Hello Celebritys

It has apparently made its way to a new home since TCU will be getting a new one very shortly…

SI.com

It's the third-oldest park in the minors. Hall of Famer Willie Mays played his first pro game at Municipal Stadium, and his orange-and-black No. 24 jersey hangs above the right field bullpen.

The video board in left field has a purple border, because it was purchased second-hand from Texas Christian University's football program. Harper's at-bats have been sold, so when he comes to the plate, the public-address announcer says that the at-bat is sponsored by Miss Utilities, a Baltimore company that surveys land, and an advertisement pops up on the board.

If you didn’t read TCU Athletic Director Chris Del Conte’s chat from Monday afternoon, you should go and check it out. Here are a couple of highlights I thought I would pass along.

First is this piece of information on an area to honor former TCU greats.

Mike (Irving): Is there a plan of some way to honor past TCU greats with statues or a ring of honor type thing when the stadium renovations are complete?

Chris Del Conte: Great question. We've engaged Nike and HKS to help identify spaces in and around the stadium to honor our TCU greats.

I think this is an outstanding idea. I’ve thought TCU has needed statues or a ring of honor in the stadium or something to commemorate former Frog greats like Sammy Baugh, Davey O’Brien, L.T., etc… Kind of confused as to why Nike would be involved with that, but maybe this second bit of information explains it a little more…

Kyle (Seattle): Can you describe in any more detail Nike's branding involvement around campus?

Chris Del Conte: We've engaged Nike to do an overall branding of our product. We expect to have it unveiled in time for the 2012 season.

I also cannot wait to see how this turns out. I’ve said it before, but having a good relationship with Nike is nothing but a positive for TCU.

From TCU Media Relations: TCU director of intercollegiate athletics Chris Del Conte is one of five finalists for SportsBusiness Journal's Athletic Director of the Year.

Over the last year, the TCU football program made its second straight BCS appearance with a 21-19 Rose Bowl win over Wisconsin, the Horned Frog baseball team reached the College World Series and the rifle team won the NCAA national title. In 2009-10, TCU was the only school in the nation to play in a BCS game and win at least one game at the CWS.

Del Conte has overseen a fundraising campaign that has raised $133 million to date over the last year, exceeding the original goal of $105 million, to renovate Amon G. Carter Stadium, TCU's longtime football home. The new stadium will be completely finished in time for the 2012 season. Other recent facility improvements include the expansion of baseball's Lupton Stadium as well as the construction of a new intercollegiate strength and conditioning center scheduled for completion in September 2011. After this fall, work will begin on a new football locker room, training room and equipment room.

The recipient of the 2010 Bobby Dodd Division I-A Athletic Director's Award, Del Conte has also helped guide the Horned Frogs into Big East Conference membership effective in the 2012-13 athletics season.

Over the last year, three TCU head coaches (Gary Patterson, football; Jim Schlossnagle, baseball; Karen Monez, rifle) have been named National Coach of the Year. Patterson has received the accolade in each of the last two seasons. Five TCU coaches were named MWC Coach of the Year in their respective sports last season.

TCU set a single-season school record last year with six conference championships (football, men's swimming and diving, women's basketball, men's tennis, women's tennis and baseball). Fifteen of 20 sports were represented in NCAA postseason play and 12 teams were nationally ranked.

The success on the playing field carried over to the classroom. In the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 semesters, TCU student-athletes recorded their highest cumulative grade-point average since tracking began in 1998. Fifteen of 20 sports had team GPAs over 3.0.

The partnership between TCU and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has never been more evident. Football, baseball, soccer, tennis, track and field and volleyball have set single-season attendance marks this season.

Del Conte arrived at TCU in November 2009 after serving four years as the director of athletics at Rice. With the Owls, Del Conte designed, developed and managed the Rice Vision for the Second Century Campaign, which raised over $90 million. He secured significant funds to build athletic facilities such as the Tudor Fieldhouse and Youngkin Center for Student-Athlete Excellence. He also raised $4 million for upgrades to the football stadium.

The other finalists for the SportsBusiness Journal's Athletic Director of the Year Award are Bob Bowlsby (Stanford), Tim Curley (Penn State), DeLoss Dodds (Texas) and Chris Hill (Utah).

The winner will be announced at the fourth-annual Sports Business Awards celebration at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City on May 18.

Hydro Graphics Inc just posted better pictures of the 2011 TCU Helmet on their facebook page. Here are a few to check out. To see more, go to the HGI Facebook page.

This new TCU license plate from MyPlates.com will become available on May 2^nd. To get more info, go HERE.