Oct. 13, 2010
Letter from the A.D.: October Update 
Greetings Bengal Fans:
As we move into October, athletics now adds women's and men's basketball into the mix of teams in action. The women's team began practice this week and opens its season at home on Friday, November 5th at 7:05 p.m. in Reed Gym against New Mexico Highlands University. The men's team begins practice on Friday and is preparing to open the season in Reed Gym on Tuesday, November 2nd at 7:05 p.m. against Montana State University-Billings. Both Coach Sobolewski and Coach O'Brien are excited about their teams and are anxious for their seasons to get under way. I encourage you to buy or renew your season tickets today. Your support of our teams is very much appreciated.
Locker room updates
The women's and men's basketball locker room projects are nearly complete. Men's basketball is refurbishing their locker room while women's basketball is building a brand new locker room, which has doubled in size. Both are receiving new lockers and storage cabinets. The women's basketball locker room will also offer a separate entrance for the male coaching members.
The volleyball and softball locker room construction project is 75 percent complete. An area which was once a storage facility that has been revamped now holds two beautiful locker rooms as well as a restroom facility. This area will also include new wood lockers and cabinets. Stay tuned for an announcement for a ribbon cutting ceremony for these new facilities. We would be so pleased to have you join us and the teams for those events. As was the case with the football locker room renovation, we are offering the same kind of locker dedication program for the volleyball, softball and women's basketball lockers. We would be honored to have your name permanently attached to a locker showing your support. Further, it is so meaningful to our student-athletes who see your name on their locker. If you are interested in donating or dedicating a locker please contact Donna Hays at (208) 282-5773.
Miller Ranch Stadium
The Miller Ranch Stadium Softball field construction process has hit a few hurdles, but work continues. Although the sod has not been laid yet I am confident that it will be put down in the coming week. Ralph Millheisler from Remko Sprinkler has been extremely helpful in the construction process in helping install the sprinkler system. Completion is in sight. Again, Dirk DeWall has been extraordinary in his oversight and donation of the project.
Fundraising for artificial turf in Holt Arena
The current turf system in Holt Arena, Astro Turf, was introduced to the country in the 1970s. It provided one of the greatest opportunities for practice and competition for indoor play in the nation for a variety of different sports. However the current turf system, while effective for many different events in the arena, is outdated and provides less than favorable conditions for athletic competition. Finding a plausible replacement surface for soccer, softball and football practice and for football games is therefore very important. With that said, ISU Athletics recently began a fundraising campaign to replace the artificial turf in Holt Arena with an artificial surface more closely related to real grass. We are continuing our efforts to raise the necessary capital for this project.
National Accolades
After two straight weeks on the road, Bengal football returns home to face conference rival Weber State University. Coach Zamberlin's team has several student-athletes who are earning national accolades and are worth the price of admission. I'll share just two examples.
The first example is A.J. Storms. A.J., a junior and an Idaho native, was recruited out of Meridian High School where he was the Idaho Prep Player of the year at quarterback. Coming to Idaho State University he moved to the defensive side of the ball and started at strong safety for the Bengals his freshman year before moving to outside linebacker for his sophomore and this his junior season. This year A.J. currently leads the Big Sky Conference and the nation in tackles with a whopping 13 tackles per game. A.J. is also currently on track to break the school record for tackles. As a side note, Storms has a very loose left shoulder joint and thus dislocates his shoulder a couple times per game. Pushing the excruciating pain aside, the team doctors are able to put the shoulder back in place each time so that he can go back into the game.
The second example is Tavoy Moore. Moore is a junior college transfer from Cerritos College in California. Tavoy was just named the Big Sky Conference and national kick-off and punt returner of the week for the second time this year. This past week at the University of Montana, Tavoy returned both a kick-off and a punt for touchdowns in the same game. This is the second time he has accomplished that feat in a conference game this season (the other game was at the University of Northern Colorado) and is the only person ever to do that in Big Sky Conference history. Moore also broke his own school record for all-purpose yards in a game with 323 at Montana. He currently ranks second nationally in all-purpose yardage per game at 203 and is second nationally in punt return yardage per game averaging 27.2 yards. Both A.J. Storms and Tavoy Moore are worth the price of admission.
Beyond that, both football and volleyball play at home this Saturday against Weber State University. Football kicks off at 3:30 p.m. in Holt Arena and volleyball begins at 7:00 p.m. in Reed Gym. Fans can attend the volleyball match for free with their ISU Football vs. Weber State University ticket stub. Fans can also get into the volleyball game for just $2 if they wear "White" as the Bengals look to "White Out Weber". Come cheer on both teams to victories. We hope to see you here!! Again, your support is deeply appreciated and we will continue to put the necessary pieces in place to have programs that compete successfully in all sports.
Go Bengals!
Jeffrey K. Tingey
Director of Athletics
Idaho State University
