Members of the Uconn Team Celebrate and Accept the 2010 Papajohns.Com Bowl Trophy
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Connecticut Football 2007 BIG EAST Champions Third-Highest GSR Of The More Than 50 State Universities That 2010 Papajohns.com Bowl Champions Participated In A Bowl Following The 2009 Season 2009 International Bowl Champions Led BIG EAST In Total Defense In 2004, 2005 And 2008 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl Led BIG EAST In Total Offense In 2005 2004 Motor City Bowl Champions Second-Fastest School Ever From Division I-AA To Reach I-A Top 25 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award Recipients 2007 Huskies Make Highest AP Poll Debut of Any School Since 1964 Four Players Selected Among First 63 In 2009 NFL Draft; Two More Draft 33-12 All-Time at Rentschler Field With 27 Sellouts Selections in 2010 Wide Receiver Shawn Feldeisen Named 2003 CoSIDA Academic All-America Donald Brown Named First Team All-American and BIG EAST Offensive Defensive Tackle Rhema Fuller Named UConn’s First Ever Draddy Trophy Player Of The Year in 2008 Finalist In 2006 Program-High Nine Former Players On Active NFL Rosters In 2009; Seven Punter Chris Pavasaris Nominated For 2006 Rhodes And Marshall More On CFL Rosters Scholarships Highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) Of Any BIG EAST School In 2008 Honored By AFCA For High Graduation Rates In 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 And And 2009 2009 Highest African-American GSR In The Country Among State Universities That Participated In Bowls Following 2008 Season The Connecticut Football PhIloSoPhy Bowl Games Connecticut has now played in a bowl game in four of the past six seasons, including three in a row, and has picked up victories in three of them. Bowl-eligibility is one of the goals of the Connecticut football pro- gram every year and Husky fans have helped develop UConn’s reputation into a school that “travels well”. Community Service Community service is an integral part of the UConn football experi- ence. Husky football student-athletes perform numerous hours of com- munity service throughout the year by visiting children at local schools, hospitals and other activities. One of the key community service activities of the UConn football team is the “Goal Line Project” at the East Hartford Middle School. The UConn football program has adopted the school and student-athletes make frequent visits to the school to provide mentoring and inspiration both in academics and athletes. During the football season, members of the UConn football team spend Monday afternoons at the school working with students. Academics Are The Priority Head coach Randy Edsall and his staff emphasizes academics from the time that the recruiting process begins until a student-athlete has earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut…and the numbers prove this point. UConn was the top BIG EAST team in the NCAA’s Graduation Success Rate (GSR) survey in both October 2008 and ‘09. In the latest NCAA Academic Performance Rate (APR) results, UConn scored an impressive 949 over a four-year period. The UConn football program had the third-highest GSR for the more than 50 public universities that played in a bowl game following the 2009 season. Husky football student-athletes use the Herb and Marcia Dunn Academic Support Center in The Burton Family Football Complex to assist in their academic endeavors. BIG EAST Champions Each and every year, the Connecticut football team expects to be a factor in the race for the BIG EAST Championship. That goal came to fruition in 2007 as the Huskies won the league title in just their fourth year as a member of the conference. The Rentschler Field Advantage The UConn football team takes great pride in its winning percentage at Rentschler Field. Since the stadium opened, UConn has won nearly three-quarters of the games played there and has posted victories over teams from the BIG EAST, ACC, Big Ten and Big XII at Rentschler Field. Husky fans have responded with a 96 percent capacity mark since the stadium opened. Staying In Touch With Alumni The UConn football alumni are the roots of the excellence of the Husky program. UConn football alumni are more active and involved in the program than ever. For the past four seasons, former UConn head coaches and alumni have served as honorary coaches for the Blue-White Spring Football Game. In an effort to help members of UConn’s foot- ball team enhance their prospects for employment following college, the UConn football program sponsors a Career Information Fair twice a year. Football alumni are also invited to the field before home games to Connecting With The Fans form a tunnel as the current Huskies come running out – a gesture that Husky fans have numerous opportunities to meet and greet the Husky bonds generations of Husky players. coaching staff and players during the calendar year. Before each home game, UConn fans are encouraged to come to the “Husky Walk” as the team gets off the team buses and makes its way through a sea of Blue and White to Strength and Conditioning their locker room. The strength and conditioning program for UConn football players In February, all UConn season tickets holders and UConn Club is among the most innovative in the nation and is coordinated by Jerry members are invited to a “Signing Night Reception”, as head coach Randy Martin – the school’s Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. Martin was Edsall and his staff gives a video presentation on the latest crop of National the National Strength Coach of the Year in both 1994 and 2001. Husky Letter of Intent signees. Several current Huskies attend that event and sign players use the two-level, 18,000-square foot Polo Family Strength Center autographs during a reception. in the Mark R. Shenkman Training Center. UConn players meet fans for autographs following the Blue-White Spring Football Game and after an open practice that is held each pre- The Schedule season. Connecticut plays seven games against BIG EAST Conference opponents each year and then schedules a competitive slate of five non- Facilities conference games each season against a variety of opponents. UConn trav- eled to Notre Dame last year and posted a double-overtime win at Notre The State of Connecticut and the University of Connecticut have Dame Stadium. committed the finest facilities in the nation to the Husky program. UConn plays its home games in the ultra-modern Rentschler Field, which opened UConn opens the 2010 season at Michigan Stadium against the in 2003 and remains one of the newest stadium used by a team in Bowl Wolverines as Michigan returns the trip to Rentschler Field in 2013. The Championship Series Conference. Huskies will play a home-and-home series with Tennessee beginning in 2015 with the Volunteers coming to Rentschler Field with a return trip to The team also enjoys the modern amenities of The Burton Family Knoxville in 2016. Football Complex and the Mark R. Shenkman Training Center in Storrs. Both of these facilities opened in 2006 and provide Husky football players Other upcoming non-conference opponents coming to Rentschler with a campus home that provides for all their needs. Field include Vanderbilt (2010), Iowa State (2011), North Carolina State (2012) and Maryland (2014). National leaders Running back Donald Brown became UConn’s first NCAA Statistical Leader in 2009 as he led the country in rushing years. The Huskies became eligible for the FBS Statistics in 2002 and have finished in the top 20 for total offense twice (2003 and ’04) and three times on defense (2002, ’05 and ’08). Professional Football Former UConn players are in the National Football League in numbers that are unprecedented in school history. UConn had nine players on active NFL rosters in 2009 – the most ever in school history. In the 2009 NFL Draft, UConn had four selections in the first two rounds – including the Huskies’ first-ever First Round Draft Pick in Donald Brown, who went to the Indianapolis Colts and then played in the Super Bowl in his rookie campaign. As 2010 NFL training camps open up, there will be a minimum of 12 Husky players with teams. There were also seven former Huskies playing in the Canadian Football League in 2010. Jasper Tyrone howard January 28, 1989 – october 18, 2009 Cornerback – Miami, Florida Jasper Howard loved life, his family, football and the University of Connecticut. He came to UConn from his native Miami and Miami Edison Senior High School and made an immediate impact of the Storrs campus. Jasper broke into the UConn lineup in his freshman year of 2007 and became a starter the following season. Meanwhile, he was working towards his degree in sociology and was an active member of the community. On October 17, 2009, Jasper made 11 tackles and had a forced fumble that he recovered as UConn defeated Louisville at Rentschler Field by a 38-25 score. In the early morning of the following day, tears fell hard from the October sky as Jazz lost his life. Jasper will serve as an honorary captain for the 2010 Huskies. Jasper came to play and practice with an energy that made him the consummate teammate… forever. In Memory of Jasper howard UConn alumnus and NASA astronaut Richard Mastracchio made a special presentation to members of the Husky football team as he gave them a flag in memory of Jasper Howard that flew in space in the space shuttle Discovery. As the football team left campus to play at West Virginia, its first game since Howard’s death, student-athletes from all UConn teams came together for a sendoff. Rentschler Field one of the Country’s Newest and Most Modern BCS College Football Stadium The 2010 season will mark the eighth year of play at Rentschler Field – one of the newest and most modern college football stadiums in the BCS.