As this semester comes to an end I just want to take some time and reflect back on everything that this semester has taught me and how this class has has a positive impact on me. I do wish I would have taken more time out of my schedule to dedicate to my blog to be able to provide more insight. I wish I would have gone out of my comfort zone more and try and grab interviews with more athletes especially ones who were just beginning. I also think that more of my facebook friends would read my blog more than my friends off of twitter. It is difficult to get my friends to actually read unless there is something in it for them.

My best experience of this project would have to be the help and encouragement that I received from my lab instructor Hannah. I have strongly considered giving up on this project but I am senior and I have to finish this class. If it had not been for Hannah I would have given up a long time ago so I am beyond grateful for her. In the future I do believe that when I find my one true passion I would consider starting a blog and keeping it up-to-date about that certain topic. To say the least the most professional skill I have formed is my practice for cover letters. I have taken the skills from this class and already put them to work when it comes to applying for jobs.

Many fans have been looking forward to the football season for 2020 but we may not be getting the season we are used to. The world-wide pandemic of COVID-19 has brought devastation to many people in countless amounts of ways. Although for college students it has taken the largest toll by having to finish the semester online and graduate virtually.  The saddest of them all is what student athletes have endured. Texas State football had a chance to finish their season, but our Basketball team was doing tremendous and facing a chance In the NCAA sweet 16 tournament. Many seniors in various sports had their season cut short and not a chance to touch the field court or water just one more time.  

NCAA has made it clear that if all schools are not back to normal come fall there will be no sports played no matter what it is. Not only does this affect the current athletes but it hurts the high school seniors who committed to play a sport at school. With no sports as a possibility it may happen that the students that are on scholarship receive no money for school and for some it is the only way they are able to attend college. Just alone is has been documented that University of Texas at Austin brings in on average 20 million each weekend that a game is played in their stadiums. When it comes time to look at these numbers it shows that if there are no sports many schools will not be able to maintain the “lifestyle” that faculty and students are accustomed to. It would be a very a sad situation to not see football, volleyball and even golf not being played but it is up to officials to decide the safety of campus and what it can provide to its students before an official decision can be made. 

Texas State is one of the larger universities in Texas and we receive a large amount of attention towards our football team even though they aren’t the greatest. I have a person friend who attends school at Southwestern University in Georgetown and we have been talking a great amount about his hopes for his senior season coming up in the fall. Jacob Wiebelhaus is an offensive lineman who had to sit out most of his Jr. year due to a thumb injury. He does think that by the time August roles around his team will be back to playing normal with a mindset to win. I do feel that because Southwest is not as large as Texas State they may have a better chance at returning to a normal football season faster and easier than we will have. I just like to provide the thoughts that many athletes are having right now!

Texas State University has made the decision to continue face to face classes come Fall 2020. Our sports are set to take off come August and tailgate may not be the same as its always been. Texas State has never had the best winning streak when it come to Football but we sure do know how to support each other as a family. I took some time to look at how other schools intend to to operate with the next season approaching.

Football is not the only sport our fans will be thinking of. Volleyball is a huge crowd pleaser and we have a phenomenal group of ladies who are still training for this next season. Strahan is still preparing for commencement in the Summer and will have to practice social distancing if the curve is not flattened. The amount of people that will be attending will prepare students and faculty on how to manage the upcoming season of athletics that are required to be held inside.

Texas State is not the only school preparing for the upcoming school year and everything else that could impact it. High school seniors had to sign their letters of intent from their own homes, not having teammates and coaches near to celebrate the hard work and dedication that has been put in the past four years is a difficult pill to swallow. Although there has been no official word as to what to expect coming up, students are well prepared for a great change and whether it be one that is hard or not the Bobcat family is prepared to still support each other no matter what comes our way.

Next post we will have a special interview from Jacob Wiebelhaus, he is football player at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX. He will be talking about how COVID-19 has affected him and his teammates and exactly what they are doing to keep busy.

To begin this is definitely not the way I expected to cover my blog for this semester. I wanted to be different and bring attention to the sports some students may have not even known about on campus. Everyone expected to finish out this semester and return stronger than ever from what was supposed to be a break. I have decided to make this a general blog and just follow different students and ask about their experiences on how this has affected many Students.

I would still like to get in touch with some athletes and receive their take on how this has made them feel. Many are hurting that they couldn’t finish out their senior year in many sports and different intramural sports that were just beginning for the spring semester. Although this is something we did not have much control over I do not think that the situation was handled the best by cutting everything dry in the midst of a few days . It is easier for a student who was just beginning this college career to just think about what they have to look forward to in the fall and next spring. Asking student athletes to just stop playing is ridiculous but it’s what it has come to right now.

With these next few weeks focusing on people who have been displaced from the dorms and those who are suffering the consequences from COVID-19 also have a voice that matters. I am going to conduct some audio interviews and have pictures for those who are suffering. There should also be a closer look at how many students don’t have employment now because of the outlet shut-down. Instead of apartments looking for people to sign they should provide some type of relief the students who are now unemployed and have no other financial help in this time. Bobcat sports world is taking a shift into not only reminiscing on the sporting events we will be covering the Bobcat World and the toll it is taking on everyone now.

All About Me

Welcome! My name is Brooke Mckeel and I am a senior at Texas State University studying public relations and mass communication with a business administration minor. This semester I want to take a dive into all the different sports offered on campus. We are going to go outside of the box and giving some attention to sports such as rugby, golf, lacrosse, water polo and even keep up with the intramural leagues for some of the fraternities and sororities you guys love the most.

 I picked sports because I was once an athlete but threw in the towel to focus on school. I hope that through my blog those who love sports but can’t attend the games, are able to still feel connected to the sports they love the most.  Each week I will be attending a game capturing some live action photos and conducting some interviews with players, coaches and even athletic trainers. Throughout the semester I want to gain some access and knowledge to aspects you can read the most about here!