By MONTE DUTTON

In the summertime, when the weather is hot, on the week of the Fourth, local sports subside.

And so forth.

The kids take a week to watch fireworks displays. They frolic about at beaches and lakefronts. In many cases, so do the grown-ups.

As was regularly said by Sgt. Phil Esterhaus in a TV series, NYPD Blues, “Let’s be careful out there.”

I watched an old documentary on ESPN.

Did you know that, once upon a time, college and pro basketball coaches actually sat down during games?

For the first time in almost five years, I went to a movie.

Naturally, I combined it with a trip to Simpsonville for an American Legion baseball game.

Had I to do it over, I would have gone to a restaurant for a nice meal that cost less than popcorn and a Diet Coke at the cinema. My regret, however, is mild. Popcorn tastes better at a movie. Hot dogs taste better at a baseball game.

The long, hot summer is a time of citing the school year’s superlatives, most of which fall in academics.

When the bands stop playing and the cheering subsides, it’s the reason they’re all there.

Victories help.

Times have changed. Not everything, though.

The worldwide pandemic of 2020-21 left virtually nothing — or no one — unaffected  Less than five years ago, college athletics had yet to encounter the transfer portal or, for the most part, the NIL (names, image, and likeness) factor, which now appears poised to rewrite the competitive landscape like no honest person could have imagined.

Tumult aside, Furman Athletics has managed to continue growing, as reflected in many areas, that has only strengthened its position as an integral part of the university’s excellence in facing the changing times.

In the area of ticket revenue and actual attendance for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, from 2021-24, Furman logged a 40 percent increase, highlighted by seven sellouts for men’s basketball games, including a record attendance of 6,199 for the Furman-Wofford men’s basketball game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena 2022-23 and a steady increase in season tickets sold for Paladin football.

Central to Furman’s increased ticket revenue has been a 40.6 percent increase in ticketed attendance in the three sports, highlighted by seven sellouts for men’s basketball games,

Concession sales mirrored the Paladins’ increased football attendance, jumping 49 percent over the past three seasons.

Since joining forces with Van Wagner, the program’s third-party media rights holder, Furman has grown sponsorship relationships by 42 partners.

Furman track athletes wrapped up competition Friday at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which were held June 21-30 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Gabbi Jennings ‘21 finished fourth in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase.  She recorded a six-second personal best of 9:12.08 in the finals, marking the seventh-best women’s Steeplechase time in U.S. history.

Allie Buchalski ‘18, who competes professionally for Brooks Beasts and was inducted into the Furman Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023, placed sixth in the women’s 5,000 with a time of 15:12.87. She posted the fifth-best time in the opening round after crossing the line in 15:24.22.

Buchalski went on to take 23rd place with a time of 4:13.22 in the 1,500 semifinals.  She advanced through the first round after finishing seventh in her heat at 4:16.46.

In the men’s 3,000 Steeplechase, senior Carson Williams finished 16th with a time of 8:29.29, just two seconds off the last qualifying time.

The top three finishers in each event who achieved the Olympic standard for their event qualified for the Olympics in Paris, which are scheduled for July 26-Aug. 11.

Furman placed 69 athletes on the spring Academic All-Southern Conference Team.
To be eligible for the academic all-conference team, student-athletes must carry at least a 3.3 cumulative grade-point average at the conclusion of the spring semester and compete in at least half their teams’ competitions during the season.

In addition, the student-athletes must have successfully completed at least three semesters at their institutions, making true freshmen and first-year transfers ineligible.
With 13 honorees apiece, Furman’s women’s indoor and outdoor track & field led the way, followed by softball with 10 and men’s tennis with seven.
A total of 506 SoCon student-athletes earned 615 spots on the academic all-conference team. The 615 total selections are the third highest in conference history for the spring.
Forty-eight SoCon athletes maintained perfect 4.0 cumulative GPAs.

Two hundred thirty-five Furman athletes SoCon Academic Honor Roll during the full school year.
The academic honor roll originated in 1988-89, when SoCon athletic directors established the award to recognize the league’s outstanding student-athletes. The academic honor roll consists of student-athletes who participated in varsity sports and posted a 3.0 grade point average or higher for the academic year, were eligible the entire academic year and were members of the final squad lists.

Thirty Paladins garnered perfect 4.0 grade point averages for the 2023-24 school year:  Raleigh Herbert (football), Wyatt Hughes (football), Jacob Johanning (football), Bryce McCormick (football), Tanner Schuck (football), Pearson Toomey (football), Ben VanderWal (men’s basketball), Demi Di Matteo (men’s golf), Callum Allison (men’s soccer), Alfredo Diaz-Santillan (men’s soccer), Callum Holland (men’s soccer), Jack Travis (men’s soccer), Walker Allen (men’s tennis), Cole Burnam (men’s tennis), Cole Rigsby (men’s tennis), Chrissy Fleming (softball), Hana Hashioka (softball), Chandler Parker (volleyball), Audrey Ryu (women’s golf), Hannah Farr (women’s soccer), Ava King (women’s soccer), Maddie Massie (women’s soccer), Allison Thomas (women’s tennis), Maeve Thornton (women’s tennis), Lily Feingold (women’s cross country/track & field), Emily Little (women’s cross country/track & field), Abigail Robertson (women’s cross country/track & field), Jonna Strange (women’s cross country/track & field), Carly Wilkes (women’s cross country/track & field), and Kylie Wittman (women’s cross country/track & field).

Seventy-seven Furman student-athletes received the SoCon Commissioner’s Medal, which were accorded to student-athletes sporting GPAs of 3.8 or better.

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