A Message From the Athletic Director - July 2019
Hurricane Fans,
Believe it or not, we have officially arrived at the start of the 2019-20 season for Miami Athletics! Our football team holds its first fall camp practice Friday night at 7 p.m. at the newly renovated Greentree Practice Fields.
Last week head coach Manny Diaz, linebacker Shaquille Quarterman and wide receiver K.J. Osborn did a phenomenal job representing our program at the conference’s annual ACC Kickoff in Charlotte. The conference media submitted their preseason balloting during the event and picked Miami to finish second behind Virginia in the Coastal Division by just a few votes. In addition, Shaq, fellow linebacker Michael Pinckney and tight end Brevin Jordan were selected to the Preseason All-ACC team. Congratulations to all three players!
As you know, we open our first season under Coach Diaz on August 24 against Florida in the 2019 Camping World Kickoff in Orlando. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN at 7 p.m. We’re thrilled to be kicking off the 150thseason of college football on the national stage, and we hope to see many of you cheering on the Canes in Orlando!
We’re less than a month away from the launch of the new ACC Network, which launches August 22 and will provide us with a tremendous platform to help promote and showcase our teams, our student-athletes and our University to a wide audience. Two of our first three football games will be televised on ACCN — our conference opener at North Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 7, as well as our home opener against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, Sept. 14.
ACCN has also announced its broadcast schedule for fall Olympic sports, including UM’s soccer and volleyball programs. Our home soccer game against Pittsburgh on Sunday, September 29 will be on ACCN at 7 p.m. Two Canes volleyball games – Wednesday, October 30 at Florida State and Friday, November 15 at home against NC State – will be televised on ACCN. In addition, our men’s basketball home opener November 5 at Watsco Center against Louisville will be televised on ACCN.
Multiple providers have already agreed to carry ACCN, including DIRECTV, Fios, Google Fiber, Hulu, Optimum and PlayStation Vue. But there are still providers that haven’t yet decided to carry the network, including Comcast, Dish, AT&T U-Verse and Spectrum. I encourage Canes fans to visit getaccn.comto see if their provider is planning to carry the network. If not, you should call that provider and demand ACCN! We want everybody to be able to watch every Canes game for every sport this coming season.
Head coach Sarah Barnes and UM’s soccer team are set to begin their training camp on August 5. The Hurricanes return 15 student-athletes from last season, including five seniors, while welcoming nine newcomers to the roster. We kick off the 2019 slate on August 22 at Texas-Rio Grande Valley with the first home game coming on August 29 against FAU at 7 p.m. We look forward to seeing all of you at Cobb Field this season!
Jose “Keno” Gandara’s volleyball squad, which starts practice on August 7, returns eight players and features seven freshmen from a class that was ranked as the No. 25 recruiting class in the NCAA and the third-best in the ACC by PrepVolleyball.com. The Canes host an exhibition on August 23 against FIU at 7 p.m. in the newly renovated Knight Gym. We hope to see you there!
We are excited to announce that both of our basketball teams are going on a 10-day tour of Italy next month. The women’s trip (August 7-16) features stops in Rome, Florence and Venice, while the men’s tour (August 9-18) includes visits to Rome, Florence and Como. Both teams will play three games, with at least one game per stop. Follow @CanesHoops and @CanesWBB on social media as both teams document their adventures!
The NCAA recently awarded UM an NCAA CHOICES Grant for its forthcoming ‘Canes Connected program. UM’s specific three-year grant will allow the University to develop a peer education program that aims to address problems related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs among all students at Miami. UM was one of just 11 schools across all NCAA division to receive the grant. Congratulations to our Performance, Health and Wellness department, as well as the Division of Student Affairs, in their efforts to promote the NCAA’s commitment to alcohol and drug abuse prevention.
Our annual Canes Fest will take place on Saturday, August 3, from 12-3 p.m. It’s a tremendous event for family and friends, featuring a live DJ, Madden Tournament, team autographs, mascots and more! Fans can tour the UM Sports Hall of Fame, visit our championship displays at the Schwartz Center for Athletics Excellence and check out the beautiful Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility. Click [here] to RSVP for Canes Fest!
I want to again extend my heartfelt thanks to Carol Soffer and her family for the lead gift for this magnificent facility. We have already raised $40 million but are not done yet — and we still need your support. Your donations will ensure that this facility continues to be one of the best in the country. Visit Give2IPF.com to pledge your support.
We remain committed to Building Champions in the classroom, in competition and in life. I look forward to another exciting year of Hurricanes Athletics and want to thank you for your commitment to our student-athletes. Without your support none of this would be possible.
For the latest information on each of our varsity teams, please be sure to visit HurricaneSports.com or follow us on Twitter @MiamiHurricanes. I hope you enjoy this month’s magazine and I hope to see you rooting on the Canes in August!
Go Canes!
Blake James
