Greetings from Paradise!

It's certainly been an exciting and historic last few months on our campus and I want to first congratulate the nearly 90 Florida Atlantic student-athletes that earned their degrees during last week's commencement ceremonies.

These Owls were part of the university's largest graduating class in history as a record 3,600 spring graduates joined more than 207,000 alumni who have graduated from FAU. I'm so proud that our student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom as the overall spring semester GPA for the department was an impressive 3.24. It marks our 18th consecutive semester above a 3.0 and now the fifth consecutive semester above a 3.1!

On the field, we capped spring football in April with an awesome Spring Game at FAU Stadium, and we're just a few months away from college football and the second season under Hagerty Family Head Coach Tom Herman. I love the energy and buzz around the program – it was evident with a great crowd for the Spring Game and with increasing ticket demand as sales are up nearly 35% over last year at this time!

We welcomed new Head Men's Basketball Coach John Jakus in March and I appreciate how the community has embraced the Jakus' in their transition to Boca. John has been busy assembling his coaching staff and solidifying the 2024-25 roster. Season ticket renewals are underway, and the season will be here before you know it!

I want to extend my congratulations to second-year Head Coach Jordan Clark and the softball team on winning the school's first American Athletic Conference regular season title in any sport! Coach Clark and her staff were named the AAC's Coaching Staff of the Year, while Kiley Channell was named the conference's Rookie of the Year! It's been a memorable season thus far, and the Owls are the top-seed in the AAC Tournament this week in Wichita.

Our women's golf team is headed to postseason action in Arizona for the National Golf Invitational, while Max Sturdza received an at-large bid to compete in the NCAA Men's Golf Championship at the Baton Rouge Regional. I also want to congratulate diver Alicia Mora, who qualified for her second consecutive NCAA Championship appearance last month.

Finally, baseball remains in the thick of the AAC race with two conference weekends remaining. Don't miss your chance to see the Owls at home one final time in 2024 when they host UTSA in an important AAC series May 16-18.

As I've said before, the landscape in college athletics is ever evolving. Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) ushered in a new era which now allows our student-athletes to engage in endorsements and promotional activities while continuing to play and learn at FAU.

Thanks to so many of our passionate donors and fans, Florida Atlantic has never wavered in its support for our student-athletes. That support comes with significant investment, whether it's the hiring of first-class coaching staffs or building and maintaining facilities. It also includes resources like nutrition, training and development, mental health, academics, compliance, and, now through NIL.

We are committed to the continued pursuit of championships and to attracting and retaining the best student-athletes – both athletically and academically – to FAU by encouraging our fans to support the NIL in Paradise collective.

As a reminder, funds donated to NIL in Paradise are used to engage student-athletes in NIL opportunities supporting local businesses, organizations and charities. Student-athletes get the opportunity to work with local businesses and charities to increase their own personal marketability and market experience.

Go Owls!

Brian White
Vice President and Director of Athletics