Mason Athletics

First-year setter Tuana Ozarpaci is learning fast about the U.S. and Division I volleyball

Sarah Holland — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 19:52:52 +0000

First-year setter Tuana Ozarpaci is learning fast about the U.S. and Division I volleyball Sarah Holland Thu, 08/29/2024 - 15:52

The heavier volleyball used in NCAA Division-I play and the different feel from its international counterpart isn’t the only change to which ��AV’s Tuana Ozarpaci is quickly acclimating herself.

Photo by Rafael Suanes/Mason Athletics

Living in a foreign land, far away from home for the first time, the 18-year-old first-year setter from Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye, is taking a crash course, learning volumes both on the court and off as she settles in at her new home-away-from-home.

“It’s a whole new change, but it’s a good change,” said Ozarpaci, an economics and sports management major. “I just want to focus on my studies, volleyball, and my personal growth.”

Attending a university far from friends and family can have its challenges, but Ozarpaci is adapting well to her new environment and her new volleyball family.

In early spring 2023, Ozarpaci announced her intention to play for George Mason, becoming coach Megan Shifflett Bachman’s first commit for the incoming class of 2024. Ozarpaci chose George Mason over University of Texas, DePaul, and Loyola Marymount, citing the close relationship she had quickly developed with Shifflett Backman and current Patriots players via Zoom and her desire to find a new home preferably on the East Coast.

Ozarpaci had initially drawn the university’s attention with her impressive performance on the Turkish club team Galatasaray Sports Club, where she played in 414 sets across 133 matches and led her team with 1,000+ assists each season as the starting setter for the past three consecutive seasons.

Shifflett Bachman was on maternity leave when she heard of Ozarpaci’s decision to come to George Mason. “She was just one of those athletes who really stood out,” Shifflett Bachman said. “What she could do with the ball was impressive and immediately caught our attention.”

The number of international student-athletes playing Division I women’s volleyball has slowly risen in recent years, but they still comprise just under 6% of all Division I players, according to the latest NCAA statistics.

But Ozarpaci could play a key role for a George Mason team that looks to improve last year’s 9-21 record. Setters are the team’s quarterbacks, meaning they usually touch the ball on every play to set up teammates. Having a keen on-court awareness, knowing her teammates and accurately placing the ball are skills that are imperative for that position.

Ozarpaci will get her opportunity this fall, with the Patriots returning just one setter from last year’s team.

“Being a freshman—especially as an international student—is always going to be hard, no matter what,” Ozarpaci said. “But the coaches are making me feel safe and welcome while pushing me to improve and learn how to do things better.”

She had visited the United States with her parents and older sister before enrolling at George Mason, but the family had never been to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area before arriving in Fairfax on Aug. 1. Now, she is ready to brave this chapter on her own.

A huge basketball fan, Ozarpaci already plans on being a regular at EagleBank Arena this winter, at least when she’s not too busy with classes or sampling American culinary delights, such as Chick-fil-A and Dunkin, both on the Fairfax Campus. Ozarpaci has become a big fan of both.

“I’m loving it here, it’s beautiful, and I feel like I’m going to grow a lot,” Ozarpaci said.

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Retro Mason: Muzzio places fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992

Colleen Rich — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 17:32:21 +0000

Retro Mason: Muzzio places fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992 Colleen Rich Mon, 08/05/2024 - 13:32

Muzzio Places Fifth at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992

��AV alumnus and former track star Rob Muzzio, BS ’87, finished fifth in the decathlon competition during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Although he didn’t bring home a medal, Muzzio told the Washington Post that he performed a “personal best” in the second day of the 10-event decathlon, moving from 20th place the first day to fifth place finish overall. Muzzio won the pole vault portion of the competition.

In addition to Muzzio, who was representing the United States, nine George Mason athletes qualified to represent their native countries in 1992: heptathlete and long jumper Diane Guntrie and sprinters Anthony Wallace and Patrick O’Connor of Jamaica; pole-vaulter Istvan Bagyula of Hungary; middle-distance runner Abdi Bile of Somalia; sprinters John Myles-Mills, Eric Akogyiram, and Tim Hesse of Ghana; and long-distance runner Stephan Franke of Germany.

Barcelona was the second time Bile, who was the 1987 world champion in 1,500 meters, carried Somalia’s flag in the opening ceremonies. His first time was when he competed in 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Information provided by Fall 1992 Inside Patriot Circles alumni newsletter.

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George Mason athletes post successful NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores

Colleen Rich — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 19:21:22 +0000

George Mason athletes post successful NCAA Academic Progress Rate scores Colleen Rich Wed, 06/12/2024 - 15:21

��AV student-athletes continued to post impressive scores in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) release by the NCAA. Four programs produced perfect multi-year NCAA APR scores of 1,000 while a total of 11 teams had a perfect APR for the 2022-23 academic year.

Photo by Art Pittman/Athletics

The APR score is a rolling four-year average of each team and its athletes' progress toward graduation. Teams that score below 930 are subject to penalties, which can include ineligibility for postseason competition.

The highlights of results for George Mason student-athletes include:

The Division I single-year APR score for the George Mason Athletics Department was 989, which scored above the 985 needed to meet the NCAA academic unit benchmark.

Men's and women's cross country programs and the men's and women's tennis all scored a perfect multi-year score of 1,000.

Twelve teams (men's cross country, men's golf, men's soccer, men's tennis, men's track and field, women's cross country, women's rowing, women's lacrosse, softball, women's swimming and diving, women's tennis, and women's volleyball) scored at or above the NCAA Division I average multi-year APR score of 984.

"We are very proud of the impressive scores George Mason Athletics boasted in the latest Academic Progress Report (APR) released by the NCAA," said Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Marvin Lewis.

"This is a testament the hard work, dedication, and collaboration of our student-athletes, coaches, and the academic services team led by Deputy Athletics Director Nena Rogers. The collective commitment to academic success can be celebrated by all of the ��AV community."

Implemented in 2003 as part of an ambitious academic reform effort in Division I, the APR holds institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term.

The scores provide a real-time look at a program's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention, and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance. This year, the APR score was a multi-year average of the 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 academic years.

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Distad embodies excellence on and off the field

Colleen Rich — Mon, 06 May 2024 14:46:15 +0000

Distad embodies excellence on and off the field Colleen Rich Mon, 05/06/2024 - 10:46

��AV lacrosse midfielder and biology major Lauren Distad is the 2024 Aimee Willard Commemorative Award recipient. This award is given annually to a student-athlete who embodies Willard's legacy and who mirrors the standards of quality set by Willard in her two-sport career: intensity, consistency of purpose, achievement, and teamwork.

Lacrosse player Lauren Distad with Athletic Director Marvin Lewis. Photo by Athletics

Distad's path to winning the Aimee Willard Award started 1,100 miles away from George Mason in Roseville, Minnesota, where she grew up. "I come from a very diverse area in Minnesota," said Distad. "I saw a lot of people that weren't given equitable care and opportunities that I was given. So, in high school, I started volunteering and doing stuff because I wanted to close that gap. I started a food drive during COVID, and that kind of kick-started me with community service stuff.”

A student-athlete’s coach must nominate them for the award. "Lauren has been a consistent contributor to our program, her school, and her community,” said George Mason women’s lacrosse head coach Kara Mupo. “She continuously upholds the highest standards through everything she does and leaves a positive and lasting impact on people in all facets of her life."

When she chose to come to George Mason, Distad says lacrosse was the leading factor, but it's not the reason she's stayed. "Lacrosse brought me here […] but I stay because of the people that I've met here and the consistency within academics and athletics. It's a great environment, great community."

Distad plays an active role in making George Mason and the surrounding Fairfax community a great place to be. In her limited free time over the past three years, Distad has served as a member of the Student Athletics Advisory Committee, as a George Mason Ambassador, a Mason Chooses Kindness Ambassador, and she is heavily involved in Morgan's Message, a nonprofit that “strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics.”

Distad is also the founder of the One Love club on campus, a group that raises awareness about relationship violence by hosting events, workshops, and fundraisers. She also has excelled in the classroom; she was twice named a Athletics Provost Scholar and has been on the Dean's List for every semester she's attended George Mason. Distad also works two on-campus jobs in Athletics.

In March 2024, she received an OrthoVirginia Student Achiever Award, which recognizes George Mason student-athletes that excel in all areas—academics, athletics, and service to the community.

Off campus, Distad has volunteered at the Lloyd Moss Free Clinic as a medical scribe and has worked with FACETS at the Wedgewood Community Center, helping with afterschool enrichment. She also spent summer 2023 as a volunteer in the birth center and breast health care center at Regions Hospital in Minnesota. She is on a pre-med track and is set to take the MCAT this fall with the hopes to specialize in pediatrics or as a fertility specialist, but that's not the only reason she picked her volunteer work.

"I just like to see people happy,” Distad said. “I know it sounds super simple, but everyone deserves equitable care and to be happy and to be cared for and seen."

On the field, Distad has played all over, but has become the team's draw specialist this year, tallying 87 draw controls, good for third most in the Atlantic 10. And while she's led the draw team to be top-25 in the country in draw control percentage, she humbly credits her teammates and coaches as the reason for their success: “I couldn't do it without my draw circle. We work really well as a team. There's a lot that goes into it and it's very skilled and people don't really notice that. […] And our circle game was really good last year, but [assistant coach Riley Ewing] enhanced our on-draw calls. I'm very fortunate to have a good team that supports me and who has my back.”

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��AV completes long-term rebrand with new logo

Colleen Rich — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 18:03:05 +0000

��AV completes long-term rebrand with new logo Colleen Rich Wed, 04/24/2024 - 14:03

��AV unveiled a completely redesigned logo as the capstone of its three-year-long comprehensive rebrand. The new look, which will include a single logo for the university and its athletics program, asserts George Mason’s emerging identity as a national top 50 public university and Virginia’s top-ranked university for innovation and upward mobility, as well as the commonwealth’s largest, most innovative, and most diverse university.

The ongoing rebrand signals George Mason’s convention-defying rise to become a leading national public research university by expanding access to excellence through an unwavering commitment to inclusive innovation. The rebrand rollout began in 2021, with preparations to mark 50 years of George Mason as a university in 2022 with updated brand narrative that proclaims the university’s distinct approach to education as All Together Different. The logo system now matches this brand language.

“Higher education in America is at an inflection point, with families having a harder time finding a top-quality, affordable college education at a university that will actually admit them,” said George Mason President Gregory Washington. “George Mason has always offered these things, but few families know of this value because our brand and message have not been adequately heard. This new look is our reintroduction to the community, and a symbol of our commitment to the fundamentals: outstanding and rigorous academics, pragmatic career preparation and internships, flexibility and value, and an atmosphere of belonging for everyone.”

George Mason has grown from a small regional college in the 1970s into the youngest institution ever to earn Carnegie Tier 1 research university status, as well as Virginia’s top-ranked university for such high-demand and varied disciplines as cybersecurity, business entrepreneurship, homeland security, criminology, and forensic sciences. It also established Virginia’s first School of Computing in 2021 and its first College of Public Health in 2023.

“Our new brand crystallizes our identity as a great equalizer—a university committed to inclusive acceptance over exclusive status, and the promise of broad access to a top 50 university experience,” Washington said. “We take great pride in opening our doors wider the higher we climb in prestige. That’s what we mean by All Together Different.”

“George Mason has always boxed above its weight in Northern Virginia and D.C., and it needs an identity system to compete in the most competitive higher education market in the nation,” said Horace Blackman, rector of George Mason’s Board of Visitors. “This identity system brings George Mason shoulder-to-shoulder with leading brands in higher education.”

The new look also fixes several operational challenges with the existing logo system, and visuals that were difficult to maintain consistently across the university’s complex academic environment. All university units will now use a single, streamlined logo system.

“I am thrilled that George Mason Athletics will lead the charge to a unified look that reflects the modern character of this great university,” said Marvin Lewis, assistant vice president and director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “George Mason Athletics develops true scholar-athletes and serves as the front porch of the university, so it’s important to promote one consistent identity to unify our community.”

George Mason student-athletes Lauren Splett, women’s tennis, and Dean Johnson, track and field, modeled the new logo. Photo by Ron Aira/Office of University Branding

Input gathered from faculty and staff, students, parents, alumni, donors, and community leaders confirmed that George Mason is “All Together Different,” and in need of a new logo system to unify the community. The new look features clean lines and open ends, symbolizing multiple entry points and pathways to success. An interior gold shape hugged by green on both sides depicts the university's signature diversity and inclusivity. The clean lines represent the university’s efficiency and pragmatism.

The familiar green and gold color palette remains, paying homage to the university’s origins, as those school colors were voted on by students in the late 1960s. However, bolder shades will be adopted to signify its confidence as a rising national leader.

The “GM” monogram distinguishes the university as the world's only university to use those initials in its logo and recognizes that the broader community commonly refers to the university as “George Mason,” not just “Mason” and no longer “GMU.”

“This is a new look for a new era with new expectations of American higher education,” said Paul Allvin, vice president and chief brand officer at George Mason. “The rebrand reintroduces Mason as elite yet never elitist, prestigious yet eminently accessible, confident in blazing a fundamentally new path for public higher education in the 21st century and beyond.”

The change to the new look is planned to happen over time and is being accomplished without additional university spending. Over the next two years, assets that can be converted at no cost, like digital displays, will be converted first, followed by branded materials that naturally run out periodically and are already budgeted for replacement. Durable assets including external signage will be paid for by reallocation of existing budgets within the Office of University Branding.

Below is an example of how the individual units will look in a new two-tiered logo strategy.

Go behind the scenes to learn about our growth and journey to modernize George Mason's brand identity

Check out the new Brand Guide

The toolkit, editorial guide, and other tips for sharing Mason's new look and feel are available here. Take a look.

You have questions? We have answers

Want to know how to use the new logo in materials? Find out what's changing and how you can boost the new brand in the FAQ.

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Her time at Mason is going swimmingly

Colleen Rich — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 17:34:58 +0000

Her time at Mason is going swimmingly Colleen Rich Thu, 03/21/2024 - 13:34

Ali Tyler is all about television crime shows. They are, she said, her go-to form of entertainment.

Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding

At the same time, she is well aware they aren’t to be taken seriously.

Tyler is a junior forensic science major at ��AV, and, as she said of Hollywood’s fast-track crime solving, “It’s not at all how it happens in real life. It’s a three-month process versus a two-second process.”

Tyler, from Cheshire, Connecticut, picked Mason because of its well-regarded Forensic Science Program and proximity to Washington, D.C., a choice that put her on her preferred career path and also allowed her to flourish as one of the Atlantic 10’s best all-around swimmers.

Tyler is a three-time conference champion in the 100-yard backstroke, a three-time champion in the 50 freestyle, and a two-time champion in the 200 backstroke. At this year’s conference championship meet, Tyler set a conference meet record of 48.84 seconds in the 100 freestyle to go along with her overall conference record of 22.29 seconds in the 50 freestyle, set in the 2021-22 season. That’s nine individual events entered, nine gold medals.

She also has been part of four relay teams that won gold, three of which set conference records, and is a member of Mason's Honors College.

“It’s been awesome to watch,” said Jamie Greenwood, interim coach of Mason’s swimming and diving team. “She’s elite in our conference, not to mention leading while staying humble. She is the athlete that every coach wants to work with.”

“I’m very glad I made the decision I did,” Tyler said of attending Mason. “I’m very satisfied with how I performed athletically. And I’m so glad I chose the forensics [program] here. The professors and everyone are fantastic.”

Still, it’s not the easiest road.

It means 5:30 a.m. wake-ups during the competitive season to get to the first of two-a-day workouts. It means working around class schedules, which Tyler said caused her on several occasions to miss practices and swim on her own to make up the time.

It means working with faculty who Tyler said have been understanding of the demands on her time and flexible when it comes to assignment deadlines.

The payoff has been both athletic and academic, as Tyler in her first two years at Mason made the Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, which acknowledges student-athletes with at least a 3.0 grade-point average.

“What is amazing about her is her ability to maintain such high grades along with a rigorous aquatic training schedule,” said Steven Burmeister, an associate professor in the Forensic Science Program. “This balance demonstrates great discipline and maturity.”

Burmeister should know. He worked with Tyler last summer on a project that revealed LiDAR sensors that can be used to acquire digital crime scene data were most effective at a height of 60 feet.

“Without question, Ali has a bright future ahead of her,” Burmeister said, “and I am sure many accomplishments yet to come.”

Tyler said she is on track to graduate in Spring 2025. And because she has only five classes left for her undergraduate degree, she likely will begin an accelerated masters, also in forensic science.

From there, she said, she could pursue a career in toxicology or with a law enforcement agency.

It also makes sense that a field of study based on investigation would appeal to someone who likes puzzles.

Tyler said she loves brain teasers, disentanglement puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles. In fact, she said she just started a jigsaw puzzle with cherry blossoms.

She also appreciates the way Mason has made her feel at home, in and out of the pool.

“I like how the school is so connected, very community-based,” Tyler said. “But so many people come here from other places. I got a mix of small school and big school all in one.”

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Kestyn named first Hartley scholarship recipient

Colleen Rich — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:34:01 +0000

Kestyn named first Hartley scholarship recipient Colleen Rich Fri, 03/01/2024 - 14:34

Robert “Bobby” Kestyn, a graduate student thrower on ��AV’s track and field team, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Becky Hartley Memorial Scholarship.

Robert “Bobby” Kestyn. Photo by George Mason Athletics

Rebecca “Becky” Hartley was an assistant track and field coach from 2004 to 2022, as well as the assistant vice president for research integrity and assurance in the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact from 2015 to 2022. After her death in October 2022, a scholarship was established in her name with a lead gift of $100,000.

Hartley helped coach her student-athletes to more than 50 all-time marks in Mason’s record books, several Most Outstanding Field Performers, and an NCAA Woman of the Year semifinalist.

“[Becky] literally built the throwing program [at Mason] from nothing,” said Head Coach Andrew Gerard. “Selecting an appropriate candidate for this first ‘awarding’ of the scholarship was a particularly special one, especially since she recruited and worked with a number of the current throwers—including Bobby—prior to her passing.”

“Bobby was an easy selection—he personifies all the attributes Becky looked for and valued in her throwers,” Gerard added. “As a freshman, Bobby came in as a relatively unheralded high school thrower, but Becky saw potential. Becky always looked for the best in people, encouraging them to better themselves, and strive for constant improvement. Bobby has bought in to that mentality wholeheartedly. Since struggling both in the classroom and in the throwing circles his freshman year, he has dedicated himself to maturing as a person, student and athlete, and the results have shown that.”

A native of Fairfax, Kestyn is now on Mason's all-time list for five different disciplines: Indoor and outdoor shot put, discus, hammer, and weight throw.

“Beyond [his athletic accomplishments], he is an exemplary leader on our team, has righted his ship academically, and has thrived athletically all through a dedication to seeking consistent improvement,” Gerard said, all of which made Kestyn the right choice for the inaugural awarding of the scholarship.

“I am very humbled to receive this [scholarship] and especially honored to be the first recipient,” said Kestyn. “Coach Becky was a very influential person in my life and someone who picked me up at my weakest moments. Her coaching made me a better thrower but more importantly her mentorship, support, and overall kindness made me a better person. I aspire to be like Coach Becky.”

The Coach Becky Hartley Memorial Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to a student who competes in the throwing events in the Mason men’s or women’s track and field programs. Help support the Coach Becky Hartley Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

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Athletics research breaks ground for women’s basketball load monitoring

Colleen Rich — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 19:34:32 +0000

Athletics research breaks ground for women’s basketball load monitoring Colleen Rich Tue, 02/27/2024 - 14:34

Faith Brown, the primary strength and conditioning coach for ��AV women's basketball, is paving the way for women's basketball load monitoring research.

Faith Brown refers to data on her laptop while in EagleBank Arena. Photo by Rafael Suanes/Athletics

The newly promoted associate director of strength and conditioning for Mason Athletics has been using Catapult, a combination GPS- and heart rate-based wearable tracker, with the Patriots women's basketball team since 2018, before any other women's basketball team in the Atlantic 10. This technology helps inform the players and coaches of the workload each athlete endures during workouts, practices, and games so the athletes can perform at their best.

Brown's research paper "Analysis of In-Season External Load and Sport Performance in Women's Collegiate Basketball" was recently published in the February 2024 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. In her paper, she lays out her findings of using Catapult with the team. These finding include:

A significant difference in high- and low-minute athletes' workloads in practices and games, which allows Brown to assign additional workouts to low-minute athletes to keep their fitness at a game-ready level.
The mapping of player-load per minutes (PL/min) showed the intensity of the game was highest in the first quarter and gradually decreased as the game progressed, reaching its lowest point in the fourth quarter.
And relationships found between the intensity metric PL/min and points scored, PL/min and field goal percentage, and explosive efforts and free throws.

"The reason why I really wanted to get into the research was because I had no clue what the numbers meant and how to interpret them when I started using it," said Brown, who is working on a PhD in Education with an interdisciplinary specialization. "So, when I talked to Dr. [Margaret] Jones and saw the research that they put out and how I couldn't find anything with women's basketball, I was like 'wow, I have a unique opportunity here to publish this research and kind of give back to the community and help others understand what this data means and have something to compare their values to.'"

Jones, director of the Patriot Performance Lab, is also a co-author of the paper, and Brown's PhD advisor. "We started with Catapult [when] I got a grant to do the research about six years ago," said Jones. "At that time, nobody at the mid-major level was wearing Catapult, and very few teams in basketball were wearing Catapult, especially in women's basketball at the collegiate level. And it's just grown since."

For women's basketball, Brown works with the players from preseason to postseason, helping them with lifting, conditioning, and general physical upkeep so they can be at their best. She also communicates with the coaches on how the players are doing, and Head Coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis said she can see the impact.

"Faith has been able to utilize the Catapult data—pulled from practices—and give input to our staff about load management and how it relates to wins and losses," said Blair-Lewis. "This technology is crucial in understanding that there are correlations that are consistent enough that you can't ignore them. Faith's work has been instrumental in our evolution as coaches; she has our full attention throughout the year because of her work and analysis."

Brown doesn't intend to stop after this season of data. "My goal now with the research [moving forward] is just keep working with Dr. Jones and putting research out there and hoping to kind of inform other strength coaches, practitioners, and researchers on what can be done with the data and what's seen in women's basketball, because even outside of just basketball, women in research and sports performance research, they're not utilized as much. They're underrepresented."

Brown is not the only strength and conditioning coach at Mason working with the Performance Lab's technology. Last year, Corey Dulak-Sigler, the primary strength and conditioning coach for women's lacrosse, published a paper on the use of similar technology in women's lacrosse. Keon Marsh, the primary strength and conditioning coach for men's basketball, is also used Catapult technology to help his athletes with their load monitoring.

"What we have at Mason with being able to partner with our sports performance lab and other technology that Dr. Jones has in lab and the collaboration we have with the staff and students is not seen very often at the Division 1 level," said Brown. "And a lot of that is credited to Dr. Jones."

"I'm just really proud of Faith," said Jones. "She's been a groundbreaker in the field of load monitoring for women's collegiate basketball. I have no doubt we're going to hear from her well into the future."

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New center will better support Mason’s student-athletes

Colleen Rich — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 17:27:12 +0000

New center will better support Mason’s student-athletes Colleen Rich Wed, 01/10/2024 - 12:27

��AV Athletics has announced plans to expand the Recreation Athletic Complex on the Fairfax Campus to provide a modernized academic support venue for Mason’s 500 student-athletes and to improve resources for the men’s and women’s basketball programs.

Recreation and Athletic Complex (RAC) on the Fairfax Campus. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

The Basketball and Academic Performance Center will include an expanded basketball practice facility with weightlifting, training, wellness, fueling, and hydration areas and office space for the university’s basketball coaches.

The 7,000-square-foot academic performance center will serve all Mason student-athletes, who combined for a 3.28 cumulative GPA last academic year. The current academic support facility is a trailer that’s more than 17 years old.

The $30 million expansion, half of which would be funded by Athletics, has an estimated completion date of summer 2026.

“When you talk about creating an academic environment where student-athletes feel great about learning, we are not meeting those expectations right now,” Assistant Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Marvin Lewis said during a Nov. 30 presentation to the Board of Visitors’ Development Committee.

“We have good people who are doing a good job of supporting [our student-athletes], but the facilities do not match. This will be a critical project for us to impact not just our basketball program but all student-athletes.”

Lewis took over as Mason’s athletics director on July 1 after leadership positions at Georgia Tech, the University of Maryland, Georgia State, and Brown University. He noted that several Atlantic 10 Conference institutions have invested in their athletics facilities in recent years, which can give those universities a recruiting advantage.

“Sixteen- to 18-year-old kids shop with their eyes,” said Lewis, a two-time men’s basketball captain at Georgia Tech whose team advanced to the 2004 NCAA championship. “So facilities not only have to be operationally efficient but they have to be attractive…something that student-athletes can get excited about.

“We are 10 years behind and so there is a sense of urgency for me to make sure that [men’s basketball coach] Tony Skinn and [women’s basketball coach] Vanessa Blair-Lewis have the tools and facilities to work in,” Lewis said. “All of those [A10] programs are looking to elevate what they currently have and we are just playing catch-up. It is critical that we get this done quickly.”

Mason won A10 titles in baseball, softball and women’s outdoor track during the 2022-23 academic year. The men’s and women’s basketball teams boast a combined 25-6 record as of Jan. 11.

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Where are They Now: Mason Basketball Edition

Lynn Tierney — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 17:31:58 +0000

Where are They Now: Mason Basketball Edition Lynn Tierney Wed, 11/15/2023 - 12:31

The saying “Once a Patriot, Always a Patriot” is especially true when it comes to Mason student-athletes.

Now that ��AV alum Tony Skinn, BA Communication ’06, is the men’s basketball team’s head coach, not only is there nostalgia for the Final Four squad, but we’ve also been seeing a lot of basketball alumni on campus.

In fact, three members of that 2006 Cinderella team now work on campus. Folarin Campbell, BA Communication ’08, was the first player to return to his alma mater when he joined the Patriot Club as its assistant director in January 2022. This spring Lamar Butler, BA Communication ’06, came on board as the men’s basketball program’s director of player development.

In late June, Coach Skinn and the men’s basketball program invited Mason basketball alumni back for a special practice at EagleBank Arena. Many familiar faces showed up, including George Evans, a three-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year who played for Mason from 1997 to 2001, and Jay Marsh, BA ’73, retired senior associate athletic director.

Photos from that day show the camaraderie and team spirit of these Patriots are still alive and well.

Numbers in parenthesis indicate years on the team.

The 2023–24 Mason men’s basketball team with the program’s alumni at the June 30 event. Photo by Art Pittman/Athletics.

Three-time CAA Player of the Year George Evans (1997-2001) shares a moment with Assistant Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Marvin Lewis and Assistant Director of the Patriot Club Folarin Campbell (2004–08). Photo by Art Pittman/Athletics.

From left, Shevon Thompson (2014–16), Myles Tate (2013–17), and AJ Wilson (2016–21). Photo by Art Pittman/Athletics.

From left, Jai Lewis (2002–06), Head Coach Tony Skinn (2002–06), Gabe Norwood (2003–07), Ahmad Dorsett (1996–2000), and Patriot Club Assistant Director Folarin Campbell (2004–08). Photo by Art Pittman/Athletics.

From left, Tremaine Price (1997–2001), Terrance Nixon (1998–2002), and George Evans (1997–2001). Photo by Art Pittman/Athletics.

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