From the Desk of Dan Radakovich
Dear Canes Community,
It’s the most wonderful time of the year and all of us at Miami Athletics wish you a joyous holiday season. We have a busy month ahead as our football and volleyball teams point towards the postseason and our basketball teams start ACC play.
Football in Hunt for CFP
Mario Cristobal’s team finished its regular season with a 10-2 mark after dropping a tough season finale at Syracuse this past weekend. The 10 wins are the most for the Canes since 2017, and while it was disappointing to miss the ACC Championship Game we are still firmly in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth. We rank first in the nation in scoring and total offense and boast seven wins over Power 4 teams, including a 3-0 mark against teams in the top 30 of team strength rankings. Quite an impressive resume! The CFP bracket will be announced Sunday on ESPN at 12 p.m.
I want to thank all our fans who packed Hard Rock Stadium and supported us on the road throughout the regular season. What a season thus far and the future is bright! The first three seasons of Coach Cristobal’s tenure have seen rapid improvement in our program. He continues to set a solid and exciting foundation for great Canes Football for years to come. Next year’s schedule will be one of the most challenging in years, featuring 10 bowl teams. We have eight home games featuring Notre Dame, Florida, NC State, Syracuse and Louisville and a road schedule that is equally challenging with stops at Florida State, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and SMU.
Cam Ward for Heisman
Cam Ward is having a sensational season at quarterback, and we are proud to promote him as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy, which will be awarded to the nation’s most outstanding college football player on December 14 in New York.
Cam currently leads the nation with 36 touchdown passes, and also ranks second nationally in both passing yards and total offense. Cam broke Steve Walsh’s single-season school record for touchdown passes and Bernie Kosar’s UM record for passing yards in a season. Visit our Heisman page to read more about Cam’s accomplishments and his incredible story!
ACC/SEC Challenge
Both our men’s and women’s basketball teams host important ACC/SEC Challenge games this week at Watsco Center. Jim Larrañaga’s squad welcomes Arkansas Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. tip on ESPN2. The Razorbacks are in their first year under longtime Kentucky head coach John Calipari. Tricia Cullop’s team will look to remain undefeated Wednesday when it hosts Vanderbilt for a 5 p.m. tip on ACC Network. We’re looking forward to a packed house at Watsco for both games. Click here to get your seats!
Baseball Schedule Released
We released our 2025 baseball schedule last week, featuring 32 home games at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The Canes will face 12 teams that made last season’s NCAA Tournament, including five programs that reached the 2024 College World Series. Highlighting the home slates are three-game ACC series against Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State and Notre Dame. The season opens February 14 against Niagara at home. Click here to secure your tickets for another exciting season of Canes baseball at The Light!
Olympic Sports Update
Our volleyball team finished the regular season with a 21-10 record and last night clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season. The Canes will face South Dakota State in the first round in Lincoln, Neb., on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Congratulations and good luck to Keno Gandara and the Canes in the postseason!
Our women’s swimming and diving team is ranked 25th in the country. Giulia Carvalho is off to a terrific start — setting school records in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle – and Mia Vallée has captured ACC Diver of the Week honors three times.
Five members of our soccer team — Julia Edwards, Emilie McCartney, Dieynaba “JJ” Ndaw, Tori Grambo, and Kyla Gallagher — were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. They were recognized for their accomplishments both on the field and in the classroom, producing a GPA of at least 3.50. Congratulations to those five Canes!
You can keep up with all 18 of our programs by subscribing to the weekly Miami Athletics Report. Click here to sign up!
Graduation Success Rate
Our student-athletes posted a four-year Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 93 percent as announced in the latest NCAA report released November 20. This marks the ninth consecutive year and 12th year in the past 13 that Miami has earned a four-year average rate of 90 percent or higher. The Hurricanes’ GSR is higher than the national average of 90 percent. Seven individual programs posted perfect scores of 100 percent: women’s basketball, men’s diving, golf, rowing, soccer, women’s tennis and volleyball.
I am proud of our student-athletes for continuing to post outstanding GSR numbers. It’s a reflection of their commitment to the classroom, as well as the support and guidance they receive from our coaches and academic support staff.
Canes Connection
Canes Connection is the Official NIL Collective of Miami Athletics and helps develop partnerships to benefit student-athletes with the goal of building the most impactful NIL program in college athletics.
You can support student-athletes through Canes Connection, and as a benefit of that support, receive exclusive access to a wide variety of benefits including direct interaction and engagement with student-athletes. Click here to learn more about the available membership plans from Canes Connection.
Our Canes Community remains stronger than ever thanks to your generosity. Happy Holidays and Go Canes!
– Dan Radakovich
