Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
Saint Mary's Athletics Celebrates Record Breaking Year Across All Phases Of The Department
6/18/2024 2:00:00 PM | General
Letter from Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Matoso,
Dear Saint Mary's College supporters, the 2023-24 athletic year has been one for the record books in Moraga and we can't thank everyone enough for these great accomplishments as the Gaels continue to rise within the West Coast Conference and on the national landscape. These accomplishments are a direct reflection of the outstanding support from our donors, season ticket holders, alumni, campus community and fan base, and could not be done without you!
The Gaels capped off the successful year with a second-place finish in the WCC Commissioner's Cup standings, tied for its highest finish ever in the 22-year history of the award. The commissioner's cup is the conference's all-sports award to the league's top performing schools in conference play and is based on a point system, reflecting the finish of each team in conference play, the Commissioner's Cup has become an annual tradition celebrating WCC athletic excellence.
Saint Mary's took home two WCC Championships, Softball and Men's Basketball, and finished the year having three head coaches named WCC Coach of the Year, Sonja Garnett (Softball), Marty Kinsey (Women's Cross Country), and Randy Bennett (Men's Basketball). The Gaels finished with 176 total wins, 45 more wins than last season and the most since prior to the Covid shutdown year.
In the classroom, the Gaels finished with the highest Grade Point Average in department history with a cumulative 3.45 GPA across 16 teams, and for the first time in history all 16 teams had over a 3.0 GPA. A record number of 150 student-athletes were invited to the President's Scholar-Athlete Luncheon, honoring student-athletes with a 3.25 GPA or higher, which is over half of our student-athletes in the department.
The Gaels were also strong in the community this year, logging over 2,000 community service hours. This year, Saint Mary's started the Moraga Gaels campaign, cleaning our home together, partnering with the Town of Moraga, encompassing a town clean up over several sights with more than 150 student-athletes participating.
The Saint Mary's athletic department has continued to enhance many avenues to support our student-athletes and this year we have once again broke our fundraising goals, setting a record of fundraised dollars for the department. Across the board, our revenues continue to grow and for the sixth straight year, ticket sales were at an all-time high across all six ticketed sports, breaking another record.
Another record set this year was the national exposure of televised games. Across the department, 20 games were nationally televised on ESPN, CBS and Fox sports throughout the year, driving millions of viewers to watch the Saint Mary's brand.
As the department continues to rise, so do new facilities to support our student-athletes and fans. This past year we opened Br. Ronald Gallagher Stadium, enhancing our baseball facility to showcase our beautiful campus setting. Inside University Credit Union Pavilion, Phase I of an overall locker room and coaching office addition for men's basketball was completed and the beginning of Phase II for women's basketball and volleyball has begun.
Fan enhancement areas also increased this year with the addition of the Kenney Family Pub inside UCU and the Br. Albert Rahill Terrace in the back of UCU.
Once again, the support of everyone, including our Saint Mary's campus community, our donors, season ticket holders, alumni, and fan base has been instrumental over the years in the success of the Gaels.
We thank everyone who has helped make this record-breaking year possible!
GAELS RISE!
Mike Matoso
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