Letter from Mike Hamilton (9Mar10)

RTTers:

I just got this, via mass-email, providing a quick rundown of ongoings at our beloved institution.  In case some of you aren't privy, I've copied and pasted it for your reading pleasure.

Dear Friends,
 
It’s a great time to be a Tennessee Vol!
 
As we begin to wind down our winter sports, I’m extremely proud of the work our coaches and teams have done this season. Coach Pearl has done a tremendous job over the past two months. Not only has he had five consecutive 20-win seasons, but this team has played through adversity to beat the #1 and #2 teams in the country at Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time in our basketball history. Our spring sports are off to a great start. Men’s tennis is currently ranked 2nd with three players ranked in the top 10 in the country.  Baseball led off the season with a sweep over Xavier and competed very well against #17 Oregon State recently.
 
Coach Dooley and our football staff are hard at work getting ready for spring practice, which starts on March 18. I am continually impressed at the way he approaches every aspect of the program. He’s building a tremendous foundation for the players, and I look forward to many great seasons of Tennessee football to come. The Dish Network Orange and White Game is set for April 17. I hope you can make it out and show your support for this team and staff.
 
On the facilities front, there is a lot going on at Tennessee. 
- If you are in town this spring, join us for a baseball game at the newly renovated Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. We’ve moved the backstop closer to home plate, added MVP field level seating and replaced all of the grandstand seating along with the addition of brick work around the entire interior of the stadium. You’ll continue to see more work done throughout the season, including the batting cages that were delayed due to weather. We’ll also be adding a pavilion and kids’ playground area that is scheduled to be complete for the 2011 season.

- The second portion of Phase III of Neyland Stadium renovations are well underway with the construction of the Tennessee Terrace and new Gate 21 plaza and amphitheater. The masons are getting ready to start bricking the west side in the coming weeks.

- Excavation for the new football complex is almost complete. We are close to having a finalized design document, and are working closely with Coach Dooley to gather his thoughts on the layout.

-  We will be adding 3,000-square-feet to Thompson-Boling Arena in the coming months. This space will be added to the ticket office on street level coming toward Phillip Fulmer Way. We will also be renovating the entrance to the Tennessee basketball offices along with the men's and women's basketball offices over the coming months as well as adding better lighting and brickwork along the street level of Thompson-Boling Arena to enhance the appearance at street level.

We are in the process of redesigning utsports.com and utladyvols.com. We have already launched a new Tennessee Fund site, which offers fans the opportunity to select seats and pay their donations online. If you would like to provide us with your thoughts on what we can do to improve our sites, click here to take a brief survey.
 
Last fall the University’s administration began evaluating athletics’ reporting structure. The committee will make its recommendations to the Athletics Board and the Board of Trustees over the next several months. We appreciate all the hard work that has gone into these discussions.
 
Thank you for your continued support of Tennessee Athletics!
Expect to Win!

Mike Hamilton