Athletics

Faculty Senate Annual Report

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May 7, 2026

Academic Profile Fall 2025

• Total number of student-athletes: 529
• Term GPA: 3.32
• Cumulative GPA: 3.33 (Highest ever)
• Number of different majors� Undergraduate 84� Graduate/Certificate 11
• Percentage of student-athletes on Academic Probation: 2.1%
• Percentage of student-athletes on Dean’s List: 54.6% (Highest ever)

Rams at the Top

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• Head Coach Jim Fleming, CAA’s Coach of the Year
• Second straight CAA Football title & eighth championships in program history
• Advanced to second round of the �FCS playoffs for the second straight year
• Tied the program record with 11 wins
• Marquis Buchanan and A.J. Pena �highlighted as All-American honorees, �as First-Team All-Americans by Stats Perform and the Associated Press. �First time since 1985 URI, multiple first-team All-Americans
• No. 10 nationally in AFCA Coaches Top 25 poll.

The men’s program continued its dominance:

• A10 Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Year, Trent Baltzell
• 7th straight Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field titles
• Most Outstanding Track Performer - �Nick Martin
• Most Outstanding Field Performer - �Matt Santy
• Most Outstanding Rookie Performer - �Lucas Andrade
• Rhody won its sixth straight New England title
• 17 A10 Outdoor Track & Field titles; Six Outdoor Track & Field tile in the last seven years
• Matt Santy Most Outstanding Field Performer, Long Jump Title, High Jump

• The women’s program placed fourth; its highest finish in five years.
• Reagan Garibaldi and Zarah Singleton earned silver in the 400-meter and 100-meter races.
• The women’s team matched its best performance ever with a second-place finish at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championship.
• URI finished just 2.5 points behind champion VCU
• A week later, the Rams won their second straight New England title.

Women’s Basketball Goes Dancing!

• Women’s Basketball Win the Regular Season Title & Win the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament
• URI clinched its first NCAA Championship bid in 30 years
• Tammi Reiss named the league’s Coach of the Year for the third time in seven seasons.
• Rhody set a program record with 28 victories while also setting attendance records, bringing more than 25,000 fans to the Ryan Center
• Hire of Colleen Mullen as Women’s Head Basketball Coach to Lead the Program

FY26 Fundraising Results

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Commitments

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FY26 (YTD) cash received as of 3/18 = $3,565,092*

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Notes:

- FY26

Cash Received = $3,565,092*

Committed = $5,779,294��- FY25

Cash Received = $2,100,532

Committed = $5,492,246�

- FY24

Cash Received = $2,174,749

Committed = $2,829,299

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- FY23

Cash Received = $1,952,059

Committed = $1,699,168

Athletic Complex Updates

Track & Field Project �near completion

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• Anticipated completion Summer 2026
• On budget

Meade Stadium Project demolition phase

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• Meade Stadium project has started
• Anticipated completion Summer 2027

Upcoming Potential Projects

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• Baseball Complex
• Press box & seating
• Softball Complex
• New Turf Field
• Soccer Complex
• Press Box

NCAA Compliance

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• Eligibility Issues
1. Lawsuits
2. State specific laws
3. Transfer portal, tampering violations, etc.

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• Upcoming
• Trump’s Executive Order
• Age Based Model

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2025-26 Student-Athlete Development Topics

NCAA Transformation Committee Requirements: These highlights align with the NCAA Student-Athlete Core Guarantees and showcase the University of Rhode Island Athletic Student Development Office’s commitment to enhancing the skills and development of each student-athlete beyond the court, field, course, water, or track.

• Mental Health & Toughness Training�Building resilience, coping strategies, and peak performance mindset�
• Financial Literacy Education�Equipping student-athletes with money management and long-term

planning skills�

• Entrepreneurship & Innovation Development�Supporting NIL growth, brand building, and business acumen�
• Sports Gambling & NCAA Rules Education�Reinforcing compliance, integrity, and awareness of NCAA regulations�
• The Rhody Way Award�Recognizing student-athletes who exemplify leadership, character, and community impact�
• Clean Competition (Operation Clean Competition)�Promoting substance awareness and commitment to drug-free performance

THANK YOU

THANK YOU