Matt Harmon: This is Matt Horman in this week's episode of Monmouth weekly university, president Patrick Lehe is joined by vice president, director of athletics, Dr. Marilyn McNeil, to talk about how the athletic programs in Monmouth have been affected by the continuing coronavirus pandemic as always. We thank you for joining us. It's time for episode six. Matt Harmon: It is another week here of Monmouth weekly. I'm Matt Harmon. Thanks so much for giving us part of your time. We always try and keep you updated week in and week out. Let you know what's happening with all things Monmouth. Last week, of course, we spent time with the board of trustee chairman Michael wick. Today we're gonna change gears and we'll try and keep you, um, on the hop a little bit, as they say, with what we will be talking about weekend and week out, we have vice president and director of athletics, Dr. Marilyn McNeil, to give us the athletic perspective of all this coronavirus stuff. And of course, president Patrick Le he's on the other shot as well. We always like to say we are practicing social distancing. We are all in our separate residences and recording here, president Lehe. I first say good afternoon to you. I know it's been, um, busy as it always is. The conference calls continue. All of the information continues to still, uh, evolve and, um, a anything that you just want to get started with before we kind of dig into the athletic side of things. Patrick Leahy: Well, good to be with you, Matt. Uh, again, I can't believe we're, this is our sixth episode already. Um, and I'm thrilled to have, uh, Marilyn with us, uh, today just to talk through some things, but, uh, no, we're, we're continuing to, um, complete the semester, Matt. We, uh, amazing to think that, uh, I think we're pretty close to our last, uh, week or so of classes only a couple weeks of classes left before we get into, uh, the exam period. Um, we're moving right along with our remote instruction and learning, uh, trying to get all of our students, the, uh, the content that they deserve and also the credit that they need to continue to, uh, progress in their academic career. So I think we're in a pretty, pretty good spot, uh, on that front, Matt Harmon: Dr. McNeil, I wish you a good afternoon as well. And since it's the first time that we've had you on our mammoth weekly series, uh, just a quick check in with you. I, I know for you so much goes into that kind of transition of the season from the winter to the spring and then, uh, continuing things all the way through what I'm sure would've been another great spring season, but even from just the personal standpoint, your own family, your own dealings with this coronavirus. Um, and I know first and foremost, probably having to adjust when you see all the grandchildren Marilyn McNeil: thanks, Matt. It's great to be here. Yeah, there's, there's a ton of questions there, but, um, it was, it's been, uh, pretty interesting and, um, very busy transition, certainly for athletics program, but personally, um, obviously just try to get used to this remote, working as everybody is, we're all in the same boat, but understanding our, um, our family situation, I'm very, very fortunate. I'm able to see my grandkids, which really makes highlights for my day. Um, and I, uh, I have both my son and my husband here. Um, I think those of this on this podcast that might know my husband, he's a SU social being. So he's, um, missing all the compliments about his bad dressing that he usually gets and, uh, but he still dresses badly, but no one here notices, Matt Harmon: So nobody, nobody can actually see it up and close and in person anymore. Right. That's right. Um, Dr. McNeal, you know, take me, take us back. I should say to when this news first broke from an athletic standpoint, right? Smack dab in the middle of the Mac basketball tournament, the winter season, coming to a close, obviously everyone's going for the same goal, which is to try and qualify for the NCAA tournament, but I'd have to even think that when you went down to Atlantic city for the first couple of days or day of the tournament, you, you knew that something like this could happen. Is that fair to say? Marilyn McNeil: Yeah, actually I don't think that's really fair to say. I think it really caught us all by surprise. I mean, we knew that things were not good and that Washington state was having its issues. But I, we were sitting in an ad's meeting on Thursday morning and, um, talking about what we were gonna do with the tournament. And then someone said, well, what are we gonna do with spring sports? Uh, most of Monmouth was going into spring break. All of our spring sports had huge schedules scheduled over spring break. Um, and it went from fighting for the tournament, fighting for the tournament without fans fighting for at least letting the spring sports get through the spring break schedules to, okay, basketball tournaments, close down, spring sports. Um, if you haven't left, you're not leaving. And I think of, I'll never forget actually, the golf team who were down in Hilton head and we told them that they could finish their trip. And then an hour later we phoned them and said, get back in the van, you're coming home. So they were our last team on the road. Everybody else was, uh, home. So it was, um, it was quite, um, amazing to have everybody's hopes and dreams just disappear within four or five hours. And it's kind of like the whole crisis that we've been going through on Friday. You think you have an answer and on Sunday it's completely changed. And so that's exactly how we got started. Matt Harmon: When you think of it, president Lehe, the immediate communication maybe that you had with Dr. McNeil and obviously the other presidents of the Mac, having to make that decision to call off the tournament. I'm sure something that was not only not just, uh, uneasy for you to do, but almost in a way probably caused, caused you some, some sleepless nights. Patrick Leahy: Yeah. I was down in Atlantic city, the early part of that week. I had a chance to see our women play. And, um, yeah, I had a sense at that point, there was some chatter Matt, about whether the tournament would continue or how it would continue and whether we should con complete the tournament, but without fans. And, um, it was all conjecture at that point. But I remember getting in the car to come back. One of my daughters traveled down with me and we got in the car to come back and we start turned on the radio and started hearing about, um, closures happening and, and tournaments being canceled. And it just became pretty clear at that point that, uh, something was up and it wasn't until the next day that I was on a phone call with, um, other members of our, uh, conference. And I was to, to Marilyn's point, I was advocating at say, 11 o'clock in the morning on that, on that day to let's let the tournament finish. Even if we go with no fans, all of the players are there and there's their, their coaches are there. The support staff are all there. Let's let them finish it out. And then, um, an hour or two later, I was on a call with the presidents again, and it had become unanimous at that point that we needed to shut down the tournament immediately and bring everybody home. What had happened in that intervening period was the big east tournament was closed, closed down at halftime of a game. And so, uh, when that happened and everyone else followed Sue, we, we decided that the Mac did not want to be the last, the last conference to make this decision. So we had little choice at that time, but to, uh, close it down and bring everybody home. Matt Harmon: Dr. McNeil to follow up on that is it I'll say easier or maybe even more difficult. I'm not sure which way you're gonna take this as a conference. Like the Mac, a mid-major smaller division, one conference. Do you, do you wait and see what happens as president Lehe just referred to the big east? Do you wait and see what maybe the, I'll say the big boys of division one do before those decisions maybe work their way down to the mid-majors. Marilyn McNeil: Yeah, I, I think that's true. I, I think the Ivy were the first group to cancel their tournament and yeah. You know, we all thought, uh, yeah, Ivys are just being extra. Matt Harmon: The Ivys Marilyn McNeil: yeah, there were IVs, but you know what? The IVs obviously had perhaps more information than the rest of us had at that point in time. So they probably, we probably should have paid more attention, but yes. I mean, I think we were, we were hanging on, this was a new venue for us. Atlantic city had been a great partner up to them. Monmouth had been a huge proponent of going to Atlantic city. So in many ways I, I wanted them to be successful. You worry about pulling it out at that point in time. So there was all these other things that were crossing your mind. Um, and then when it became quite apparent that the health and safety of everyone, including our student athletes was the primary point. Then it was a non-decision. And, and obviously the, the big boy saying it's over, um, certainly hastened our decision Matt Harmon: President Lehe to, to file that back up to you. Is that something that you would, you would guide along? I mean, you mentioned the big east. I mean, once you see the big east and all these other bigger conferences, as you said, you, you don't wanna be, I guess the, the last conference trying to say, let's finish this out. Patrick Leahy: Yeah, we don't, but you know, a couple other things related to that, I mean, the Ivy league was the first as I recall to cancel their tournament, but they were scheduled to go up to Boston. I think this year Harvard was supposed to, to, um, host that, uh, their, their tournament. And I think if you recall, new England at the time in Boston was starting to feel the effects of this earlier than some of the rest of us. So that, that may be influenced their decision. But, um, I think in general, we'll look to the big conferences to see what they do, but in this particular case only a day before the, the, uh, New York city, um, authorities were saying, no, the big east tournament's gonna go. Um, we, we believe, you know, that that, that tournament is safe to host. And it was a day later that they, uh, based on the public health information, I think we're reversed course. And the fact that they, uh, canceled the game at halftime, Matt, uh, just made such an impression on so much of us that here is here. It is New York is, you know, Atlantic city is not that far from New York, New York is clearly feeling, uh, that there's a, this is a dangerous situation, so much so that they, they, uh, suspended, uh, the tournament at, at halftime of a game, all that together, I think, led to Mac to make what a really wise decision and O once that was floated, everybody jumped on board it, um, and just realized that first and foremost always is the health, safety, and welfare of our student athletes and, and all those who work with, with them. So, um, yeah, ordinarily, we would look at the big conferences for some advice, but in this particular case, it made it, uh, really an easy decision. Matt Harmon: Well, along the way, here it is, uh, episode number six of Mammouth weekly, Matt Harmon joined by university president Patrick Lehe and vice president, director of athletics, Dr. Marilyn McNeil, uh, Dr. McNeil to, to go back to you and, and I'm not sure how much insight you would have into this, but what can you tell, uh, us the audience about maybe the initial messages and thinking of the winter teams, and obviously the spring team winter at the end of their season spring, just getting started, the, the messages that the coaches had to deliver to the players, not only devastating news, if you have an opportunity for, let's say basketball to go to the NCAA tournament, but that's not it, right. I mean, you've got lacrosse teams just getting up and going softball off a trip to, um, their tournament last year when they had so much success, baseball, high expectations, uh, Monmouth track, always one of the best, if not the best in the league, there's a lot of not just, oh, okay, we're not gonna be able to play, but there's a lot of emotions that have to get managed and handled. And for you, I would have to think, um, you, you, you leave that into the hands. A lot of the individual coaches. Marilyn McNeil: Yes, I did. And, and it was a very tough time. I mean, as you've heard and seen hopes and dreams of these student athletes, their sport is extremely important to them and not forsaking their academic work. And so many of them are fabulous students. They, the, the, the sport association is just, um, a remarkable affinity group and a, a place where they really feel comfortable. And whether they, where they get their confidence in their identity. So, but I was really proud of our coaches. Every single one of them stepped up, they were all very optimistic. And as I was saying earlier, coaches are the best group of people to be around in, in any kind of crisis, because they they're all about preparing for the next game. And you have to be an optimist because you have to put that loss behind you or put the elation of that win behind you, because you've got an opponent coming up and it's a, it's a Wednesday afternoon, every day in athletics. We're getting ready for the next game. So our coaches have been on top of it. They have reached out to our student athletes. They are doing some really, really creative things. And talking to our athletes almost every day, they've brought in alum to alumni to come and talk on these zoom calls. We've UN uncovered a whole bunch of alum, and they're talking to our student athletes, they've brought in special speakers. They're doing, uh, common reading. They're talking about books. They're they have been extremely creative and they're communication. They all to a, a person say that their communication skills have really improved because that's what they have to rely on right now. And that the team chemistry is very, very strong. They're all so anxious to get back because they all feel such a connection. So when we get back, we're gonna come back roaring. Matt Harmon: Yeah. I mean, there is so much more to just the, and, and president Le and I have talked about it just from the, the student standpoint as well. There's, there's so much to not just the wins and losses, but just the fact that you're not used to seeing this group of people that you are so ingrained with on a day in day out basis, you're going through trainings, practices, games, wins, losses, meals, traveling together that they have become your family. And now all of a sudden, Dr. McNeil, you are essentially removed from that family. Not easy. Marilyn McNeil: No. And I think the coaches have really felt this. They, you know, coaches are not real democratic. They're kind of autocratic. They they're in charge of their group and suddenly, and that's what I felt for most of them. Oh my gosh, what do I do next? And for that first 10 days, it was whoa, this is such a, a new environment for me. What am I going to do? But they they've rallied. And they've shared, um, we get on a call every day and they share what they're doing and what's working. And a lot of them are copying each other. They're, they're doing these virtual workouts. They are. Um, that's, it's pretty interesting, Matt Harmon: You know, from a perspective president Lehe of, um, how this is going to affect things, going forward, the NCAA, uh, giving those spring student athletes and opportunity that they can have a fifth year if they want it, that will obviously maybe change things in terms of, you know, student population where money's coming, where money's going, scholarships, all kind of things like that. Well, you know, we haven't really talked about the athletic side of it, president LA, but what, what's your take on that from an NCAA standpoint? Um, a, a good decision to make sure that if students want to, they can come back and, and live out that last year of athletic eligibility. Patrick Leahy: I think it was a good decision. Um, you know, I I've said to other folks, I'll, I'll share with you, Matt, that one of the very toughest decisions that I had to make in the last six weeks or eight weeks of this whole global pandemic was that that day, uh, when, uh, the Mac, uh, presidents were on the phone and we had to make the decision to suspend the spring athletic, um, activities. The reason it was so tough was because we had not, at that point, made the decision to go, go remote instruction for the entire semester. You know, we were still holding out hope. We had pushed it out a, a couple weeks, but we were still holding out hope that this might pass. And we might all come back together again. But because of the complexity of scheduling and conditioning and everything else, we had to make the decision pretty early to cancel the spring sports. Patrick Leahy: And to Marilyn's point, I, I just know how, uh, hard that must have been for the student athletes to, to hear that. And, um, I, I just apologized, uh, to, to them, um, for having to do that. But I was so impressed with the way in which the student athletes handled it, recognizing that as important as athletics is to them, there are more important things in the world, um, than, than their athletic contests. So when the NCAA said, you know, what, why don't we consider giving them that last year of eligibility, we'll waive some of the requirements we'll waive some of the, the roster sizes, I guess, in particular, in baseball, uh, we gathered as a Monmouth university community to, to discuss it. And I think, uh, Maryland would attest, you know, pretty quickly got to, you know, what the right thing to do would be to offer to all of our returning, any, any student who wanted to return offer them the same, um, athletic scholarship that, uh, we had offered them here in their senior year. And, uh, I don't know how many of them will actually take us up on it, but I think we feel really good that this is just the latest in a string of decisions that we've made here at Monmouth that demonstrates how committed we are to each of our students. Matt Harmon: Dr. McNeil, can you maybe comment on that? I mean, I'm sure the number would even be bigger than we might be able to, to fathom how many students did this actually affect that would've been going into their senior year as a spring student athlete that that might consider, okay, I'm gonna come back. Not only am I gonna finish my degree right now, but maybe I can come back. I can take some graduate classes. I can work towards that. Um, but, but still wanna continue being part of Monmouth athletics for one more year. Marilyn McNeil: Well, we, yeah, we started with a group. We figured that there was about 50, um, athletes that seniors that were affected by this, um, at least 50 athletes that were on some kind of athletic financial aid, um, who had dedicated their four years to competing. Um, and so we went back to them and we went back to the coaches' coaches originally just sort of talked to the team and found out who might be interested. A lot of the seniors had jobs, they had plans. Uh, they, you know, they had been doing the right thing and were ready to start in their careers. Uh, I think today we've probably got less than 20 of those students that will come back. Uh, I think women's lacrosse probably has the greatest number, or they were on a mission. They've really felt that they, they had the conference championship locked up and they were gonna make some noise, um, in the NCAAs. And so there's, there's six or seven of them coming back. But for the other teams, there's one, two, uh, that are coming back and some of them are really looking forward to graduate school. Uh, some of them, uh, are gonna take a second undergraduate. Some of them will take a certificate, but they're all looking at it from an academic perspective, is it worthwhile, but you have to also remember for the, for most of the spring sports, these are all student athletes that are on partial scholarships. Uh mm-hmm very few of them are on a, uh, almost none of them are on any kind of major athletic age. So coming back is a decision that they've gotta make from a financial perspective, along with an academic and athletic perspective. Matt Harmon: You know, one of the things that I have really enjoyed, and I think that Monmouth football coach, Kevin Callahan was the first one to have his publicized kind of the, the letters from all of the head coaches, uh, that the athletic department has kind of shared almost Dr. McNeil like a, a shot fired across the bow that we will be here. We will be back. We will be stronger than we were before. And I think coach Gohan was the first to have his kind of put out and made public. Um, tho those have, I don't know whose idea they were, but those have been pretty fun to read, to see the kind of inspirational motivational tactics that the different coaches are taking. Marilyn McNeil: Yes, that's, that's come out of our coaches' calls. We've been, we've been trying to figure out how we can affect the community in a positive way, how we can help each other out and how we can help our student athletes. And, you know, Kevin is the godfather of our athletic department. Uh, he is, he is definitely the leader. And so for him to step up and make the first shot across the bow was perfect. And I, these are, these are some pretty good writers out there. I think maybe I might volunteer them for the writing center , uh, because they've done a nice job Matt Harmon: President Lehe, when, when you read those, um, what do you feel in terms of a connection? Because I, I think you've made no secret from the fact that, that when you were hired up now until this point, and I'm sure will continue going forward. Just how important athletics is to the community, the campus of Monmouth. Um, so to see the, not only the athletic department, but the individual coaches take leadership of it, um, I'm, I'm sure makes you feel, not just proud, but also pretty comfortable that things are in the right direction. Patrick Leahy: It makes me incredibly proud. Um, first of all, before I forget, I'm thrilled to know that I just learned, uh, a new nickname for our head football coach, the godfather. Um, I, I, I love what college athletics means to a university. And, uh, we were on such a role as a university in my first year, and I've been joking all along that I'm just so grateful to all of our coaches and our student athletes, that they would wait for my arrival to have such great seasons. I mean, what field hockey was able to do. Um, it's just incredibly, it makes me incredibly proud that Monmouth university can play Cal Berkeley and can play Stanford and host them no less here on, on our campus and west long branch. And that, you know, football can play Lafayette and, and holy cross and, and win those games. And that a women's soccer can travel out to Texas and, and, and beat Texas. And, and then, you know, to, to, to play Fairfield, you know, one of, one of the institutions I would've considered had I not gone to my undergraduate institutions, it's just so comforting for me so many years later to know that Mammouth, uh, beat Fairfield, uh, the way we did and to be at the basketball game at Princeton, when, uh, we won a last second, uh, made a last second shot to, to beat Princeton. I just love that. And I love what it means for our, for our university. And, uh, it, it's just a great, uh, uh, just a great benefit, a great privilege to be the president of a university that has, uh, as strong an athletics program, as we have not to say anything of the way in which our student athletes perform in the classroom, you know, they, they outperform our, our student body as a whole, um, across the board. Um, not to say anything about the way our football team is recognized in our, in conference as being the best sportsman. So I it's just so many ways that, uh, it makes me proud to be the president here. Matt Harmon: Couple more minutes with, uh, university president Patrick Lehe, vice president, director of athletics, Dr. Marilyn McNeil, I'm Matt Harmon. This is episode number six of Monmouth weekly. We're focusing a little bit more on the impact of the athletic program with the coronavirus pandemic, continuing, uh, here in New Jersey, the United States, and obviously worldwide as well. Dr. McNeil, you mentioned before some of the creative ways that coaches have been able to, uh, talk to and stay in touch with players, both from probably that mental standpoint, but also from a physical standpoint, these are division one athletes, uh, who also need to stay in shape for when things do return to normal. Um, what could you say about some of the ways that have seemed to be the most effective? Marilyn McNeil: Well, I think probably that, and you're absolutely right. They need to keep up their strength and conditioning and our strength and conditioning staff have been, um, working with each one of the teams and trying to develop programs that they can do in their homes where not necessarily they have any of the equipment. Uh, I know our directors strength and conditioning, Tim Ram told me that he's most concerned about the football players, because they're probably gonna have to lift their mothers or fathers up above their heads or their brothers and sisters altogether in order to keep some of their strength up. But they've been really, uh, working hard at trying to create some programs that will work without any equipment and without with, in, in surroundings that are difficult. I think that's been part of it. I think the fact that they've done a lot of film review, I know Carly was taking, uh, film of Olympic games and breaking that down and helping students understand a, a higher level of what they can attain. Um, and people have really been talking. I, I know they've been talking about these book reviews that they've been doing. What, what is winning, what does that mean to win? Um, talking about real fine athletes that have analyzed their experiences. So it's been all over the map. Some of them are playing some games. And I know one of the coaches day today told me each one of the athletes said to create their own zoom meeting and, and what they thought would be, uh, kind of fun. And apparently they were very, very creative. So you could go on and on about what everybody has been doing, but it's impressive. If you get on the call on a Wednesday morning, you would be shocked at what everybody's coming up with Matt Harmon: President Lehe. Um, I'm not sure before we actually started recording, uh, Dr. McNeil and I were talking a little bit off air, um, not sure if you saw the comments that I believe the Yukon president gave yesterday about the fall sports, um, and, and how maybe concerning that would be because here we are sitting in April and already talking about things potentially throughout the summer teams coming back, and then the fall semester, obviously next year, um, do in, in your opinion, if you did see it, and then Dr. McNeil can come in as well, maybe got ahead of himself just a little bit. Patrick Leahy: I didn't see, um, the, the Yukon president's comments, Matt, which is, which is, uh, unusual because I'm, I'm trying to follow everything I can in the, uh, trade press to find out what's going on in higher ed around the country. But, um, there's so much complexity, as you can imagine to, um, the decisions that we're gonna have to make in the coming, uh, coming weeks and months. Uh, I was on the phone just this morning with the commissioner of the big south, talking about our, our football season coming up. And, um, it's just so much complexity. I, I committed to him that we would, uh, make decisions at the last possible moment, you know, responsibly, but at the last possible moment to give us every chance conceivable to offer not only football, but our fall sports, uh, uh, schedule sort of as normal, normally as possible. Um, it's an important part of, of who we are as a university and as Maryland has articulated. So, so nicely, it's, uh, such an important part of our, our students lives that, uh, I want to hold out as much hope as possible that, that we can have, uh, a normal fall season across all of our fall sports. Matt Harmon: Dr. McNeil. I, I would think that is something that you, you would echo trying to wait as long as possible, um, to, to make sure that things can be put back together and hopefully have some sort of normalcy. Marilyn McNeil: Yeah, I've, I've, uh, I've copied a colleague that, uh, uh, termed himself the C O the chief hopeful officer. And I really do think that I need to be a beacon of hope, um, and that it changes so dramatically every single day that I, I would never claim that things aren't gonna be what they are. I'm just gonna hold out that, uh, we're gonna get to the right place. This is going to end, and we're all gonna be back and we're gonna compete, and it's all gonna be good. And we're gonna be stronger because of the process that we've been through here. So, um, I'm, I'm good. Matt Harmon: Let, let, let's just finish with this, uh, a little bit maybe of a hypothetical, um, cuz there are some sports that maybe would have the opportunity to play before others. Um, you think of the, the, the cross countries, the tennis of the world, the golfs of the world. I know the PGA, uh, has already announced when they hope to get back up and going. And then fans later on, could, could either one of you foresee, you know, certain sports maybe being part of the, of the false late without others. Patrick Leahy: I mean, I I'll take a stab at that. Um, I mean the thing I would be most, uh, concerned about Matt is equity. I mean, I would wanna make sure that, uh, to the extent that we're offering athletic opportunities to some of our students that we could offer them to as many of our students as possible. Now I fully recognize not all sports are, you know, as physically demanding as others and require as much preparation as others. I, I, I understand that, but I would wanna make sure that we're doing everything we can to, um, to offer those opportunities to as many students as possible. And I would hate to be in a position where we'd have to select certain sports, but not others. Marilyn McNeil: I, I would completely agree there. I think that one of the defining factors as to when you bring a sport back is when can we bring them back that they are going to be successful from a, a health and safety, welfare and football. I mean, basically you need six weeks to be able to get ready to go out and hit and play that kind of physical game. Whereas you might be able to bring another sport back a little faster because they don't need the same kind of preconditioning. And I've, I've been told very clearly that, uh, cross country is the pandemic sport, uh, because you can just keep going out and running and people are running. So, uh, you know, that's a sport that, that can probably start tomorrow if it needed to be. But I agree. I mean, I think one, we need to get our students back on campus, get them back in an academic atmosphere and then two let's get the athletes out and do the best we can to get them all out. Matt Harmon: Sounds fantastic. I, I appreciate, uh, and I'm, I'm sure president Lehe will say the same thing. I usually give him the last word before signing off, but, uh, Dr. McNeil on, on behalf of myself, thanks for coming on and giving us a little bit of time here on this mammoth weekly, uh, episode and, and kind of tackling it from the athletic standpoint. I wish you obviously nothing but continued help for you and your family and, and, and I hope to be able to see and have a conversation with you in the very near future. Marilyn McNeil: Thanks Matt. Appreciate it, Matt Harmon: President Leahy, any news before we, uh, wrap up? Patrick Leahy: No, I just wanna, um, thank Marilyn for the incredible work that she's doing leading our athletics program. I mean, she's a, she's a legend, not only here at Monmouth, but in, uh, you know, athletic circles around American higher ed and, uh, what she's done, uh, mentoring our coaches so that they might mentor our students is, is really exemplary. In fact, so exemplary that when Marilyn shared with me the way in which the coaches are engaging the, their, their student athletes, we basically adopted that model and decided that, you know, we're gonna create a, a system across all of our 6,000 students so that each of our students, whether they're a part of a natural affinity group, like a team or not are gonna receive that same kind of support and, uh, troubleshooting and so forth, that happens, um, regularly with the coaches and the students. And, um, that was all inspired by the, the great work that's happening in our athletics program. So I just wanna make sure, um, Maryland knows how much, uh, the university appreciates it. Matt Harmon: Great information as always. We thank you for your support. We'll have another episode of Monmouth weekly coming up. Uh, next week, this one, episode six, our focus, the athletic department in Monmouth. We wish everyone continued health and, uh, hopefully will be able to do this, uh, in a different way in the very near future. I'm Matt Harmon, our thanks of course, to university president Patrick Lehe and vice president, director of athletics, Dr. Marilyn McNeil, for those listening, continue to give us some feedback. You can email, uh, myself, president Lehe. You can find us on all sorts of, uh, podcast platforms, whether it is off of SoundCloud, whether it's iTunes, whether it's Spotify, uh, or Google, you will keep you updated week in and week out. Thanks again for joining us. And we'll talk to you next week.