A Message from Samford's Athletic Director, Martin Newton
Dear Bulldog Supporters,
The fall semester has been like no other during my time at Samford. Social distancing, masks, contact tracing, Covid-19 testing and the lack of athletic competition have made for a strange start to the year. Although things are currently very different on campus, what has not changed is the quality of education being provided by our faculty, the care and support we are providing our students, the support of our loyal donors and, most importantly, the mission of this outstanding University.
Our student-athletes continue to work hard in the classroom and conditioning in preparation for what we hope will be an exciting spring of competition. Our first teams expected to have an opportunity to compete this year are men's and women's basketball and anticipation for those seasons is at an all-time high.
Our women's program, led by second year head coach Carley Kuhns, is coming of a special season which saw them win both SoCon regular season and tournament titles. Unfortunately, their opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament was taken away by our country's effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, nothing can take away the accomplishments of those young women or their memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. I know we are all excited to see what these incredible women will accomplish in year two under Coach Kuhns.
On the men's side, first year head coach Bucky McMillan is excited to start the season and begin to establish Samford as a consistent winner in the SoCon. The excitement and support we are seeing from the community for Coach McMillan is remarkable. Coach McMillan has spent his entire life and basketball career in Birmingham, first as a player at Mountain Brook High School and then collegiately at Birmingham-Southern. His coaching career also began in Birmingham and flourished at Mountain Brook where he won an improbable 5 State Championships. The relationships Coach McMillian has built in the community and with his former players will provide an incredible foundation of support for our program and host of new Bulldog fans.
Understandably, I receive a ton of questions regarding the upcoming season and fortunately, plans are beginning to take shape. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, the Division I Council approved moving the start date of the college basketball season to Wednesday, Nov 25. The new start date was approved following recommendations from the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Oversight Committees.
According to the committees, this move was designed to begin competition "when at least three-quarters of Division I institutions will have either concluded their fall terms or moved remaining instruction and exams online creating a more controlled and less populated campus environment that may reduce the risk of COVID-19 ..."
Here are some of the schedule changes made for the 2020-21 season:
- Programs can begin preseason practice on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
- This is a 42-day window to conduct 30 practices at most.
- Exhibitions and scrimmages before Nov. 25 will not be allowed.
- There are three scheduling options in DI men's basketball.
- 24 regular-season games and up to three games in one multi-team event.
- 25 regular-season games and up to two games in one multi-team event.
- 25 regular-season games without playing in a multi-team event.
- There are two scheduling options in DI women's basketball.
- 23 regular-season games and up to four additional games in one multi-team event.
- 25 regular-season games without participating in a multi-team event.
- Teams must play a minimum of 13 games against DI opponents to be considered for NCAA championship selection.
- A transition period will take place from Sept. 21 to Oct. 13 between out-of-season activity and preseason practice.
- Teams may partake in conditioning, sport-related meetings and skill instruction for up to 12 hours a week.
- Skill instruction may not exceed eight hours a week. Athletes must receive two days per week during this period.
Information on season tickets and Bulldog Club hospitality will be sent out very soon. In the meantime, please know how much we appreciate your support of Samford Athletics.
Martin
Samford Athletics Director
