Great Things at UDM

Great Things in Athletics

Three new sports begin play

Three new Titan teams will begin play in 2008. The UDM men’s and women’s lacrosse programs take the field as the only Division I programs in the state of Michigan. Both teams will have official practices start in the fall with varsity competition slated for the spring of 2009. The Titans will add men’s tennis as a varsity program after a 15-year hiatus.

Host Institution for 2009 Final Four

University of Detroit Mercy served as the host institution for the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four at Ford Field, shattering the NCAA record for attendance. The championship game saw 72,922 in attendance, the second largest to ever watch a college basketball game. It was also the largest to watch an NCAA tournament game or session and was the biggest crowd for an NCAA championship game in NCAA history. The total numbers showed that Ford Field drew a two-day crowd of 145,378, the biggest in Final Four history.

New sports light up Detroit

Three new Titan teams began play in 2008-09 with the UDM men’s and women’s lacrosse teams and the reinstatement of the men’s tennis team after a 15-year hiatus. The women’s team was led by freshman Emily Boissonneault, who earned National Lacrosse Conference Attack MVP honors. The men’s lacrosse team set the Titan field record in attendance in its first home game, while the men’s tennis program saw junior Pjotrs Necajevs take home Horizon League Newcomer and Player of the Year accolades.

Titans recieve highmarks in NCAA APR Report

UDM’s athletic teams, once again, have brought home high marks in the NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate report issued in May. Men’s fencing was credited with a perfect 1000 APR score, and every one of Detroit’s varsity teams registered a multi-year APR above the minimum standard (925) established by the NCAA.

Seven student-athletes received endowed scholarships

The UDM Athletic Department announced the establishment of a pair of endowed scholarships for Titan student-athletes. The new Lee Graziotti Endowed Scholarship is awarded each year to two track and field student-athletes in good academic standing who go above and beyond on the track and in the classroom. The Raymond J. and Catherine Nagle Endowed Scholarship will also be presented to select student-athletes in good academic standing, based upon recommendation from UDM’s head coaches. The 2008-09 recipients for the Lee Graziotti Endowed Scholarship were seniors John LaRocca and Danielle Poulin. The Nagle Endowed Scholarship recipients included: Gino McCathney (men’s tennis), Madeline Franko (women’s soccer), Caitlin McPartlin (softball), Craig Budzynski (men’s fencing) and Ashlee McLemore (women’s fencing).

SAAC provides community service

The Detroit Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) volunteered for a variety of 2008-2009 projects, such as assisting in preparation of the food and room set up at the Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS) in Detroit, and participating in a charity Read-a-Thon to benefit the St. Christopher’s Catholic Elementary School in Windsor, which raised over $16,000 for the school.

Titan's Byrne names Golf All-America Scholar

Detroit Titans golfer David Byrne was named to the Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars Team for 2009. A total of 108 players in Division I earned the honor and Byrne was one of just two from Horizon League schools. Byrne continued that success in the summer, winning the 46th annual Western Ontario Amateur as well as the Ontario Champion of Champions and Men’s Match Play titles.

Fund raising supports men's basketball

The head men’s basketball coach’s office was officially renamed The Doris & Donald Duchene, Sr. Head Men’s Basketball Coach’s Office at the completion of Phase I renovations of the men’s basketball offices, made possible through donated funds. Future fund raising will support a new state-of-the-art video/film basketball operations office and renovation of the Sophia Boone Conference Room. Fund-raising efforts also helped the Titans prepare for the 2010 season with a 10-day exhibition tour of Spain, achieving a perfect 5-0 record overseas.