You probably saw his signing post on our Instagram yesterday, but today his university is already in the spotlight! In a while, slamstox tennis player Raphael Mujan will leave for the USA to start his adventure as a student-athlete. That’s why during this week’s university spotlight we take a look at his future home base, Radford University!
Raphael has been busy with his tennis career for years, from the age of seven to thirteen he was part of various Dutch national selection teams! He trains at ‘FOCUS Tennis Academy’ and is preparing for his departure to Radford.
Raphael has participated in several ITF tournaments and participated in many major national tournaments in the Netherlands. A while ago, his choice fell on Radford and he signed his contract. Raphael explains below why his choice fell on Radford:
“I have chosen for Radford because of the great feeling I got from coach Bareford. I was very attracted to the facilities of Radford University and the team’s mentality. I cannot wait to be a part of the team and develop as much as possible as a tennis player but also as a person. Let’s go Highlanders!”
Want to know more about Raphael’s university? Keep reading!
Campus
The Radford campus is located in the town of Radford in Virginia. It is a ‘public university’ with about 11,000 students every year. Of those 11,000 students, about 3,800 live on campus. The photo below shows part of the campus!
As in every spotlight, we especially take a look at the athletic facilities, which is often the most interesting part of the campus for many (future) student-athletes. Below we show some of them!
The Dedmon Center has been part of the university since 1981, it is the place where the basketball and volleyball teams come into action. The stadium has recently undergone a major renovation, which means that there is currently seating for 3200 fans! The stadium also regularly hosts concerts and other events.
Cupp Stadium has been part of the university since 2003 and is home to the track and field, lacrosse and soccer teams. There is room for no less than 5000 spectators in the stands of the stadium! Offices and press rooms can also be found around the sports field. You can check out a photo of part of the Cupp Stadium below!
The sports performance center is the university gym that was renovated in 2017! A nice gym with all the facilities you need to get fit. The university has even developed a ‘walkthrough’ for this space, which you can follow via this link. Looks crazy right!?
Besides the above facilities, there is much more to be found on campus such as a baseball hitting center, a tennis complex, a softball stadium, a baseball stadium, a golf course and more. Would you like to see more? Then check this page.
Want to see more of the university? Check out the campus tour video below!
Do you want to become a student-athlete in the USA as well?
Athletics
The group of student-athletes at the university are called the ‘Radford Highlanders’. The Radford Highlanders compete in Division I within the Big South Conference. In total, 15 different teams are part of the university, of which 9 are women’s and 6 are men’s teams. As you probably saw earlier in this article, the university colors are red, white and gray!
Like many other American universities, it is also important at Radford that the ‘fight song’ is sung during competitions. You can find the lyrics of it below, start practicing Raphael because you will probably hear that more often!
Radford bold and free,
On to victory.
Hail our quest
To be the best,
Tartan pride for all to see.
Go Radford!
Wave the flags and sound the horns,
Hold the colors high.
Cheer our team on to victory.
That’s the spirit of ole R.U.
The cheer squad and the fight song are not the only means that are used to encourage student-athletes as optimally as possible, the university mascot ‘The Highlander’ also plays an important role in this. The Highlander is not just a mascot, he is very popular within the Conference. In 2018, The Highlander was even named the best mascot of all 68 teams in the tournament. The following comment was added: “Between the beard, the costume, the muscles, the headband and all the ‘THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!!” jokes, this deserves the No. 1 spot.” Go highlanders!
Academics
Studying, The Highlanders are also working on that. After all, it is the combination of study and sports that makes a student-athlete, a student-athlete.
Making a good choice can be difficult, especially when there are 108 different courses offered at a school! But don’t worry: there is therefore a good chance that the major you would like to do is being offered. The following categories will be separated.
- Business and Economics
- Education and Human Development
- Health and Human services
- Humanities and Behavioral services
- Science and Technology
- Visual and Performing arts
An overview of all courses can be found in this list.
Did you know that…
- Radford has over 300 different sororities?
- There are 13 (!) different dining options on campus?
- The student-faculty ratio is 15:1?
- 61% of Radford students are women?
- You wear the same outfit as the students below during the graduation ceremony? Cool right!
Do you also want to become a student-athlete in the USA? Or would you like more information about scholarships and student-athletes? Reach out and we will help you!
