In defeat, our team demonstrated a sense of class and poise that one does not always see in today’s college athletics. They were gentlemen, good sports, and class acts – wonderful representatives of Wittenberg. They made me perhaps even more proud by their activity off the court as on. In the day before their semi-final game they visited with children in an elementary school in Roanoke to talk with them about college and sports. Yes, they were disappointed to lose the national title game, but they did not make excuses. They owned responsibility for their own actions, and they congratulated the winning team. As I watched our four seniors – Phil, Kenny, Dan and Dane – answer questions from the press moments after the game, I felt overcome by emotion, emotions of pride that these four men are soon to be Wittenberg graduates. They talked of the life lessons they had learned as members of the Wittenberg basketball team, and they talked of their affection for one another and their coach. You couldn’t help but come away from the press conference convinced that these young men will, indeed, be successful in life.

As this weekend winds to a close, I also find myself reflecting on our fans. One NCAA official stopped me and said he had been to many final fours but never seen better fans than ours. The energy and the enthusiasm of the Witt fans were simply unmatched in the final four! Although Virginia Wesleyan was playing in its home state, you would have thought it was a Wittenberg home game by the numbers of our fans and their enthusiasm. One of the great joys of the weekend was to meet the many Witt alumni who came to the game. From a loyal class of ’43 alum to a prospective student who plans to join the class of ’10, Witt supporters turned out in great numbers. The arena was a sea of red, led by our cheerleaders who were named the best cheerleading team in the NCAA Championships.

My first year as President of Wittenberg has a been filled with many blessings – opportunities to feel and live the “magic” of Wittenberg. This weekend was another one of those special experiences. Some may think of this weekend as a near miss, but I see it as a “slam dunk,” an exclamation point on all that is wonderful about Witt – our great pride and enthusiasm, our respect and commitment to helping others, and our ability to develop young people who experience great success, learn from their setbacks, and will be extraordinarily successful in life. It simply does not get any better than that!

— Mark Erickson, president