr. Gary Wiren. Congrats Coach Mac!
[ Full Story]

Natalliah Whyte Makes Her Mark at C-USA Indoor Championships
FAU Track and Field newcomer Natalliah Whyte made her mark at the Conference USA indoor championships by taking home gold medals in the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. Whyte set school records in both events with times of 7.28 and 23.42, respectively. She also earned C-USA Highest Point Scorer for the Championship on the women's side.  [ Full Story]

Men's Basketball Wraps up Record Breaking 2018-19 Season
Head men's basketball coach Dusty May and the FAU men's basketball team certainly made the 2018-19 season one that Owl fans will remember. The Owls posted a 17-16 overall record, made the C-USA Tournament and played in the postseason for the first time since the 2010-11 season by accepting a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. FAU's 17 wins marked the first winning season since 2010-11 and their eight C-USA wins are the most since FAU joined the league in 2013. FAU set some impressive milestones this season including finishing the year averaging 39.3 rebounds per game – it's highest average since moving to Division I. The Owls also nailed 290 three-point field goals and shot 75.1 percent from the charity stripe, both new single-season records. FAU also poured in 2,322 points on the season – which was the second-best single-season total in school history.

Save the Date for the 2019 Owlspy's
FAU fans make sure you Save the Date for the 2019 Owlspy's. This annual celebration of FAU Athletics will take place on Monday April 8 from 6-8 pm at the Barry Kaye Auditorium. It's $5 for students and $10 for general public. We invite you to come and help us celebrate FAU Athletics. [ Details ]

Do.Not.Miss.Football.In.Paradise … Renew Your Season Tickets
Make sure you don't miss a minute of Winning in Paradise by renewing your football season tickets. Season ticket renewals are underway as are new season ticket sales. Make sure you don't miss one minute of the 2019 football season. For more information on renewing call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or go online to www.fausports.com.

Join The Paradise Club
If you're a member of the Paradise Club, we thank you for all that you are doing to help us support our student-athletes both on and off the field. If you aren't a member of the Paradise Club, we urge you to consider supporting our nearly 500 student-athletes. The Paradise Club Renewal is June 15^th. Current members should have received their renewal and our 2019-20 guidebook but if you haven't received it please contact the Paradise Club office at (561) 296-3964. We need everyone to continue #WinningInParadise [ 2019-20 Donor Guidebook ]

Black History Month Features:
The FAU Athletic Department celebrated Black History Month with a month long series of features on some of our student-athletes and coaches.

Chan Walker – Softball [ Full Story ]
Jason Rocke – Men's Soccer [ Full Story]
Gary Durrant – Men's Basketball [ Full Story]
Sherri Pla– Women's Basketball, Softball, Golf  [ Full Story ]

Our First Year in Paradise
In case you missed it check out this letter from the White Family on celebrating their first year in Paradise. [ Full Story ]

Owl Roll Call
-FAU football players Azeez Al-Shaair, Devin Singletary and Jovan Durante participated in NFL Combine activities in Indianapolis, Indiana.  [ Full Story ]

-Men's tennis players Jason Legall and Ignacio Garcia have earned national rankings becoming the first Owls to hold national rankings in over a year . [ Full Story ]

-The men's swimming and diving team took second at the 2019 CCSA Championships marking the best finish in over a decade. [ Full Story ]

-The FAU beach volleyball team opened the season with a 4-0 record for the first time in program and is currently ranked in the top 20 in both national polls; (No. 15 – AVCA Poll and No. 15 – DiG Magazine).

-Baseball player Zach Schneider was announced as a candidate for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award. [ Full Story ]

Upcoming Events
April 6– FAU Football Open Practice – Moore Park (Miami) – 11:30 AM
April 8 –Owlspy's – Barry Kaye Auditorium – 6-8 PM
April 13– FAU Spring Game/Select-A-Seat   - FAU Stadium -  2 PM
April 20– FAU Final Scrimmage – FAU Stadium – 11:30 AM
April 29– Captain's Cup Classic (Paradise Club Golf Outing) – Royal Palm Yacht Club (Boca Raton)
May 6– FAU Paradise Club  (Paradise Club Golf Outing) – Addison Reserve Country Club (Delray Beach)
May 6 –Football Mini Plans on sale
May 13– Phil Smith '69 Invitational (Paradise Club Golf Outing) – Coral Ridge Country Club (Fort Lauderdale)
June 6 –Football Single Game/Groups on sale

We look forward to seeing you around campus and at our sporting events as we continue #WinningInParadise!

Brian White
Vice President and Director of Athletics
Go Owls!

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