Embracing resiliency: Meet new football coach Aaron Keen
No one could have foreseen a fall without football when Aaron Keen was named head coach last January. But the 1994 WashU graduate is tackling the challenge of his first season head on, with resiliency and a positive mental attitude learned under his friend and mentor, Larry Kindbom.
University announces cancellation of fall sports
Due to the continuing COVID-19 global pandemic, Washington University varsity athletic teams will not be competing during the 2020 fall sports season. “While the decision to cancel fall competitive schedules was not made easily, we remain committed to keeping the safety and well-being of our student-athletes and campus community front of mind,” said Anthony J. Azama, the John M. Schael Director of Athletics.
Another golden moment on Francis Field
Francis Field, the venerable stadium on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis, was re-dedicated Sept. 21 as Francis Olympic Field. The new name is sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, represents another milestone in securing Washington University’s — and St. Louis’ — legacy in the Olympic movement.
St. Louis Surge women’s pro basketball to play at Athletic Complex
The Washington University in St. Louis Field House will serve as home court to the two-time national champions St. Louis Surge, St. Louis’ women’s professional basketball team.
Bear believer
The Washington University athletics program has many fans, but none bigger than Mark Wrighton.
The Cambridge Companion to Boxing
Boxing expert and American culture critic Gerald Early, the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters and director of the African and African American Studies department, edits this ultimate guide to one of the world’s most interesting and controversial sports. The Companion offers more than two dozen engaging and informative essays about the social impact and historical importance of the sport of boxing. While the book covers luminaries of the sport such as Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Jack Johnson, Joe Louis and more, it also tells the lesser known stories of boxing. There are essays on women in boxing, boxing and literature, boxing in Hollywood films, and boxing and opera. You can also get a comprehensive chronology of the sport, listing all of the important events and personalities.
On the ball: Partners and parents coach team to NCAA tourney
Women’s basketball head coach Randi Henderson and her husband, assistant coach Duez Henderson, are leading the No. 19-ranked Bears into their 30th consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The Bears will play Wisconsin-Whitewater at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 1, at the Athletic Complex. The couple’s small children are the team’s biggest fans.
Golden rules
Softball player-turned-coach Michelle Venturella speaks to the importance of encouragement. Bolstered to Olympic gold in 2000, she provides her athletes today with similar support to succeed on and off the field.
Pushing forward
Whether its pursuing athletic prowess or professional excellence, alumna Kerri Morgan, assistant professor of occupational therapy and neurology at the medical school, continues to rise to meet and exceed each challenge she sets for herself.
Winning ways
The passing of Title IX in 1972 set the stage for the growth of women’s athletics across the country. Today, Washington University female student-athletes compete in 10 intercollegiate sports. And they hold 19 of WashU’s 22 NCAA Division III national championships, with the string of championships starting in 1989.
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