Hello Viking fans!
The 2022/23 school year has begun! Over the past few days we’ve moved students into dormitories, welcomed new students to CSU with the traditional MagnusFest Pep Rally, and oriented our student athletes with a Welcome Back program and reception. The energy our students bring to these early kickoff events is contagious and really brings life to our amazing campus.
The students of Cleveland State University, including our more than 365 Viking student-athletes, today began the fall semester on what has been a very successful year of teaching and competition.
Take a look at some department updates from this summer and things to look forward to in the upcoming semester!
WELCOME TO NEW EMPLOYEES
Summer is usually the peak of the hiring cycle in higher education, including intercollegiate athletics. This year was no exception and we are pleased to welcome the following new staff to CSU who joined us in June, July or August:
Men’s Basketball – Steve Payne/Special Assistant to the Head Coach, Daniel Karliak/Assistant Director of Operations, Nate Michael/Player Development and Video Coordinator
wrestling – Devin Schröder/assistant coach, Domenic Abounader/assistant coach
Athletic performance — Curt Johnsen/Director of Basketball Sports Performance, Ava Fagin/Asst. Director of Sports Performance (promoted by intern)
Swimming & Diving – Chalmers McGillivray/assistant trainer (diving), Noah Moran/assistant trainer (swimming)
Women’s Basketball – Hanna Zerr/Special Assistant to the Head Coach
RUN AUTUMN SPORTS COMPETITIONS
Our fall sports, including women’s soccer, men’s soccer, volleyball, and cross-country skiing, have been on campus since early August and are beginning their competitive season.
Women’s soccer has a 1-1-2 record with a shutout win over Saint Joseph’s and a tie against Kent State and St Bonaventure. The team will return to Krenzler Field on Sunday, September 4 at 2:00 p.m. in a matchup against Niagara. The team was ranked fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll.
Men’s football started with a 1-0 record after a 4-0 shutout against Canisius in the season opener. The team was voted second in the Horizon League preseason poll as they look to return to the HL Championship game after finishing second last year. They will be in action against Marshall at home on Wednesday, September 7th at 19:00. to buy tickets, Click here.
Volleyball opened its 2022 campaign with a three-match tournament in Buffalo and returns to Woodling High School on Friday, September 9 with a matchup against Morgan State at 6:00 p.m. to purchase tickets. click here.
Cross Country begins Thursday, September 1st with an invitational run at Wooster.
BASKETBALL SCHEDULES/TICKETS
It seems like the completion of a basketball schedule gets later and later each year, so a few weeks ago we were pleased to announce the final men’s and women’s basketball schedules (including exhibitions, non-conference and Horizon League dates and -opponent) to share.
Basketball at the Wolstein Center is upon us and we are busy planning our Basketball Showcase Scrimmage for late October. More information will follow shortly!
Men’s basketball season tickets are available and start at just $60 each. Information on individual game promotions and ticket availability will be shared in the coming weeks.
We hope to see you at the Home Openers on Monday, November 7th when the men take on Notre Dame College and on Saturday, November 12th when the women take on Hofstra!
VIKING FUND MEMBERSHIPS
2022-23 Viking Fund memberships are now available! We’re proud of the continued growth of the Viking Fund, which supports all 19 of our sports programs (now including eSports competitions!) and more than 365 student athletes.
With your support of the Viking Fund, donations to our individual athletic programs, and to our ongoing campaigns including the Busbey Natatorium Enhancements, Wrestling Weight Class Champions, and Woodling Gymnasium Improvements, CSU Athletics has historically been able to raise over $1 million in record funding Academic Year.
The continued growth of these programs in the future furthers our sustainability as a competitive Division I athletics program and allows us to find strategic ways to improve the day-to-day experience of our student-athletes.
For more information, visit CSUVikings.com/VikingFund or contact Brandon Longmeier/Assistant AD for the Viking Fund at [email protected]
SPORTS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
In case you missed it, CSU recently announced a move of the athletic management program to the Monte Ahuja College of Business and a focus on growing student enrollments in the program, as outlined in CSU’s Strategic Plan 2.0. Sports Management will be led by the highly respected Jim Kahler, with whom we look forward to working to facilitate the growth of the program and CSU Athletics by serving as an on-campus laboratory experience for current and prospective Sports Management students. Welcome Jim and our new sports management students!
DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
We continue to make great strides in implementing many of the strategies contained in the CSU Athletics Strategic Plan.
We recently announced an extension of our apparel partnership between Nike and BSN Sports, as well as a new partnership with Teamworks.
On the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) front, we are working with industry leader OpenDorse via a Horizon League-wide partnership to soon launch a CSU NIL marketplace and expand our educational and NIL opportunities for CSU student athletes to enhance.
We look forward to sharing our continued progress on strategic plan initiatives throughout 2022-23.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support of CSU Athletics and our 365+ student-athletes. Please don’t hesitate to send your feedback and questions to [email protected]
Go Vikings!
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