![]() Or seeing Johnny Neuman and Shaquille O’Neal shoot hoops as student-athletes. Or flying with the team to away games and tournaments. 6 into Oxford that revealed her first-ever glance of the Tad Pad roof when it was under construction. Like the time she and her dad sat behind a young Archie Manning at an Ole Miss-LSU game watching Pete Maravich. Ole Miss Basketball has given Cantrell many memories to treasure. “And he was just flabbergasted because he had never played in a real game at that point.” “He got in at the end of the exhibition game that season, and I zoomed in on him and captured that moment,” Cantrell said. One player who had enjoyed only minimal court time especially admired the picture she took. She tries to get at least one good shot of each athlete in action. Some listen better than others.”Īlmost as much as the friendship she offers, the players appreciate the photos she takes. “I just want those kids to feel loved and acknowledged,” she said. ![]() She talks to them about life skills: the importance of getting a good education, saving money, staying out of debt, putting off self-gratification - the stuff of adulting they didn’t learn in a classroom or on the basketball court. She offers them encouragement and affirmation, even admonishment when needed. They are some of our most ardent fans, especially Tricia who has really invested so much of herself into our players’ lives through the years.”Īfter they graduate, some never look back. “I got to know the Cantrells when I played basketball for Ole Miss, and we have since become friends. Their investment into our program will directly benefit our student-athletes who are always our first priority,” said Keith Carter, athletic director and vice chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics. “We are so grateful to Tim and Tricia for their generous gift to Ole Miss Athletics. The couple’s $500,000 gift to the university has named the venue’s northwest entrance. Having her name attached to the Pavilion seems a fitting way to “recognize what Ole Miss Basketball has meant to her life,” said husband Tim Cantrell, a 1979 graduate of the UM School of Business Administration with a degree in accounting and recently retired CFO of Tenax Aerospace. “Tad” Smith Coliseum, affectionately known as the Tad Pad.Ĭantrell, a 1977 UM School of Education graduate, rarely missed a home game in either of those venues and now she’s a fixture in courtside seats at the Rebels’ new home court: the vibrant, state-of-the-art Pavilion at the University of Mississippi. Visit her home and she’s quick to show off slats she collected from the gymnasium’s floor when the Rebels moved their venue to C.M. The Memphis, Tennessee, native and now Oxford, Mississippi, resident grew up a Rebel fan inspired by her father, Ralph Ross, who played center for Ole Miss in the Old Gym (now Martindale-Cole Student Services Center). To say Tricia Cantrell is passionate about Ole Miss Basketball is an understatement at best.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |