Jan. 6, 2004
I hope that all of our fans had a healthy and happy Holiday season. It was a busy time for Northwestern athletics, especially with preparations for our participation in the Motor City Bowl. We all enjoyed the opportunity to spend the Holiday season in Detroit!
Motor City Bowl
I would like to personally thank all of our fans for their attendance and support at the Motor City Bowl. We had a great turnout at the game. We sold 4,500 tickets and there appeared to be more than 10,000 Northwestern fans at the game. We helped the Motor City Bowl set a new attendance record with almost 52,000 fans. Despite the final outcome, I felt that the overall Motor City Bowl experience was extremely positive for Northwestern and our football program. Our players, coaches and staff members were treated in a first-class manner by the Motor City Bowl representatives. Ford Field is a tremendous place to watch a game. I felt the atmosphere at the game was great and both teams treated the fans to an entertaining game.
Although I would have loved to see us come away with a win, I thought our team played hard and showed a lot of character. I was very happy that two of our senior captains, Jason Wright and Pat Durr, were able to end their Northwestern careers with outstanding performances. Jason rushed for 237 yards and had 336 all-purpose yards. He was named Co-MVP of the game. Jason made a strong statement that he is an NFL back, and will play in the Hula Bowl on January 17. Pat also had an excellent game, making several key defensive plays.
Graduation Rate
Northwestern received some tremendous publicity during the bowl season. Of the 56 teams that participated in the bowls this year, Northwestern's football team had the highest graduation rate (83%). This is a tremendous tribute to everyone associated with our football program, and sends a strong message that you can have athletic success without sacrificing academics.
Big Ten Basketball
As I write this column, our men's and women's basketball teams are just starting conference play. Our women's team concluded the nonconference portion of the schedule with a 7-4 record, the best during head coach June Olkowski's tenure here. The highlight of the men's early season was an exciting, buzzer-beater win over Arizona State at home. There has been much written recently about how down men's basketball is in the Big Ten this year (based on the teams' records against Top 25 opponents and opponents from other major conferences). It will be interesting to see how the conference season plays out, and whether there is more parity in the league this year.
I wish all of you a safe and Happy New Year. I hope to see you at one of our games this winter.