This past week we have had several venues that brought many of us out of our winter cocoons to support our community. Thanks for all who came to the send off for our men’s basketball team as they advanced to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) quarterfinals for the first time in school history. A number of you joined us on the bus to Sioux Falls to see the men’s team play on Sunday and quite a few of you were part of the festivities at a watch party in Crookston. A few days later the bleachers of Lysaker Gymnasium were electrified with all the excitement coming from Crookston Pirate fans as the girls won their game against East Grand Forks in the basketball tournament. Later in the week many of you attended the international dinner in Bede Ballroom and then journeyed back to campus a few days later to watch the student production of “The Mousetrap.”
Perhaps the week was a little busier than usual, but frequently there are weeks where it is possible every night to attend an event featuring University of Minnesota or Crookston Pirates in their musical, theatrical productions, or sports programming. Our students are fortunate to have community support and people who believe in them and encourage them.
We played Winona State University (WSU) at the tournament in Sioux Falls, and following the game, Vice Chancellor Hoffman heard from WSU fans who were deeply impressed by our fan turnout and school spirit. Their small group of fans—mostly parents—were even more shocked to hear about the watch party we held in Crookston, as they commented how they wished they could see some of that type of energy at Winona.
Community pride is contagious. We’ve had a good week. Let’s keep encouraging and cheering on our students. It does make a difference.
Did you know?
- 36% of UMN Crookston’s incoming class of new high school students were student-athletes; their average ACT scores were the same as for the rest of the incoming class and on average, they earned higher high school GPAs
- UMN Crookston student-athletes earned a collective 3.08 GPA in Fall 2018
- UMN Crookston has a strong record of students being named to the NSIC All-Academic teams — 69 in 2017-2018
- Six UMN Crookston graduates in 2018 earned NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction for graduating with a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher
