Dear Furman Athletics Family,

I hope this message finds you and your families doing well and that you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season.

It has been another remarkable fall semester at Furman University, highlighted by the success and achievements of our student-athletes, coaches, and teams—both on and off the field. We also celebrated the opening of the reimagined Timmons Arena, welcomed enthusiastic crowds at Paladin football games during Homecoming and Family Weekend, watched our Men's and Women's Cross Country programs secure their record-setting 13th straight Southern Conference Championships, and cheered on Women's Tennis as they were represented at the NCAA Division I Individual Championships at the USTA National Campus.

And I want to extend a heartfelt congratulations to Furman Men's Soccer on advancing to the NCAA College Cup for the first time in program history. Reaching the Final Four is a tremendous national accomplishment and underscores Furman's longstanding reputation as one of the premier soccer programs in the country. This season, Furman captured the Southern Conference regular-season title and won back-to-back Southern Conference tournament championships to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Paladins secured the first national seed (No. 16) in program history, earned a first-round bye, and enter the College Cup owning the nation's longest unbeaten streak at 14 matches. The team finished the season ranked No. 1 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer and No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll.

These accomplishments reflect Furman's deep commitment to academic and athletic excellence—values personified throughout Head Coach Doug Allison's extraordinary 31-year career. In his final season prior to a well-deserved retirement, Doug will leave Furman as the all-time winningest men's soccer coach in Southern Conference history and he currently ranks 10th among active NCAA Division I coaches with 365 career victories. He is a nine-time Coach of the Year and a four-time United Soccer Coaches Region Coach of the Year. Doug has guided the Paladins to 11 regular-season titles, 11 tournament championships, and 11 NCAA tournament appearances. Under his leadership, Furman has produced 9 All-Americans and developed U.S. National Team standouts including Clint Dempsey, Walker Zimmerman, and Ricardo Clark.

This season, we celebrated Doug's "farewell tour" in several meaningful ways—from Men's Soccer Alumni Day in April to Clint Dempsey's jersey retirement in August; from Doug's own jersey retirement in October during his final SoCon home match at Stone Stadium to our ongoing support of him and his team as they pursue a national title. We have also honored the rich history and traditions of Furman Soccer through events such as the Gray Griffin Memorial Match and the Quinn Game—cornerstones of a culture that Doug has upheld and elevated for more than three decades.

Equally special has been the outpouring of support from soccer fans, students, faculty, staff, and generations of Furman Soccer alumni who have returned to campus to celebrate Doug during his final home matches in the NCAA Tournament—both of which resulted in memorable victories. If ever there were a way to script the closing chapter of a coaching career, Doug Allison has authored a powerful and enduring legacy.

Please join me in congratulating Men's Soccer on their historic achievement—and know that their journey is not finished yet. For those who are able, we hope you will join us in Cary, North Carolina, on Friday, December 12 at 6 p.m. for our National Semifinal match against the University of Washington, and again on Monday, December 15 for the NCAA National Championship. If you can't join us in person, please tune in to the matches on ESPNU.

Thank you for your continued support of Furman Athletics. We look forward to celebrating more unforgettable moments together.

Go Paladins!

Sincerely,

Jason Donnelly
Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics
Furman University