October 17, 2024

Today would have been the 76th birthday of James O. Rigney, Jr., '74. You may know Rigney as Robert Jordan, author of the best selling series, The Wheel of Time. us.macmillan.com/author/robertjordan

October 16, 2024: Leadership Day

October 16, 1948: Johnson Hagood Stadium opened with a game against Davidson.

"It was my fourth year at The Citadel and the fourth time October 15 had marked the beginning of basketball practice. Mel Thompson was famous for working his team hard on the first day and traditionally ran us so much that the first practice was topped off by one of us vomiting on the hardwood floor. I made my way to the locker room early that afternoon because I wanted some time to myself to shoot around and think about what I wanted to accomplish this season. Four of my teammates were already dressed when I entered the dressing room door. The room carried the acrid fragrance of the past three seasons for me, an elixir of pure maleness with the stale smell of sweat predominant yet blended with the sharp, stinging unguents we spread on sore knees and shoulders, Right Guard deodorant spray, vats of foot powder to ward off athlete's foot, and deodorant cakes in the urinals. It was the powerful eau de cologne of the locker room. I realized that my life as a college athlete was coming to its inevitable end, but I did not know that you had to leave the fabulous odors of youth behind when you hurried out into open fields to begin life as an adult. As I entered the room, I waved to Al Beiner, the equipment manager. He and his assistant Joe 'Rat' Eubanks were making sure that the basketballs were all inflated properly. Carl Peterson, another assistant, had just returned with a cartful of freshly laundered towels, still warm to the touch. 'The Big Day,' Al said. He was reserved and serious and considered the players juvenile and frivolous. Al's presence was priestlike, efficient. 'Senior year,' Rat said. 'It all comes together for the big guy this year, right, Pat?'" ~from My Losing Season, Pat Conroy, '67

October 14, 2024

Col R. Dean Stickell, USAF, Ret., ’63, was featured on a panel discussion held by the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., celebrating the F-16’s 50 years of flight. Stickell flew the YF-16 prototype aircraft in 1974 as a Tactical Air Command (TAC) pilot. Stickell was joined on the panel by (left to right) moderator, Gen Charlie Lyon, USAF, Ret., ’80; Stickell; Gen Gary North, USAF, Ret.; and Brig Gen Tadd Clark, USAF. For more visit citadelalumni.org/r-dean-stickell-63.

Today is the 249th anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Navy.

October 11, 2024