Football Team Honored
2/9/2012 8:37:00 AM | Football
The Southland Conference champs from Sam Houston State received special recognition on Wednesday night for the most successful football season in school history.
Huntsville Mayor Mac Woodward, SHSU President Dana Gibson and Walker County Judge Danny Pierce were among those who honored the Bearkats during halftime of the Bearkats' basketball game against Texas-Arlington.
Woodward declared Feb. 8 Bearkat Pride Day.
"It's nice to be honored by the university and the city of Huntsville," Bearkats football coach Willie Fritz said. "We appreciate all the students, faculty, staff and alumni that were there in support of our team."
The Bearkats rolled undefeated through the regular season, winning their first outright Southland Conference title with a 7-0 league record. At the end of the regular season, the top-ranked Kats were ranked nationally in eight statistical categories: rushing offense, scoring offense, rushing defense, total defense, scoring defense, pass efficiency defense, turnover margin and fewest sacks allowed.
"It was historic," Gibson said. "You look back and see not only what the team has accomplished, but also how they pulled the university community, the alumni community and the city of Huntsville together."
The team attracted national attention during their playoff run and was featured on three ESPN national telecasts. The exposure highlighted the cities of Huntsville and Conroe and what they had to offer to visitors.
Williams said the Bearkats gained a new level of popularity when he went to the NCAA Convention and Leadership Council shortly after the championship game. Normally the Bearkats' boss would not receive a lot of attention at the convention, but after Sam Houston made it all the way to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game, the Bearkats created a loud buzz.
"It's a wonderful evening to celebrate such great accomplishments," Williams said. "They energized our university, the Huntsville community and our alumni across the state and the nation.
"They raised the spirits of this community," Woodward added. "The whole community has come together and is very proud of this team for what they've done for Sam Houston and for the city of Huntsville."
Fifth-year seniors Kash David and Travis Watson thanked the crowd of 1,601 in attendance Wednesday for their support of the team. David even said that the Montana game was the loudest and most memorable game that he ever been apart of.
"I've been here for five years and it's really amazing to see what has happened this year," Watson said to the crowd. "The support that we got this year is really special and it was excited to be apart of and I'm glad that we got to do this for everyone."
