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| 1 | House Resolution | ||
| 2 | A resolution commending Florida International University | ||
| 3 | Head Coach Don Strock. | ||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | WHEREAS, in 1999, when former Dolphins quarterback Don | ||
| 6 | Strock accepted the challenge to build a Division I-AA football | ||
| 7 | program at Florida International University, he saw a "great | ||
| 8 | situation" that was "only going to get better," and | ||
| 9 | WHEREAS, by the start of the 2002 season, Head Coach | ||
| 10 | Strock's team of Golden Panthers, made up almost exclusively of | ||
| 11 | players from within the state, and largely talent from the South | ||
| 12 | Florida area, was operating at an electric, all-time-high-energy | ||
| 13 | level, eager for the approach of the opening game of its | ||
| 14 | inaugural season, and | ||
| 15 | WHEREAS, as Coach Strock had predicted, the Golden Panthers | ||
| 16 | successfully met their opportunity to make history, garnering a | ||
| 17 | 27-3 victory over St. Peter's of New Jersey, then the Division | ||
| 18 | I-AA top-rated defensive team, and thus became the seventh major | ||
| 19 | Florida football program to win its opening game, and | ||
| 20 | WHEREAS, at season's end, six members of FIU's inaugural | ||
| 21 | football program were named as first-team selections to the 2002 | ||
| 22 | I-AA Independent All-Star team, one player was a second-team | ||
| 23 | selection, and Coach Strock had led the Golden Panthers to a 5-6 | ||
| 24 | record, a finish that ranks among the best starts for new | ||
| 25 | Division I-AA programs since 1991, and | ||
| 26 | WHEREAS, the Golden Panthers ultimately plan to play in | ||
| 27 | Division I-A, competing with Florida, Florida State, and Miami, | ||
| 28 | a goal that is certain to be attained under the brilliant | ||
| 29 | leadership of Head Coach Don Strock, NOW, THEREFORE, | ||
| 30 | |||
| 31 | Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of | ||
| 32 | Florida: | ||
| 33 | |||
| 34 | That Head Coach Don Strock is heartily congratulated on the | ||
| 35 | outstanding success of the inaugural season of the Division I-AA | ||
| 36 | football program at Florida International University. | ||
| 37 | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be | ||
| 38 | presented to Head Coach Don Strock as a tangible token of the | ||
| 39 | sentiments expressed herein. | ||