AhearnFund.com

Each Monday we will post answers to some of your questions on all things K-State sports. Submit your questions to ahearnfund@kstatesports.com. Here’s your Monday Mailbag for October 12, 2009.

What is the best way I can buy remaining season tickets for Men’s and Women’s Basketball? 
Jacob- Wichita, KS

The best opportunity would be to attend the open practice and the open scrimmage that the basketball teams are hosting.  During these events the open seat locations for the season will be marked and fans can purchase the seats on the spot. This will give you a great opportunity to select the seats that fit your needs.  Men’s season tickets are selling quickly so come early to have a shot at the best seats.

The women’s team will hold its open practice prior to the Texas A&M game on Saturday, Oct. 17.  The doors to Bramlage will open at 3pm and the practice and autograph session will run from 4-4:30pm.  One of the many promotional activities planned for the open practice is a drawing for a free women’s basketball season ticket.  Any fan who attends the practice will receive a “buy one, get one free” ticket voucher good for any women’s non-conference game.  Members of the Fan Experience and Sales staff will be available to assist fans with the season ticket purchases which start at only $78.

The Men’s team will hold its open scrimmage prior the Colorado game on Saturday, Oct. 24.  Since the kickoff time has not been set, the Northeast and Northwest doors will open approximately 3 hours prior to kickoff with autographs set to begin an hour later.  Fans will have the opportunity to choose their season ticket location as available seats starting at only $320 will be marked in sections 2-17. Young alumni who have graduated from K-State with their undergraduate degree since May 2005 can purchase men’s basketball season tickets for only $160.  Members of the Fan Experience and Sales staff will be available to assist fans with season ticket purchases.

Each Monday we will post answers to some of your questions on all things K-State sports. Submit your questions to ahearnfund@kstatesports.com. Here’s your Monday Mailbag for October 5, 2009.

Can I buy single game Club Level tickets for the remainder of this football season?
Jackie-Abilene, KS

Yes, there are single game Club Level tickets still available for purchase.  On the east side of Bill Snyder Family Stadium, the KansasStateCars.com Club Level is the premier section for Wildcat fans.  Viewing a game in the Club Level gives you the option to watch the action from the spacious stadium seats or inside in the climate-controlled Club lounge.  Amenities for the Club Level section include:

• Climate controlled lounge
• 8 LCD televisions
• Private restrooms
• 4 concession stands (with beer & wine sales; cash bar)
• Elevator Access
• Chairback seating

Prices for Club Level single game tickets:

Texas A&M   10-17-09

Colorado       10-24-09

Missouri        11-14-09

• $75 for club members
• $125 for non-members

To order your single game Club Level tickets please call Andrew Hamor (785) 532-7984.

K-State fans planning on attending the K-State vs Iowa State game at Arrowhead Stadium may need to start planning now for hotel accomodations.  Along with this Big 12 football match-up, Kansas City will also be hosting the NASCAR races at the Kansas Speedway.

Hotel rooms are going fast, below is general information for the weekend of Oct. 2-4.  Please note that this is not a comprehensive lisiting and Kansas State Athletics does not have any rooms blocked, this list is a general overview of  hotels as of August 10, 2009.

Kansas State women’s basketball continues to be recognized for its excellence in the classroom, as the team finished 13th in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll announced on Thursday. K-State was the only Big 12 member to appear in the ranking for the second consecutive year and was one of two schools from a BCS conference. 

As a team, K-State registered a 3.374 team GPA, which was the highest by a BCS conference school in the honor roll. The other BCS conference school in the ranking was Villanova at 18^th with a 3.346 team GPA.

This is the fifth time K-State has appeared in the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll. Last season, the Wildcats recorded the highest finish in the honor roll in school history, as the 2007-08 Wildcats were ranked second with a GPA of 3.652. Prior to the 2007-08 season, K-State appeared in the ranking at the conclusion of the 2002-03 season with a second place finish with a GPA of 3.490. The other two seasons came in 1997-98 (19^th) and in 1998-99 (20^th).

During the 2008-09 season, Kansas State placed a school-record and Big 12 Conference-leading eight student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 first team. This was the second straight year K-State placed eight student-athletes in the All-Big 12 Academic teams.

The 2008-09 WBCA Academic Top-25 was led by Indiana State with a team GPA of 3.645, followed by North Dakota at 3.580, South Dakota State at 3.571, Montana State at 3.501 and rounding out the top-five on the honor roll was Bowling Green State at 3.470.

Kansas State head coach Deb Patterson returns seven letterwinners, including seniors Ashley Sweat and Kari Kincaid, from last season’s squad that finished with the third-highest win total in school history with a 25-8 mark and the 11^th appearance in school history in the NCAA Tournament.

WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll

1. Indiana State, 3.645; 2. North Dakota, 3.580; 3. South Dakota State, 3.571; 4. Montana State, 3.501; 5. Bowling Green State, 3.470; 6. Northern Iowa, 3.437; 7. Manhattan College, 3.432; 8. Western Carolina, 3.428; 9. Eastern Washington, 3.422; 10. New Mexico, 3.414; 11. DePaul, 3.402; 12. Utah Valley State, 3.390; 13. Kansas State, 3.374; 14. Wichita State, 3.361; 15. Lehigh, 3.356; t16. St. Bonaventure, 3.353; t16. Cornell, 3.353; 18. Villanova, 3.346; 19. Evansville, 3.336; 20. Oakland, 3.323; t21. Charleston Southern, 3.320; t21. Columbia, 3.320; 23. Wisconsin-Green Bay, 3.317; 24. South Dakota, 3.311; 25. Hartford, 3.308

Each Monday we will post answers to some of your questions on all things K-State sports. Submit your questions to ahearnfund@kstatesports.com. Here’s your Monday Mailbag for April 27th, 2009.

If I have been giving to Ahearn Football, would my points count towards basketball season tickets this year?
Charles- Olathe, KS

Yes, priority points are a way for the Athletics Department to reward donors for season ticket purchases and/or contributions to the Ahearn Scholarship Fund. A donor receives two points for every $100 given to the Ahearn Scholarship Fund, while he or she also receives one point for every season ticket purchased in any Wildcat Sport. The points will be used for seat ticket priority in Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, and Football.

Outstanding Kansas State student-athletes representing each of the school’s 16 varsity sports who balanced athletics and academics during the 2008-09 academic school year were honored at the 13th annual Mark A. Chapman Recognition Ceremony for Student-Athletes Tuesday night.

Student-athletes who achieved at least a 3.0 grade-point average and those with a fall semester or cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above were recognized along with those who were named first or second team Academic All-Big 12 Conference or CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America or All-District selections.

More than 220 K-State student-athletes were eligible to attend the ceremony based on their academic merit or academic progress.

Alex Umberger (track and field) and Lekesha Pointer-Allen (track and field) were this year’s recipients of the Bob and Lila Snell Award of Excellence and Effort, recognizing the outstanding male and female student-athletes who improved their academic standing through sustained effort and commitment to learning.

Beverly Ramos of the women’s cross country team was honored with the Gina Sylvester Memorial Award. The award recognizes an Arts & Science student who has progressed toward graduation and used the advising system to overcome challenges.

Chris Merriewether (men’s basketball) was the recipient of the Veryl and Fern Switzer Campus Leadership Award. The award recognizes a student-athlete who is involved in student organizations and multicultural affairs, demonstrates leadership on a team and on campus, and is active in community service.

Alyssa Freeman of the equestrian team was awarded the Scholastic Achievement Award, which recognizes a senior letterwinner with the highest cumulative grade-point average in undergraduate work. Freeman has recorded a 4.0 GPA in marketing.

Katerina Kudlackova (women’s tennis), Jennifer Jantsch (volleyball), Heather Hoffman (rowing) and Danielle Zanotti (women’s basketball) were honored with the Counselor Recognition Award. The award recognizes student-athletes who showed outstanding academic achievement throughout their careers at Kansas State.

The Kansas State Scholar-Athlete Award, which recognizes the outstanding senior male and female student-athletes for the 2008-09 year, was given out to three individuals as Shalee Lehning (women’s basketball), Loren Groves (track and field) and Scott Sellers (track and field) each were honored.

2008-09 Kansas State Academic Banquet Awards

ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII, 2008-09
Kelsey Chipman
Megan Farr
Marlies Gipson
Loren Groves
Tysyn Hartman
Jennifer Jantsch
Beverly Ramos
Abbi Sunner
Ashley Sweat

ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, 2008-09
Shalee Lehning
Jeron Mastrud
Scott Sellers