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Hello Frog Fam!
We have a lot to celebrate around campus as TCU Women’s Soccer and Volleyball continue to climb the Top 25 rankings, at #23 (SOC) and #17 (VB), respectively, while Equestrian and Triathlon both sit at #3!
In this month’s Playbook, be sure to register for the Block T Homecoming Tailgate, check out our photo album from Hall of Fame Weekend, and learn how to participate in TCU Gives Day!
Today, TCU Gives Day begins and will last for 24 hours - from October 8th at noon, until Oct 9th at noon! This year’s Frog Club Challenge Donors are Richard Sybesma (Retired Swimming & Diving Coach) & Jack Hesselbrock (Retired Administrator)! We will also have a Block T Challenge Donor for the 1st time – Saylor (Goforth) Pace (Volleyball, 2000)! Reaching 400 gifts through Gives Day, regardless of size, will unlock a $5,000 from Jack & Richard and a $50,000 gift from Saylor! Please see their messages below and support their challenge!
I consider it an honor to reach out to my fellow Horned Frogs and former Athletes to meet Jack Hesselbrock’s and Richard Sybesma’s challenge. Combined we have over 70 years of experience as an Administrator, Academic Advisor, and Coach in TCU Athletics.
Please give to the department or sport of your choice, but please give. The TCU experience has made such a difference in so many lives and brought pride in being a Horned Frog. I have two daughter’s and my wife Wendy has two sons who graduated from TCU. Purple blood runs through our veins and we celebrate all Horned Frogs.
It doesn’t matter how much you are able to give, but please give to the Frog Club, Block T, Sport, or organization of your choice by designating your gift to that area. If you don’t know where to designate your gift may I suggest TCU Swimming and Diving. Please join Jack and I in TCU Gives Day in our challenge today. We believe in TCU.
Richard Sybesma “Flipper”
TCU Retired Swimming Coach 1979-2017
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It is an honor to pair with Richard Sybesma in reaching out to fellow Horned Frogs and student athletes to meet this year’s Giving Day Challenge. With seven decades of combined athletic department service, it is obvious what TCU has meant to us.
As my wife, Angie, and I met at TCU the University has been a major part of my life beginning at a young age. We both were fortunate enough to complete both our bachelor and master’s degrees at TCU with much financial and personal support. Having been influenced at the tender age of 6 with my older brother, Victor, being a Horned Frog my choice in college was set. Here, many years later TCU has awarded a total of 10 degrees to my family and extended family. TCU has certainly been the major factor in my life’s journey.
We are today asking to you to please invest in TCU. TCU invested in you and I know many stories of success and triumph due to the opportunity the University afforded to you. No contribution is too small. Being part of the Horned Frog legacy is a sense of pride for thousands of alumni as well as for future graduates. Your gift may go to a specific sport or area of interest. (Frog Club, Block T, Student Athlete Academic Support, Student Managers & Trainers, etc.) Please join Richard and I with the TCU Gives Challenge. Together we can assure TCU Athletics remains the first class organization that is known nationally and worldwide. We Believe In TCU.
Jack Hesselbrock
Retired TCU Athletic Department
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TCU is not just a university. My TCU experience has stretched far longer than just the four years that I attended to get a college degree. When you enroll in TCU you become part of a life long legacy, a community of like-minded, strong individuals with a collective passion for growth, change and burning desire to make positive impact on the world around them. I invite you to make a financial gift to offer this same opportunity to inspiring individuals, allowing them to join our great university in order to become the future generations of our amazing Horned Frog nation.
Saylor Pace ‘00
We look forward to seeing you at Homecoming!
Go Frogs!
Jill Kramer
Associate Athletic Director
Director of the Block T Association |
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 The 2024 Block T Association Homecoming Tailgate is set for Saturday, Oct. 26, when TCU takes on Texas Tech - and we look forward to everyone being there! Come on by the Dee J. Kelly Center Lawn, as we celebrate Homecoming weekend with friends - old and new - former teammates, coaches and administrators, and fellow Block T Association members from all over!
2024 Block T Association Homecoming Weekend Tailgate
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 26 | Time TBA
WHERE: Dee J. Kelly Center Lawn
COST: FREE for all current BTA members (Annual and Lifetime) | $40 per each guest
The 2024 TCU Block T Association Homecoming Tailgate will include:
- Barbeque and sides provided by Not Just Q
- Operated by TCU Letterwinners David and Katie Hawthorne
- Two (2) drink tickets
- Beverages included: Zamora Brand Spirits (Licor 43, Martin Miller’s Gin, Yellow Rose Whiskey, San Cosme Mezcal, Don Papa Rum); Molson Coors (Miller Lite, Coors Light, Blue Moon, Vizzy); Vegas Baby Vodka; Long Drink, Water, and Tea.
- Tailgate Gift for Block T Association members (must be registered - register at link below)
- Big 12 Homecoming featuring DJ Press Play
- Raffle for Block T Association merchandise
- TCU team reunion recognition for women’s basketball, men’s/women’s swim & dive, and men’s golf
- Special tailgate recognition of three TCU football bowl teams (1984 Bluebonnet Bowl, 1994 Independence Bowl, and 2014 Peach Bowl)
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 Block T Association membership renewals are still in full swing! Fall sporting events have officially began, so be sure to get your membership renewed today!
We are always looking for ways to increase engagement with all 8,500+ TCU letterwinners. Your 2024-2025 Block T Membership (Lifetime Members included), will include 10 priority points to add to your account, entry to our BTA tailgates, BTA networking events, program/team reunions, Block T Pop-up store access, and our newest addition – FREE ENTRY to all Soccer, Volleyball, and Women’s Basketball games for the 2024-2025 season. Your GA ticket will be uploaded to your Horned Frog ticket account before each team's season!
Block T Association member contributions assist in funding events such as the TCU Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet, tailgates, exclusive networking events, and other special events and programs throughout the year. By contributing to the Block T Association, members make a lasting impact on the former, current, and future generations of TCU Athletics. The newest feature of our simplified Block T Association membership page allows for auto-renewal, so you can be sure you are up-to-date with your annual Block T Association contribution!
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 This past Thursday, Oct. 3, TCU Athletics and the Block T Association inducted its 56th Class into the Hall of Fame. The 2024 Class featured a three-time Super Bowl Champion, a three-time all-conference infielder, a pair of track & field athletes that competed in NCAA Championships, a current PGA Tour professional golfer, a four-time all-conference women's hoops star and the Hall's first-ever head coach-only inductee.
The seven-member class featured Marcus Cannon '10 (football), Jason Coats '12 (baseball), Lisa Ford '90 (track & field), Tom Hoge '11 (men's golf), Helena Sverrisdottir '11 (women's basketball), David Walker '83 (track & field), and former men's tennis coach Bernard James "Tut" Bartzen.
The class was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame during a banquet that was held at TCU's BLUU Ballroom on Thursday. Friday morning, the newly inducted Hall of Famers, gathered for Breakfast & Buckles at Bowie House in Fort Worth. Later that afternoon, the inductees were on hand to celebrate their portrait unveiling, that was located inside Schollmaier Arena in the Jane and John Justin Hall of Fame. The night was then capped off with honoring the new inductees on the field between the first and second quarters of the TCU Footbal game against Houston.
Pictured from left to right: Marcus Cannon, Jason Coats, Helena Sverridottir, Lisa Ford, David Walker, Tom Hoge.
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- OCTOBER 2024
- Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19 | TCU Football at Utah Block T Association/Frog Club/Alumni Association Travel Trip
- Friday & Saturday, Oct. 25-26 | TCU Football Reunions (1984 Bluebonnet Bowl, 1994 Independence Bowl, 2014 Peach Bowl)
- Friday & Saturday, Oct. 25-26 | TCU Women's Basketball Alumni Reunion Weekend
- TCU Campus | Refer to Block T Association Alumni emails for event times
- Friday & Saturday, Oct. 25-26 | TCU Men's Golf Alumni Reunion Weekend
- TCU Campus | Refer to Block T Association Alumni emails for event times
- Friday & Saturday, Oct. 25-26 | TCU Swim & Dive Alumni Reunion Weekend
- TCU Campus | Refer to Block T Association Alumni emails for event times
- Saturday, Oct. 26 | Block T Association Homecoming Tailgate, TCU vs. Texas Tech
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CLICK ON THE CALENDAR TO VIEW A COMPLETE LIST
OF UPCOMING BLOCK T ASSOCIATION EVENTS! |
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 Congratulations to former TCU head swimming and diving coach, Richard Sybesma, as he will be inducted into the Texas Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame! The 2025 Class will be honored on April 25, 2025, in Austin, Texas.
Sybesma was hired in 1979 as the head swim coach at TCU and held the position for 38 years, becoming the longest tenured head coach in school history. During his time at TCU, he earned five Conference Coach of the Year honors, as well as being named Coach of the Year for all Sports in Conference USA in 2004. He coached four Olympians, seven national champions, 18 All-Americans, and seven conference team championships. During his career he led the Horned Frogs in five different conferences SWC, WAC, USA, MWC, and Big 12. He received the Master Coach Award given by the College Swim Coaches Association.
In addition to conducting multiple clinics for NISCA, and CSCAA, he would go onto coach TCU Hall of Famer Water Soza and the Nicaraguan Olympic team in Atlanta in 1996 and in 2001 he participated in the Olympic torch relay for the Salt Lake City games.
During his time in Fort Worth, he was credited with giving back to the community by teaching over 15,000 children with a learn to swim program at TCU. His program "Fort Worth Swimming Frogs" is credited for giving over 4,000 swimming lessons to lower economic children through the Rainwater Foundation.
Congrats, Richard!!! |
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Are you a TCU Letterwinner and want to share an announcement with your former teammates and coaches? The Block T Association Playbook is a great place for those announcements!
Just email the Block T Association with your announcement (wedding, anniversary, births of children/grandchildren, etc.) and we will look to include it in upcoming Playbooks throughout the year!
Email your announcement (and photos if you have them) to Block T Association Announcements.
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| Looking for previous issues of the Block T Association Playbook? Click HERE |
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