This week, the 2026-27 athletic year officially starts with a Thursday home men's soccer match against Alabama-Huntsville. Plus, the volleyball (to Michigan) and women's soccer (Alabama/Tennessee) teams left campus for road trips.
We welcomed the largest group of student-athletes in UIS history with 296 athletes, including 15 freshmen flag football players. We are excited to launch flag football as the 18th UIS sport this spring.
I am so proud of the academic achievement of our student-athletes. It seemed like every week this summer another coaches association recognized our Stars for their classroom performance. We are the only GLVC program to have every team earn conference recognition with a team GPA of 3.30 or higher in each of the last two seasons. The amazing 3.625 GPA that our teams earned in 2025-26 was outstanding.
Women's tennis was recognized as the top team GPA in the GLVC. Men's cross country/track and the women's soccer programs had the top GPA in the country. The women's running program was third. The women's golf team placed eighth in the nation. We had several other Top 25 finishes.
After an outstanding spring that included the chance to host an NCAA Baseball Regional and celebrate individuals competing in the women's golf and women's outdoor track national championships, the momentum is continuing. For just the third time since our program moved to NCAA D2, every head coach returns! I'm confident the consistency will pay dividends this season and beyond.
We are bringing back two UIS athletics traditions during Homecoming Week. You can register for both events on our athletics website.
On Thursday, October 8, we will host the UIS Tip-Off Dinner sponsored by the Springfield Clinic and the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce on the court in TRAC. Join us as we welcome our basketball student-athletes.
On Saturday, October 10, we will induct the fifth class into the UIS Athletics Hall of Fame at a luncheon in the SLB Gym, the home court of the 2006-07 team, which will be one of the honorees. Our first men's basketball coach, Kevin Gamble, our first female scholarship student-athlete Kathy Sigle, and volleyball All-American Alyssa Hasler will comprise the class.
We are also honoring Angela Giacomini Walsh with a Distinguished Athletic Alumnae Award. She transferred home to play for her father, the late Dom Giacomini, on the 1990-91 and 1991-92 teams, helping the squad to two NAIA regional championships. Following graduation, Walsh had an outstanding career in the pharmaceutical industry. She continued to give back to her community through mentorship and leadership. She and her husband, Mike, have four children: Ellen, Andrew, Zach and Ryan. Their family has supported several causes in her adopted hometown of St. Louis, exhibiting the ideal characteristics of family, career and community that we covet for our student-athletes.
It is going to be a terrific fall on the UIS campus. Thank you for all that you do for our student-athletes. I hope to see you at a game this fall!
