HAPPY HOWLIDAYS

From our Arkansas State Athletics family to yours, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season! We’re fortunate to be part of a strong and supportive community, and we’re thankful for our outstanding fan base and everything you do for the Red Wolves.  We look forward to seeing you at our home basketball games over the holidays, and be on the lookout for the next edition of State of the Pack on Jan. 11.

NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

Head Coach Butch Jones and our football program announced the newest Red Wolves yesterday on the early National Signing Day.  Made up of 29 signees, including 20 high school players and nine transfers, the class currently ranked first in the Sun Belt Conference by 247Sports, Rivals and On3. Coach Jones and his staff do an outstanding job with the recruiting process, and this class is already shaping up as one of the most highly-touted in school history. A full list of A-State’s 2023 football signees can be found on our Signing Day Central page at AStateRedWolves.com.

LEARFIELD EXTENSION

We announced the extension of our multimedia rights relationship with LEARFIELD on Tuesday, continuing our partnership with Red Wolves Sports Properties for 10 more years. General Manager John Finch and his staff have played a significant role in elevating Arkansas State Athletics from both a branding and financial standpoint. 

One of the top priorities when I arrived at A-State was addressing our multimedia rights agreement, with that contract nearing expiration. This extended partnership with a well-known industry leader in collegiate athletics multimedia will provide us important continuity and continued access to their valuable resources for years to come.

GRAND SLAM BANQUET

Our baseball program announced details for its annual Grand Slam Banquet Tuesday, which features guest speaker Patrick Renna, who starred as Hamilton “Ham” Porter in The Sandlot. Coach Tommy Raffo and our team look forward to this event every year as the kick-off event for the season. 

Make plans to attend and support our baseball program at this great event. Several ticket options are available, and more details are available here.

LICENSING PROGRAM

We were excited to see our A-State Athletics licensing royalties collected during the first quarter of the 2022-23 fiscal year increase by 31 percent over the same time period last year. Records reflect it was our highest quarter total over the last four years and one of the highest of all-time. This serves as a great example of how our brand continues to grow.  For additional information about our licensing program with Affinity, you can contact our Marketing Department at 870-972-2950.

SUN BELT PLAY COMING UP FOR HOOPS

Both of our hoops squads are gearing up for Sun Belt Conference play, beginning Thursday, Dec. 29. Head Coach Destinee Rogers’ women’s team enters league play battle-tested after a tough non-conference schedule and begin with back-to-back road games at ULM (Dec. 29) and Georgia Southern (Dec. 31). Coach Balado’s men’s team also opens on the road, facing Old Dominion (Dec. 29), before returning home to host ULM at 2 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. 

COMMENCEMENT

Congratulations to our 12 student-athletes who participated in Arkansas State University’s 2022 Fall Commencement ceremony this past Saturday inside First National Bank Arena. They represented the sports of baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, football, women’s tennis, men’s track and field and volleyball. A full list can be found here.

INDOOR SEASON UNDERWAY

Dr. Jim Patchell and his track and field program got off to a strong start to their indoor season at Pitt State, including a school record in the heptathlon by freshman Colby Eddowes, as well as several personal bests and top-10 all-time marks. We’re excited to see the season continue in January as they look to add to their impressive collection of Sun Belt Conference championship trophies. The full 2022-23 track and field schedule can be found here.

BOWLING RANKED SIXTH IN LATEST POLL

Our bowling team held strong at No. 6 in last week’s National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Top 25. Head Coach Justin Kostick’s group is 20-8 on the year and begin the spring slate at the Northeast Classic, held Jan. 20-22, in Deptford, N.J.

SCHMIDT TO PLAY IN PATRIOT ALL-AMERICA

Women’s golfer Olivia Schmidt was selected as one of just 66 participants to compete in the prestigious Patriot All-America Invitational Golf Tournament. The event will be held Dec. 26-31 at The Wigwam Resort in Phoenix, Ariz., with the tournament being played Dec. 29-31. This is a tremendous honor for Olivia and we are excited to see her compete against some of the top collegiate golfers in the nation. 

GET YOUR WOLVES UP!

This week’s #WolvesUp photos feature A-State baseball great Tyler Zuber, currently with the Diamondbacks organization, with Brody Bobo during an autograph signing at our men’s basketball game against Alabama State last week, and sophomore guard Izzy Higginbottom with young A-State fan Alice Gregory at our home women’s basketball game on Dec. 15.

Remember to use the hashtag #WolvesUp in your social posts and tweet your photos to me @JeffPurinton if you have any pictures with your Wolves Up! or promoting A-State.  We will select photos to feature in each edition of State of the Pack.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

View the list of scheduled events, broadcast information, start time and stat links on our composite calendar.  (Note:  All times are listed in Central Time.)  Access live stats from your desktop or mobile device by visiting AStateStats.com.

TICKETS

Season and single-game tickets for our fall and winter sports are available by visiting AStateRedWolves.com/Tickets or calling the A-State Ticket Office at 870-972-2781.  You can contact the Red Wolves Foundation at 870-972-2401 for additional information and/or to purchase tickets in our premium areas.