The continuation of small groups and finding differ ent avenues for students to achieve the needed require ments were heavily relied upon during the pandemic. These avenues will continue as the transition to Moody Coliseum continues. “Often in our office, we say that spiritual formation isn’t just something that stu dents come and are required to do,” Eaton said. “Rather as a university, it’s a commitment that we are all making to students, faculty and staff to grow in friendship with God and one another.” Despite the changes, Moody Coliseum is a piece of the puzzle for the Office of Spiritual Life, Eaton said. “One of the things that both Moody and then the Boone Family Theater allows us to do as we have done in the past is truly being able to say that there’s a seat for every one,” Eaton said.
BY SYDNEY VARNER & MACI WEATHERS &
Follow our Twitter for breaking news, live event coverage and more. @acuoptimist Follow our Facebook for weekly coverage, photo galleries and video packages. The Optimist
A better Mood(y):
The Optimist is continually committed to fair and equal coverage across all corner’s of the university and Abilene community as a whole. While times are continuing to change and technology is continuing to advance, the Optimist is working to bring you the news effectively. This year, the Optimsit will publish four print issues. This issue for the first day of classes, a special Homecoming issue, a Sing Song issue and a graduation issue. We will be publish twice-weekly Optimist newsletters, one on Wednes day and one on Friday. The newsletters will come directly to your ACU Beemail.sure to follow our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as keep up with our https://acuoptimist.comwebsite: GALLERYTakealook back at
KEVIN SENIORCAMPBELLVICEPRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS
Editors Note
Commitment to Spiritual Formation For the past six decades, the three-times-a-week spir itual formation opportunity conducted in the arena, affec tionately nicknamed “Moody Chapel,” has been a staple for students and alumni.
“But construction is always disruptive,” Campbell said. “So to me, it’s not as much as pressure relief, it’s more about the excitement that we can open the facility to our entireEachcommunity.”partofthe coliseum is dedicated to the past and the future of ACU athletics and events. The west side is dedicated to student events, and the east is dedicated to the history of athletics. “Moody is a multipurpose arena,” Campbell said. “ACU utilizes that arena more than I can think of other colleges using their arena. It was important to us to not only pay tribute to the past from an athletic per spective but from a student use perspective.”
“I really appreciate Juan Nuñez and Bryan Rain water and our tennis pro grams for allowing us to use their indoor facility the last two years for our basketball team so they didn’t have to play off campus, but I’m excited to have the Teague Center be for tennis and for Moody to be for basket ball,” Lassiter said. Coliseum reopens after renovation
For many students and fac ulty, the large windows, neon signs and LED lights sitting a few yards north of the center of campus are unrecognizable. For others, the new facility is all they’ve ever known. But to everyone, Moody Coliseum is a household name. Sitting just adjacent to the heart of campus, Moody in its newly renovated glory is ushering in a new era for spiritual formation, athletics and culture, creating in itself a new heart of campus with in its Moodywalls. reopened its doors in a grand opening ceremony Friday, though it was already being utilized throughout Wildcat Week for various events. Construction began in January of 2021, and the original plan was to have the facility open in the 2022 springLargesemester. events and tra ditions, such as Opening Chapel and Sing Song, are set to take place in Moody Coliseum for the first time in two years, after both the COVID-19 pandemic and building renovation.
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
ACUOPTIMIST.COM | Monday, August 29, 2022 | 1 A student publication of Abilene Christian University since 1912
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SPORTSBigseason leads to extended contract
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Impact of delays It’s no secret that con struction in Moody took longer than expected. In fact, Moody was exactly one month behind schedule. The delays in completion of Moody were plinths un derneath the basketball court floor and the supply chain is sues that have disrupted the construction process. Supply chain issues con tinue to hit the facility past the completion and open ing of the space, with miss ing lights and graphics still being installed, said Kevin Campbell, senior vice pres ident of “Rightoperations. nowtheyare still installing a lot of the graph ics and we are still working through the architectural punch list,” Campbell said. “As you complete the con struction, then you walk through the facility with the design team and Architects to look for repairs.” Before the construction was completed, Campbell said the pressure was to get the project done in a timely manner to minimize disrup tion on campus.
Wildcat Week 2022 PAGE 4 SEE PAGE 2 20221970
With the loss of a build ing to facilitate this beloved university tradition, the Of fice of Spiritual Life explored different avenues of spiritu al formation opportunities during the past two years. Cyrus Eaton, dean of spiritual life and campus chaplain, said he and oth ers in the Office of Spiri tual Life are finding a new rhythm as the transition back to Moody begins by increasing their focus on leaders and on being ser vants in the new space. In the past, Moody Chap el had a notable tradition of students swiping ID cards before taking their seats. However, during the pan demic, the Office of Spiri tual Life utilized apps like Compass for students to gain their spiritual forma tion points via QR codes. Chapel in Moody will seem even more different to some because the Office of Spiritual Life have imple mented a tap-in method in stead of swiping or scanning. In addition, with the in crease of spiritual formation requirements to 500 points from 400, new opportuni ties will exist for students to earn“We’vecredit. developed differ ent programs and initiatives that are meant to also be in support of spiritual forma tion,” Eaton said. “And so now that we’re back with our big venues, our rhythms of what we’re at the beginning of the pandemic are similar, even though still slightly different.”
BY CARRIE JOHNSTON | CO SPORTS DIRECTOR Photo of Moody Coilseum from 1970. (TOP) & The newly renovated Moody Coliseum. (BOTTOM)
“ACU utilizes that arena more than I can think of other colleges using their arena. It was important to us to not only pay tribute to the past from an athletic perspective, but from a stu dent use perspective.”
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Follow our instagram for weekly coverage, photo galleries, video packages and more. @acuoptimist Theatre set to reopen
A new home for Athletics For the past two years the Teague Center has acted as the home for both men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. Teague, which is intended to be the indoor tennis facility on campus, was also home to weekly Chapel events, as well as Candle light Devotionals, Sing Song Awards and other ACU tra ditions.After two years of facility changes and adapting to a lack of space, the reopening of Moody is allowing all ath letics facilities to be used for their intended purpose. Zack Lassiter, director of athletics, said he is both grate ful for the tennis proTeague Center. He said he is excit ed for Moody to be avail able for use again, not just for athletics, but for the student body as a whole.
“We are doing things like renting lights to start off in stead of having our perma nent lights set in…,” Camp bell“Thesaid.majority of the users will never know the supply chain challenges or see or ex perience it.”
While the reopening of Moody means something different to the students, faculty, staff and alumni, the overarching meaning of Moody, said Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, can be summed up in one word: connect edness. “We as an institution push people into places and spaces where we can enjoy that sense of com munity because we know it may be hard for some, especially those who hav en’t experienced that yet,” Schubert said. “What we’ve talked about with the senior leadership team level is making sure to have heavy promotion and visibility of these major opportunities for students and faculty and staff to feel connected again as a community. And we’re go ing to work really hard to make that highly visible.” In addition to commu nity, the Moody renova
University releases a multifaceted five-year stragetic plan
The six categories that make up the strategic plan are as Elevatefollows:ACU’s academ ic brand to that of a world-class, faith-based national university
ABILENE 101 Oct. 13-16, 2022 acu.edu/homecoming St Abilene TX 79601 (325) 400 0288 wnlo our “Moody’s really a shared facility. Certainly, it’s our home in athletics, but ev ery student starts their ca reer and ends their career at AsMoody.” faras the future of athletics is concerned, Las siter has three goals for the department: For students to grow in their faith, en courage coaches to be spir itual leaders, and – plain and simple – win champi onships. Lassiter said the new facilities will bring a new energy to the teams and the Department of Athletics, but it’s not just the facilities that matter. “It’s a matter of having facilities and infrastruc ture where a student feels like they can invest in being the best selves they could be, and I think what our facilities are doing is providing a place where that can happen, where they believe that this is a university that wants to invest,’’ Lassiter said. “This is important, but it comes about the people that are in those buildings, too.”
BY SYDNEY VARNER EDITOR IN CHIEF
The grand opening of the theatre will be in October when the ACU Theatre De partment will utilize the new space for their production of the homecoming musical, The Little wasPreviouslyMermaid.theproductionhelddowntownatthe Abilene Civic Center. This year musical attendees won’t have to go off campus to see the“Ishow. think everyone is really excited to get started and to have a space that we get to call our own,” said Emilie Reed, senior musical theatre major from Salem, Oregon. The theatre department will begin rehearsing in the theatre on Sept. 26. “We get a lot more time to get used to the space, es pecially as performers which will be really nice,” Reed said. “Getting used to the acoustics in the room and how the sound works and the lights work and the stage itself works…. that will be really nice to have that.” The homecoming musi cal will run from Oct. 13 to Oct. 16. BY CARRIE JOHNSTON | CO-SPORTS DIRECTOR The south entrace of the Boone Family Theatre, which will begin to house students in September.
Strengthen ACU’s finan cial foundation to ag gressively pursue the strategic opportunities
“The logic is that an level.”atlyisacademicinstitution’sprofilemosteffectivestrengthenedthegraduate
DR. PHIL PRESIDENTSCHUBERTOFTHEUNIVERSITY
Although the $9.5 million project has not been signifi cantly impacted by inflation, supply chain issues have slowed down the completion of some parts of the renova tion until December.
• Provide a vibrant stu dent experience that strengthens ACU’s commitment to spir itual formation and leverages ACU’s nation leadership in student Promotesuccess an internal cul ture that celebrates every individual as cre ated uniquely in God’s image
2 | Monday, August 29, 2022 | NEWS
The finishing touches are being added to the newly named Boone Family Theatre as the school year launches into full gear. The construction began in early summer of 2021. The goal was for everything to have been completed four to six weeks ago. “It will still be open and ready for this fall but what we had hoped to do was have a little bit more time this summer to learn the facility, learn the AV and all the technical components of the facility,” said Kevin Campbell, senior vice presi dent for operations.
• Provide a nationally com petitive, Christ-cen tered athletics program that extends the uni versity’s brand and pro pels ACU’s mission.
Bringing back culture
Boone Family Theatre construction nears finish line
BY PAIGE TAYLOR NEWS WRITER
Ofassetsthese six categories there are multiple metrics being tracked for improve ment as well as goals in all areas of the university. A few of the more nota ble goals include increasing ACU Online enrollment by 150%, improving graduate degree offerings by intro ducing more Ph.D. pro grams and exploring op tions of offering advanced medicalSchubertdegrees. said in con junction with the goal of improving the graduate programs, the overall ac ademic brand will be im proved by doing so. “The logic is that an institution’s academic profile is most effectively strengthened at the grad uate level,” Schubert said. As far as advanced med ical degrees are concerned, the university is working to “complete an exhaus tive feasibility study for a new Health Sciences Cen ter” according to the stra tegicSchubertplan. said there may be progress on this front. “I expect there will be a recommendation for us to move forward with a medical school,” Schubert said. However, the recom mendation is the first step in a long process of deciding whether or not a Health Sciences Center is feasible for the university.
A new grand lobby, back stage and restrooms are a few of the more noticeable changes.Changes that may not be as easily noticed include the new lights and new HVAC system.Theseating capacity is now 650, which is about 100 less thanThebefore.creation of a new sound booth and aisles caused the loss of seating.
tion worked to preserve the culture by using the same structure built in the 1960s. “There’s so many as pects of it that feel like it’s brand new, and yet we still get to enjoy knowing that we’re in a facility that was built back in the late ‘60s and has been a big part of the history and cul ture of ACU for decades,” Schubert said. “And yet it feels new and state of the art.”Overall, Schubert is ex cited Moody is creating a central gathering place again.“I’m just super excited aout that part of the co hesiveness of ACU, which Moody over the decades has been a major catalyst for bringing people to gether, causing us to feel connected and as a big ger part of something,” Schubert said. “I think we’re going to feel that immediately on Monday. I felt that the other night with freshmen there. It’s just a great sense of being together.”
The university released its newest five-year strategic plan, outlining initiatives in six separate categories overall focused on student experiences, financial foun dations and elevating the university’s academic brand.
The plan was presented in the annual faculty pre-ses sion meeting Aug. 24 by Dr. Phil Schubert, presi dent of the university, and provost Dr. Robert Rhodes.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
• Develop ACU’s campuses through enhancements that will support our strategic objectives, facilitates growth and provide long-term stewardship of physical
Another goal in the strategic plan states a hope to “compound re cent enrollment gains to allow ACU to enroll an entering freshman class of 950 students each fall.” As of this semester, the estimated freshmen en rollment is 944 freshmen, a significant increase from the previous year. “We’re up 70 freshmen, I feel great about the re bound,” Schubert said. “That’s where we need to be.” Despite the detailed metrics laid out in the plan, Schubert wants people to understand the focus on improving the academic profile of the university. “WhatI want people to know is that the overarch ing focus is to improve an academic file,” Schubert said. “We are pushing the envelope to elevate your academic brand.”
Love yourNeighbor Shareyour Porc h 702 N 2nd
BY MONICA TREJO
Stephen Ornelas Stephen Ornelas passed away Jul. 21, 2022. Or nelas, a student at the university, was the son of Monica Garcia, an instruc tor in the Department of Communication Science Disorders. Ornelas passed away on his 21st birthday. Ornelas graduated from Cooper High School and was initially pursuing an education major, but had recently decided to explore other options of study. Ornelas was an active member and incoming of ficer of Voice, the student education and support group on campus. His mother Garcia said Ornelas found different places to fit in in the com munity being his authen tic self and made friends across the board. “I think within the Voice community he was encouraged to feel like he could still make a differ ence here at ACU and re ally just be courageous in that,” Garcia said. “ I think as a mom, I know what he meant to us as a family and where he fit in in our family and all the attributes that we loved about him. But I think what’s been really good is that every body else said the same things, courage, authen ticity, kindness, his faith, all of those things that we appreciated about him. That was what every body else saw about him as Ornelaswell.” was a part of a larger family with siblings ranging in age from 23 to three-years-old.Garciasaidhis element was from a family stand point and that if you ask any of her kids who their favorite sibling was, they would all say Stephen.
Dr. Paul B. Faulkner (‘52) died July 5, 2022 at the age of Faulkner,92. depending on the era, may be remem bered as a minister, teach er, colleague or one half of the Marriage Enrichment Seminar he started with Dr. Carl Brecheen (‘52). Faulkner earned a mas ters degree from ACU in 1961 and both masters and doctoral degrees ma joring in psychology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1966 and Faulkner1968. founded the Marriage and Family In stitute at ACU in 1979 and was a licensed mar riage and family thera pist and a clinical and supervisory member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. In1974, Brecheen and Faulkner conducted the first seminar as a part of their series of Marriage Enrichment Seminars. Five years later, anoth er seminar drew upwards of 1,00 attendees and was videotaped and distribut ed, in total being seen by more than 2 million peo pleDr.worldwide. HeidiMorris, asso ciate professor in the De partment of Marriage and Family Studies said that Faulkner’s legacy extends far beyond his seminars.
To Garcia and Ornelas’ siblings, it seemed like Stephen always had some thing going on. “I think my favorite thing about him is his en ergy,” Garcia said. “It’s just that’s what we were saying, that we missed so much. It’s his laughter and his infectious energy, he always had something going on. It was like, he would throw open the door because he lived in our backyard in a little house that he had built, and come into our garage, and have a plan.” This birthday was no expectation as Ornelas, who was passionate about music, fashion and pho tography, was planning a photoshoot. “Hewas always want ing, especially around his birthday, to do photo shoots,” Garcia said. “He had a theme every year that he was going to do. He was always just like that. He just always had a lot of energy and a lot of plans.” Ornelas grew up ac tively participating in the church, specifically the Catholic Church, where he served as an altar server and attended youth groups and young adult groups. “I feel like even all of the young adults that were in his group felt the same as far as he would just check in on them and create those lasting friendships. He was finding how his personal relationship with God fit into things,” Gar cia said. “ I think that he was do ing a good job of trying to figure that out.” To Ornelas himself, the most important piece of advice was this: be your self. “Be you,” Ornelas said in a writing his mother read at his funeral. “Only two opinions matter in thisThatworld.is what you and God think of yourself. Never give someone pow er over you, diminish your light for no one, change for no one but yourself.” Ornelas is survived by his mother, and his sib lings.
Dr. Paul Faulkner
Dr. Andrea Di Stefano passed away June 6, 2022 while visiting his family in Italy. Di Stefano, an ad junct professor of history and global studies, held a doctor of research from the Università degli Studi di Teramo in Italy. Before moving to Abilene in 2016, Di Ste fano worked in two lead ing museums in Italy and taught for the University of New Hampshire’s Study AbroadDuringprogram.his time at ACU, he taught class es in Abilene and online through ACU Dallas, in turn mentoring hundreds of students while work ing toward receiving his Master of Divinity degree in the Graduate School of Theology. According to Dr. Kelly Elliott, associate profes sor and department chair in the History and Glob al Studies department, Di Stefano was working on his thesis on Church of Christ mission work in It aly. While in Italy during te summer, Di Stefano had planned to visit the Vati can where he had received permission to visit some recently opened archives. “He had actually just gotten permission to visit some recently opened ar chives in the Vatican relat ed to that, and that’s a re ally hard thing…you can’t just email the Vatican,” Elliot said. “He was really excited that he had gotten that permission.”Manystudents and col leagues would recall that Di Stefano was Catholic and spoke from that per spective and overall used his connections and skills to help broaden the worl dview of students in ways other faculty may not have. “He really just broad ened the world of our stu dents in a way that a lot of faculty maybe didn’t have the ability to do just be cause he was from such a different point of view,” Elliot said. “He was also very much a Catholic and really spoke from that perspective, so I think it was nice for stu dents in this more Church of Christ or broadly evan gelical environment to hear that different per spective within the Chris tianHowever,tradition.”despite all of his accolades and accom plishments, perhaps one of the most memorable things about Dr. Di Ste fano was his love of all things Texas and cowboy culture.
BY SYDNEY VARNER EDITOR IN CHIEF
Watercolor painting memorializing Stephen Ornelas painted by Monica Trejo Dr. Charlie “Doc” Marler (‘55), professor emeritus of journalism and mass communication and influential historian, died May 27, 2022 at the age of 89 following a short illness. Marler held a revered career at the university, serving and mentoring students for 58 years. Marler earned a B.A. in English in 1955 and a M.A. in history in 1968, both from ACU, and lat er earned his doctorate in journalism from the University of Missouri in 1974. Marler’s 58 year career continued when he served as ACU’s first sports in formation director from 1958-1963, director of information and publica tions from 1964-1971. Marler began teaching in what became the Jour nalism and Mass Commu nication Department in 1974 and served in various roles in the department untilMarler,2003. whose teach ing specialities including Communication Law, Opinion Writing and Pub lication Design, also ad vised The Optimist and many students remember one thing about their time working with him: the red pen. Mary Jackson (‘89) served as the Optimist sports editor her senior year. “My memories of being an Optimist sports editor as a non-mass comm/jour nalism major … so much red ink,” Jackson said. “I think I probably helped Doc keep the Bic pen company in business.” And while the red ink was legendary amongst students, it wasn’t always what students would find on their “Freshmanpages. year, every week I would see The Op timist pinned on the wall marked up with Doc’s red pen,” said Sharla Smalling (‘90).“The first time I de signed a page for The Op timist, I nervously wait ed for the mark up to be hung.Tomy surprise, the only red on my page was writ ten at the top. ‘Nice job!’ I was so happy. It never hap pened again. Dr. Marler and his red pen taught me to stand back, take anoth er look and ask: How can it be Butbetter?”aboveall of the gru eling editing and meticu lous standards, ‘Doc’ was helped his students grow as both communicators andDocpeople. created an envi ronment for learning that helped students rise to the top of their potential with his quiet confidence and careful correction,” said Allison Wood (‘90). “He allowed space for freedom of thought, ques tions to be asked and con clusions to be drawn… Doc helped his students grow into ethical com municators and we are all grateful for this leadership andDr.counsel.” Marler is preceded in death by his parents, William Owen Marler and Velma Valentine Marler McCabe.Heissurvived by his wife Peggy, sons and daughtersin-law and his grandchil dren, including three
“He has the best vision ary skill and also the abili ty to put things into prac tice,” Morris said. “I think at the heart of what I know of him and his family, he had a pas sion for his own family and his own marriage and his life of faith. I think that influenced his desire to want to help other people have healthy and rewarding marriages andFaulkner’sfamily.” passion for service and teaching left a mark on the department and a new center is be ing named the Paul and Gladys Faulkner Center for Marriage and Family which will run educational efforts for the department. Faulkner retired from the university in 1992 and continued to teach adjunct while founding his compa ny Resources for Living, a counseling service for ma jor American businesses including McLance Truck ing, Walmart and others. “It’s pretty revolution ary.” Morris said. “His founding of Re sources for a Living was very successful and really tapped into some of cor porate America in making connections for employ ees for mental health ser vices.” Faulkner is preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Consuelo Faulkner, Gladys, his wife of 64 years and sisters Dartha Fay Starr and Jean Faulk ner.He is survived by two daughters, two sons and their spouses as well as eight grandchildren and seven great grandchil dren.
Memorializing dearly missed members of the ACU community
Dr. Charlie H. Marler
Over the summer, several members of the ACU com munity passed away. Now we honor them, their memories and the impact they have with the greater Abilene Community. Each of those who have passed away this summer was be loved member of the community and they will be dear ly Themissed.ACU Counseling Center is available on campus and can be reached at counseling@acu.edu or 325-6742626, and counseling services are also available through our telehealth provider, Wildcat Care.
ACU REMEMBERS
Dr. Andrea Di Stefano
OBITUARY | Monday, August 29, 2022 | 3
“This small Italian man who’s very charming and very gentlemanly and tra ditional, who also wore, like, a large belt buck le and boots and hat and loved the music,” Elliot said.“So that was just al ways a really funny, quirky thing about him that he was known for and stu dents looked for his hat and all of that.” Before he passed, Di Ste fano was looking for land in the Abilene area seem ingly to live out his cowboy dream, but in the interim, his colleagues in the Histo ry and Global Studies De partment took matters into their own hands. “Dr. Amanda Biles and Professor Beth Purcell re did an office for him, and they did it in a country western theme so there was this fake cow skin rug on the floor, we had a deer skull on the wall, and that was something that we did without him being aware of it,” Elliot said. “And so he just came in one day and walked in, and it was all done. He was loved enough by stu dents and colleagues that we wanted to redecorate his office. He was special.” Di Stefano is survived by his parents and his brother.
4 | Monday, August 29, 2022 | MEDIA GALLERY
BY MEGHAN LONG | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Owen Fisher, freshman architecture and interior design major from Abilene, lights his neighbors candle.
BY SYDNEY VARNER |
Students and families pray at the end of the Goodbye Blessing.
BY SYDNEY VARNER | EDITOR IN CHIEF Freshman take photos of the sky and listen to professorRandyemeritusHarris.
Dr. John Boyles, associate professor of Bible, missions and ministry, gives advice tofreshmen.incoming
EDITOR IN CHIEF Families walk across campus arm in arm.
BY SYDNEY VARNER | EDITOR IN CHIEF Trevon Hardy, senior management major from Houston, helps direct traffic in front of Bullock Hall.
Admissions counselor Macy McAlister gives directions to a parent outside of Mabee Hall.
BY SYDNEY VARNER |
WELCOMING NEW WILDCATS
BY MEGHAN LONG | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
EDITOR IN CHIEF
BY SYDNEY VARNER |
EDITOR IN CHIEF
MEDIA GALLERY | Monday, August 29, 2022 | 5
BY MEGHAN LONG | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Noble Nines Wildcat Week group gives answers for the trivia game. BY SYDNEY VARNER | EDITOR IN CHIEF Two students celebrate a winning shot.
BY MEGHAN LONG | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
EDITOR IN CHIEF
BY SYDNEY VARNER | EDITOR IN CHIEF Students celebrate after making the winning shot in the basketball game.
A new Wildcat loses control of her scooter.
A new Wildcat focuses as she traps a ball. BY SYDNEY VARNER | EDITOR IN CHIEF Students compete to win the game of water volleyball. BY SYDNEY VARNER |
A freshman Wildcat Week group play 9 Square outside of the Royce Money Recreation Center. BY SYDNEY VARNER | EDITOR IN CHIEF
Another business new to Allen Ridge is Summer Moon. ACU head men’s ten nis coach and alumnus Juan Nuñez (‘10, ‘13) and his wife and alumnae Shelby Nuñez (‘13) opened the doors of Abilene’s newest coffee shop on Aug. Shelby13. said the couple has loved Summer Moon’s coffee since 2011 when they first started going to an Austin branch. In 2020, she and Juan emailed the CEO of the franchise and their jour ney to becoming coffee shop owners began. “It’s been a labor of love,” Shelby said. “It’s been a long time coming. We’ve had, probably just like any business owner, hurdles to jumpShelbythrough.” saidshe and Juan have been praying over the shop for months, even before the groundbreaking, as they hope to create a place the community can enjoy. “We want it to be a place where people can gather and fellowship together over a good cup of coffee,” Shelby said. And in their two weeks of being open, Shelby and Juan seem to have created just that. On opening day, Shelby said the door barely closed as the line stretched out of the building, and the shop has stayed bustling ever since. Seven and One Within the next few weeks, an independent-style book shop will join Abilene’s downtown scene as the Kas selmans work toward open ing their book sanctuary. The Kasselman family has a role in the Seven and One book shop, and Spencer Kas selman, a senior Bible major from Abilene, is the general manager. He said the vision behind the bookstore is to give Abilene a place for col lective learning.
BY SHERIDAN WOOD FEATURES EDITOR BY SHERIDAN WOOD FEATURES EDITOR
BY SYDNEY VARNER |
Summer Moon
“We view this shop as an opportunity to glorify God’s name in the community and with our crew and with our guests,” Roberts said. The snowcone shop couldn’t have opened at a better time, as its first sum mer in operation came in a season of record-breaking high temperatures for the Abilene area. Even as the weather starts to cool down, the community will be able to enjoy the franchise’s treats all year long.
BY MEGHAN LONG | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Dodd Roberts opened Bahama Bucks just in time for a heatwave.
6 | Monday, August 29, 2022 | FEATURES
Now that Wildcat Week 2022 is over, Student Life officials will begin the ap plication process to choose next year’s Wildcat Week student directors in the coming fall months. The planning process will begin again, and a new group of dedicated directors will join the cycle in keeping ACU’s traditions alive.
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Student directors celebrate a sucessful Goodbye Blessing.
“We want it to be a place when you open the door, through the products that we sell, through our team be hind the counter and walking the floor, that you have been properly seen and understood and actively be ing welcomed in that space, no matter who you are,” Kas selman said. In addition to Seven and One, Kasselman’s dad David is one of the three owners of Grain Theory, right next door to the new bookstore. Kasselman said the family is looking forward to open ing the shop and giving the Abilene community a unique place to slow down, learn and grow. “It’s one of the few business es in modern times that you just simply go just to browse and just to exist within the space,” he said. “You can take away something without even buyingConstructionanything.” may delay the opening but Kasselman said the family hopes to open the shop in September.
Every year, new Wildcats gather the week before their first ACU classes to meet new friends, get acquainted with campus and learn the school’s traditional songs. And every year, a group of motivated students makes it happen, with hopes to give the incoming fresh man class a fun and wel coming week to begin their college experience. A team of eight student directors carry the respon sibility of ensuring that new students have a safe and fun environment to make their first ACU memories. They spent the last nine months planning 30-plus team building and tradition-in stilling events for the over 1,000 freshman and transfer students who participated in Wildcat Week. Events throughout the week were not just all over campus, but all over Abilene. From bouncing at the trampoline park, to pad dling at Lake Fort Phantom, to enjoying an on-campus carnival, the student direc tors facilitated a way for new students to get familiar with their college campus andPlanningtown. so many events takes a lot of time and co ordination. One of the di rectors is Sam Carter, a se nior electrical engineering major from San Antonio. He said communication has been key in working with the university and dif ferent organizations to get all of the on campus events on the “There’scalendar. just so much scheduling and planning that you have to do,” Carter said. “You basically have to be thinking 10 steps ahead.” Although planning is a big part of the team’s job, the directors are in charge of many small behind-thescenes details that go into making the week. Abby Young, senior advertising and public relations major from Skippack, Pennsylva nia, is on the student direc tor team this year. She said some of the extra details include choosing the curric ulum for the mentor groups and training the mentor group leaders, setting up games like Nine Square for the group olympics and even making sure boats used for the olympics float in the pool. “It’s the perfect crossover between the oversight and planning and the boots on the ground, nitty-gritty stuff of it,” Young said. Although it is a lot of work, Young said it was import ant to her to give students a meaningful experience. “I love the idea that I can give someone the feel ing that they’re home, the feeling that I have had at ACU,” she said. “Some thing that a lot of the di rectors this year have been super intentional about trying with our leaders and with those around us is just trying to get to know everyone. Obviously we aren’t all going to know everyone, but I want peo ple to feel like they can find a friend here, find a homeCarterhere.” echoes Young’s determination to get to know the new students and make them feel wel come at ACU. “I find the most joy in meeting the people that we [planned] all of these events for, and just donating 100% of my energy to all of the things that we are doing,” Carter said. In the aftermath of a suc cessful Wildcat Week, the directors’ hard work seems to have payed off. Emma Jaax, a junior accounting and finance major from San Antonio who partic ipated in Wildcat Week as a peer group leader, ex pressed her appreciation for the enthusiasm the di rectors have brought to the student“They’revolunteers.fantastic,” Jaax said. “I’ve really enjoyed their spirit and organization.”
Over the past few years, Abilene has been expand ing with new businesses and infrastructure, several of which are owned and operated by members of the ACU community. In 2022, three of Abilene’s newest businesses run by ACU staff and students have opened – or are in the process of opening – and take ACU’s mission of service into the local community. Bahama Bucks Dodd Roberts serves stu dents as director of ACU’s Halbert Center for Missions and Global Service, and al though his ACU job centers around service throughout the world, he’s also serving the local Abilene communi ty via snowcones, smooth ies and acai bowls as the owner of Bahama Bucks in AllenTheRidge. shopjust opened in February after a two year delay thanks to COVID. Now that the store has been up and running for a few months, Roberts said the response from both the community and university students has been “fantas tic”...
Director team worked together to welcome new Wildcats ACU business owners seek to serve Abilene community
“We get so many ACU students over here, and fac ulty and staff, and we are blessed to have that and are excited about it.” In addition to giving the community a place to cool down with cold treats in Abilene’s hot summer tem peratures, Roberts also uses his store to carry ACU’s mis sion into the community by investing in the lives of his employees and facilitating a variety of fundraising events.
BY MEGHAN LONG | CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Spencer Kasselman hopes to open Seven and One book shop by September.
University leaders ask faculty and students to report positive cases to the Weber Medical Clin ic to continue monitor ing trends and caseloads throughout the year.
Study Abroad will be sent off students for fall semester
Students will be leaving on Wednesday for their semes ter-long study abroad des tinations. 35students are studying abroad this semester and had a choice between three programs in Montevideo, Uruguay; Leipzig, Germa ny; and Oxford, England. Of the three, 24 students will going to Oxford, six to Montevideo and five to Leipzig. These programs al low students to live in dif ferent places and experience different cultures for an en tire semester while also get ting university class credits. ACU is constantly improv ing these programs to give students the best experience. These changes are based on feedback they received from previous students. “We have gotten a lot bet ter at communicating with the students,” said Anna Johnston, student study abroad ambassador and ju nior management and mar keting major from Waco. The Study Abroad office has also started to reach out to students to improve the scheduling and experi ences during the trips by adapting classes and other aspects of the trips to give students the opportunity to go out and explore. These programs are also changing as COVID restrictions continue to loosen.The restrictions depend on what each country has in place for people traveling.
BY JAYLYNN WARD NEWS WRITER
THE OPTIMIST STAFF SYDNEY VARNER EDITOR IN CHIEF MARIAH WILLIAMS BREAKING NEWS EDITOR MACI WEATHERS NEWSLETTER EDITOR SHERIDAN WOOD FEATURES EDITOR CARRIE JOHNSTON CO SPORTS DIRECTOR CONNOR MULLINS CO SPORTS DIRECTOR KAYLEE KAHN ASSISTANT SPORTS DIRECTOR MEGHAN LONG CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER CHISHOLMNATHANIEL NEWSCAST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SHELBY BYRD VIDEO DIRECTOR RYLAND MALLETT NEWS WRITER PAIGE TAYLOR NEWS WRITER JAYLYNN WARD NEWS WRITER ASHLEE REED NEWS WRITER SAMANTHA GERBER PHOTOGRAPHER ALAINA WILMON VIDEOGRAPHER KENNETH PYBUS FACULTY ADVISER CADE WHITE VISUALS ADVISER LISA WIGGINS ADVERTISING MANAGER arts@acuoptimist.com DESIGN DESK kacu@acuoptimist.com KACU RADIO NEWS news@optimist.com NEWS DESK opinion@acuoptimist.com OPINION DESK optimist@acuoptimist.com THE OPTIMIST photo@acuoptimist.com PHOTO DESK sports@acuoptimist.com SPORTS DESK video@optimist.com VIDEO DESK EDITORIAL & LETTER POLICY Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessari ly reflect the views of the university or its adminis tration.Signed columns, cartoons and letter are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the view points of the Optimist or the university.TheOptimist encourages reader response through let ters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing personal attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous infor mation or invasive privacy. Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be in cluded for verification pur poses. Phone numbers will not be published. TO SEND LETTER TO EDITOR ACU BOX 27892 ABILENE, TX, 79609 ADDRESS EDITOR@ACUOPTIMIST.COM EMAIL New GATA fountain moves in front of Moody Coliseum Administration individualizes health response to COVID-19 BY MARIAH WILLIAMS | BREAKING NEWS EDITOR Old GATA Fountain turned into a flower bed. BY MARIAH WILLIAMS BREAKING NEWS EDITOR BY RYLAND MALLETT NEWS WRITER
NEWS | Monday, August 29, 2022 | 7
“You don’t have to be tested before entering [Uruguay],” said Mya Parker, program assistant forAsMontevideo.ACUismaking initia tives to improve programs forOnestudents.ofthe most recent ways has been through the purchase and renovation of a house in Oxford for stu dents and faculty to live in as they study abroad. The first residents moved into the facility in fall of 2021 after more than 30 years of students staying in leasedThisfacilities.house accommo dates 26 students and fac ulty with eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, two kitch ens, five reception rooms, a studio and an outside deck and backyard. Study abroad students will be sent off with a goodbye in the Hunter Welcome Center at 1:30 p.m.ThisonWednesday.sendoffwill in clude time to say words of encouragement to stu dents who will leave and a group prayer before they depart. TheStudy Abroad office will also be hosting an an nual application day party for students that are inter ested in studying abroad in future semesters. This event will give infor mation about different pro grams and will offer advice and guidance in the appli cation process. This will take place in September, but the official date has not been set.
“I think in the pandemic we were trying to layer pol icies on to everybody and there were places that was helpful at times and there were other places where that wasn’t very helpful at times,” Long“Andsaid.so I think we are able to move back now to personal care and address ing individuals and not theIndividualwhole.” professors now have the authority to deter mine attendance policies and expectations for illness related absences in their classes.Administration recom mends sick students stay at home in their dorm or off campus housing until they are well or approved by their healthcare provider to return to “Iclass.am thankful that I know that’s not a fear I have to have anymore,” Jonah Norcross, junior DET major from Georgetown said.
The new guidelines an nounced Aug. 15 mean the university will no longer con duct contact tracing of the COVID-19 virus and will not manage or require isola tion or quarantine for those who test positive for highly communicable diseases. Dr. Tamara Long, vice president for student life, announced ACU’s updated guidelines for addressing highly communicable dis eases like COVID-19 and monkeypox in an email.
“I get to be in person. I get to do things without this abnormal fear that we had for two years of physi calLonghealth.”said she recognizes the ACU community has people with varying con cerns about the physical and mental health of themselves andSheothers.said conversations between students and fac ulty about individual anx ieties will help shift the community back into a sense of normalcy.
“We are back [to the nor mal] regardless of where people feel in comfort to that and I am hopeful if any thing we have learned to al low people to have the abil ity to choose for themselves what is best at this point,” LongThesaid.absence of strict health guidelines means campus activities can return to a state students have not seen in two years. Long says she has missed the big Chapel most since the beginning of the pandemic. “We are excited to have stu dents back and to feel like we have students that are going to get to experience ACU fully and to watch our sophomores and juniors get to experience a part of ACU they have not gotten to experience yet.” Norcross and other stu dents notice the small changes to the campus like reusable utensils in the bean, extra outdoor seating and in person classes.
“I think this specific class has a lack of connec tion with ACU itself,” Jo nah Norcross said. “There is not a lot of school spirit that I think you would have seen in a lot of previous classes because of the lack of guidelines.”
Crews are working to relo cate the GATA fountain, a central point on campus since 1970, to a new home. The new fountain will be about 40 yards north of its current location south of Moody Coliseum. It will be the center of a plaza area for students to have a spot to congregate before Chapel or in be tween classes. The fountain is designed to have a crescent shape with a flowing stream of wa ter starting from the center and spilling to the sides. What prompted the con versation was a mixture of the renovations to Moody and GATA members want ing a change with the fountain in general, Kevin Campbell, senior vice presi dent of operations, said. “Instead of having two things that were compet ing against each other, we pitched the idea to them: what if we made that fea ture the GATA fountain and moved it north a little closer to Moody?” Camp bell“Wesaid.showed them some renderings and they really thought it was a great idea.” In place of the old foun tain is a flower bed that will remain until further notice to pay homage to its previ ousGATApresence.members have mixed emotions about the move of such a central part of campus and their club. Kristin Emmert, a soph omore math major from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said she will miss the place ment and history of it. “I liked it being in the middle of campus and a part of campus traditions and I feel it might take away from that,” Emmert said. “I see the benefits from it be ing in front of Moody.” Julia Dobbs, a senior graphic design major from Allen, said she hopes the new design will hold beauty that reflects the sorority. “Maybe make the flowers a bit more red, because our colors are red and white,” Dobbs said. “As long as they make it look nice and take care of it, I think it should be great. It is sad to see something old go, but also exciting to see new things for GATA.” The GATA fountain went through renovations to the current design in the earlyCampbell2000s. said its design was based on the trends during that time and the Olympics.“Inthe 1996 Olympics, there were some fountains that were similar to what we have now,” Campbell said. “That became the trend but we’ve had struggles with the concept over the years with the Abilene wind.”
The original GATA foun tain served somewhat as a wading pool for students. They would jump and emerge themselves in the fountain for fun. Camp bell said that over time, the fountain “lost its char acter” and prompted a change in Constructiondesign. plans to be completed and have the new fountain in full oper ation by October 2022 in time for Homecoming.
BY CONNOR MULLINS CO-SPORTS DIRECTOR
Another addition to next season is the newly renovat ed Moody Coliseum which is set to be open this coming August. After two years at the Teague Center where the Wildcats went 27-3, Tanner said he’s looking forward to the new“Thefacility.two years in the Teague Center were awe some,” Tanner said. “I’ve taken memories out of that building to where now, every time I walk in that building, it’s going to be a completely different feeling to me than before. But we’re really excit ed about the new Moody and just starting kind of a new era of ACU basketball and our fans are going to love it and I know our players are going to lovePreparationsit.” for next sea son has begun with next season’s schedule yet to be released. Tanner’s second sea son at the helm is starting to come together with more up dates to come.
New head football coach Keith Patterson and the Wildcats are preparing for the start of the 2022 season, which is marked by the conclusion of fall camp and the upcoming Sept. 1 matchup against familiar foe the Lamar PattersonCardinals.hashis work cut out for him with ACU’s last winning season coming in 2018 when the Wildcats went 6-5. Patterson takes over a Wildcats team that encoun tered a fair share of struggles last season. Under former head coach Adam Dorrel, ACU fin ished 2021 with a 5-6 overall record. The morning after the Wildcats’ last game of the sea son, the Athletic Department revealed Dorrel would not re turn to coach at ACU. Two weeks later on Dec. 6, Patterson, the former defen sive coordinator at Texas Tech became the new head coach of the Wildcats. Before his hiring, Patterson was a part of coach ing staffs across the country, from Tempe to Pittsburgh to Utah to now Abilene. As the Wildcats entered the beginning of fall camp, Patterson integrated multiple new strategies to help turn around the Wildcat football program. To help promote the new culture he desires to bring, Patterson emphasized the importance of his players striving for excellence. One of the players partic ipating in fall camp includes last year’s starting quarter back, Peyton Mansell. Re turning for his third season as a Wildcat, Mansell said this year is already different.
Sixteen minutes is all it took for sophomore forward Chayse Thorn and the Wild cats (1-1) to open scoring in a 4-0 home opener win against the University of Texas-El Paso Miners (0-2) on a drizzly Sunday afternoon. Nine minutes later, Thorn found herself on a breakaway and used her speed to double her team’s lead. Five minutes after Thorn’s solo goal, the Miners dug their hole deeper with a handball in the penalty area. Senior midfielder Natalie Jones then tucked away the penalty kick to push the lead to 3-0. The emphatic start saw the Wildcats head to halftime with a comfortable 3-0 lead. “Well, I was just honestly, I was always open,” Thorn said. “The first one, I was like, I’m going to just try and shoot this and try to make the most of it. And the second one, I just had all that space and no one was really pressing me. So I was like, I’m going to just take it until I have that space. So I just took the shot because I was there and that was it.” Goals continued for ACU with junior defender Sami Brown finding her way onto the scoresheet with a solo goal in the 82nd minute. Brown’s second half goal was the first of her career. Her goal along with Thorn’s first half brace and Jones’ penalty spot goal led the Wildcats to a 4-0“Itwin.was nice, we love playing at home,” said head coach Ca sey“TheWilson.weather was a lit tle humid today, but it was great. And like I said, the team really put a few pieces of work together and really played well tonight.” ACU has been dominant against the Miners in recent memory, winning the last five matches dating all the way back to 2015. The 4-0 win is the largest margin of victory between the two with Sun day being the first time either team has won by more than one“Forgoal.us it just means so much,” Thorn said. “ I feel like we’ve been working real ly, really hard this week to try and get a win and play for our team and play for ourselves. So to get this win is just really big for us. It’s really a lift for us and it feels Redshirt-sophomoregood.” goal keeper Lily Foster did not see action on Sunday with an ap parent injury giving freshman Lili Ross the start in goal. Ross earned her first clean sheet of the season with two saves. Prior to Sunday’s win against UTEP, ACU found themselves in a cagey affair at the University of North Texas on Aug. 18. ACU took the lead 28 minutes in following a goal from freshman midfield er Hannah Vetromile. How ever, the Mean Green roared back scoring five in a 5-1 win. “Well, you know not that we’re off to a slow start,” Wilson said. “But again we’ve kind of got fed some lunch here in the last couple of weeks. So playing tough teams like we did really made us examine our weak spots and it was good to see them respond like they did today and that was awesome.” Next for the Wildcats is a road trip to the Louisi ana Tech Bulldogs (1-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 26.
BY CARRIE JOHNSTON | CO-SPORTS DIRECTOR Sophomore quarterback Maverick McIvor practicing.
Reese Miller: 6’3 guard, walk-on freshman, averaged over 20 points per game at Round Rock High School Colby Tanner: guard, walk-on redshirt freshman, student manager last season and is Tanner’s son. “We added athleticism but more importantly, my goal with this class was to add size,” Tanner said. “When I talk about size I’m not talking about centers, we needed to add size on the perimeter. We needed to be able to take guys like Tobias and move him back to his natural position and Cam back. I think we’ve ac complished that, I hope.”
BY TELVEE MARVIE | PHOTOGRAPHER Freshman defender and midfielder Grace Ornelas and senior forward Christina Arteaga force an opposing player out of bounds.
8 | Monday, August 29, 2022 | SPORTS
BY CONNOR MULLINS CO-SPORTS DIRECTOR BY CARRIE JOHNSTON CO-SPORTS DIRECTOR
Head basketball coach Brette Tanner and the Wildcats have re-loaded its roster bringing in seven new additions after a highly successful season in its first season in the Western Athletic Conference. In Tanner’s first season, the Wildcats went 25-11 overall and 11-7 in WAC play. The focal point of ACU’s season was the WAC Championship appearance the team made as the No. 6 seed before falling to the No. 1 seed New Mexico State Aggies, 66-52. Tanner’s team then moved onto the College Basketball Invitational, again as the No. 6 seed. The Wildcats won their first two rounds over No. 11 Troy and No. 3 Ohio before falling to No. 2 Mid dle Tennessee State 85-69 in the“Oursemifinals.major thing is to have a great season next year, and if that ends up in a confer ence title, that’s great, but if it doesn’t so be it,” Tanner said. “I’m very proud of the season we just had and we didn’t win a regular season or postseason title, but I think what we ac complished this past year was far beyond what anybody may haveWithexpected.”theseason ending on Mar. 22 and several graduating seniors, Tanner and his staff moved quickly to fill six spots on his roster ahead of their 2022-2023 campaign. Com ing in for the Wildcats include Joe Pleasant: 6’7 forward, graduate transfer, former Wild cat who transferred to Wichita State last season Hunter-Jack Madden: 6’2 guard, sophomore, played for Coach Crass at Otero Junior College Ali Dibba: 6’4 wing, soph omore, Chicago State transfer Jai’Vion Seat: 6’3 guard, freshman, 2022 Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year Muodubem Muoneke: 6’5 wing, freshman, two-star rat ing on 247Sports, Tanner said he’s, “one of the highest rated players we’ve ever gotten.”
Leaving the Wildcats are senior guards Coryon Ma son, Reggie Miller and Mahki Morris. Other Wildcats who decided to enter the transfer portal are Logan McLaughlin: 6’1 guard, sophomore, transferring to New Mexico Highlands University, a Div. II program Furaha Cadeux de Dieu: 6’8 forward, junior, trans ferring to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, a Div. II program Stevie Smith: 6’6 guard, ju nior, uncommitted Jameson Richardson: 6’8 forward, sophomore, transfer ring to Southeastern Oklaho ma State, a Div. II school “We’re starting to look more like a mid-major division one basketball team,” Tanner said. “Now whether we’re going to play like it remains to be seen, but we definitely will be big ger. You know, that was our major goal.” In addition to the roster changes were a couple coach ing changes as well with as sistant coach Kyle Bankhead heading to the University of San Francisco in the same role. With his departure, Tanner brought back former ACU assistant coach Ted Crass to fill the role. Crass spent the past two seasons at Otero Junior College where he went 39-12. Tanner said he wanted to add another head coach to his staff and Crass said it was an easy decision to come back to Abilene. Tanner and Crass were communicating before the position was even open. As well, Crass said that Tanner was helping him with other Div. I jobs so that he didn’t get stuck at the JUCO level. Crass said he loved his time at Otero but is looking forward to the future at ACU.
Seven new additions highlight eventful postseason for Tanner
“I believe in Coach Tan ner,” Crass said. “It’s not like I’m walking back into the same job. We got a new are na, I got a new head coach, a new athletic director, we have a brand new conference. It’s a new job. I spent four years of my life here so in a lot of ways it’s coming back home. The people that I care about and care about me are still here and I’m glad to be back.” In addition to Crass are Vince Walker, the new Direc tor of Operations, and Da mian De Santiago, the new director of strength and condi tioning. Walker comes from an assistant coaching role at Pitts burg State, a Div. II program. The Gorillas were 30-50 in that span. De Santiago comes from Texas Tech where he was the assistant strength and con ditioning coach for the men’s program. The Red Raiders finished their season No. 12 in theSeveralcountry.way-too-early WAC predictions for next year have the Wildcats finishing first in its second year in the WAC. Tanner said his goal for every season is to have a great season and compete for conference titles. Tanner said they came up short last year but expect to have another great season.
Patterson ushers in a new era for ACU football
“Anyone who’s been through fall camp knows how much of a grind it is,” Mansell said. “It’s three to four weeks of just going, and I think the new coaches did a great job of tak ing care of us and not grinding us down. The team’s been real ly coming together and grown a lot physically, emotionally and as a Anotherbrotherhood.”playerreturning to the Wildcats’ roster is senior wide receiver Kobe Clark, who led the Wildcats with 64 receptions in the 2021 season. Initially, when Dorrel left ACU, Clark entered the transfer portal to examine all of his options. But after meet ing with Patterson, Clark ulti mately left the transfer portal to return to ACU for his final year of eligibility. “I was kind of freaking out a little bit, honestly,” said Clark. “I did not know what kind of coach that we were going to bring in, and one I talked to Coach Patterson, it was a re ally good conversation. It was very blunt and honest, but also genuine, so he was one of the reasons came back.” Along with Clark and Mansell returning to the Wildcats, Patterson and his staff added numerous fresh men and 19 transfers from both FCS and FBS programs. One of the new faces for the Wildcats includes sophomore quarterback Maverick McIv or, a transfer from Texas Tech. The San Angelo native said he has grown to love the fami ly-oriented atmosphere that ACU has shown him. “It’s been pretty seamless, and the coaches have really poured into me,” McIvor said. “Tech was a little bit different in the sense that it was a dif ferent realm of football with a different conference and play ers. But I’ve fallen in love with ACU by being here and seeing how different it is.” With fall camp reaching its conclusion and the regular season looming around the corner, McIvor eagerly antic ipates the start of the 2022 season, with the catalyst of his excitement resulting in the chemistry built with his team during“We’recamp.init pretty deep, and we are starting to build bonds that will be great for the rest of the season,” McIvor said. “From day one to now, the chemistry has been starting to come together, and we have a big one next week that we are excitedPattersonabout.”and the Wildcats open the 2022 season at home against Lamar University on Thursday at 7 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+.
Wildcats’ emphatic start rattles Miners in home win
