It’s Friday, You Made It! The Fourth of July preparation is underway. Fireworks? Check. Hot dogs and hamburgers? Check. Beverages? Check. Bathing suits? Check.

Mason Conference Scouting Report? Check.

That’s right, you never want to leave home without it as the Patriots are busying to bring the excitement back to EagleBank Arena this upcoming season.

New additions, opponents learned, courses being torched… we’ve got it all today!

What else is stirring in today’s edition of the Brew? Check it out for yourself!

🗑 Opponents Unveiled
🏀 The Great Eight
⛳️ Course Crashers
​⭐ And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Opponents Unveiled. We all know the home court advantage that EagleBank Arena can be when the crowd excitement is at an all-time high.

The preparation for that crowd excitement started this week as the Patriots learned the Atlantic 10 Conference pairings for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.

So get out that notebook and start taking some notes, and of course, make sure to secure your tickets today!

🔼 The Great Eight. Earlier this week, Coach Skinn announced the seventh new addition to the men’s hoops roster for next season with Jalen Haynes, a transfer from ETSU joining the Patriots. 

It didn’t take long to become eight.

On Thursday, local product Tre’ Wood signed on to join the Green & Gold after playing the past three seasons at LIU and beginning his collegiate career at UMass in 2018-19.

He’s played in 89 collegiate games, tallying 487 points and 292 assists during that span.

A 2018 graduate of St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C., Wood served as a two-year captain for the program and was a first team all-conference and all-city pick.

🔼 Must See Flicks. Catching those lasting memories on film, there’s simply nothing better!

Every Wednesday, throughout the summer, the Patriots will be reliving some of the best images of the 2022-2023 year.

Be sure to follow along and check out all the incredible images!

🔼 The Coach Breakdown. We’ve heard Coach Skinn talk about how special Mason is to him throughout his first few months on the job.

This week, he sat down with two of college basketball’s biggest voices on the Field of 68 podcast to breakdown his homecoming and what it’s been like to be back in Fairfax.

You don’t want to miss this one!

🔼 Patriot Against Patriot. At one of the oldest Golf Amateur Championships in the country, Mason is being well represented with four former Patriots advancing to match play at the 110th edition of the Virginia State Amateur Championships.

Current Patriots Samir Davidov and Aryan Vuradi, along with alums Jimmy Delp and Scott Shingler are took on the course this week down in Lynchburg.

Davidov and Vuradi ended up being seeded #8 and #9 and met in the Sweet 16, battling to the 17th hole, with Davidov coming out on top, 2 up.

All four Mason representatives made it through to the final 32 and showed just how strong the Patriot program was and still is today.

✨ FRIDAY FLASHBACK

Summer Hit. After his standout career at Mason and success overseas, current head coach Tony Skinn got his opportunity to showcase his talents on the world’s biggest stage at the 2012 Olympics.

Skinn served as the starting point for his native country, Nigeria, en route to its first and only appearance in the men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics.

He averaged double-digits in the qualifying tournaments and help his squad win its first game in the tournament with a thrilling 60-56 victory over Tunisia.

🤔 PATRIOT TRIVIA

Conference Call. With the highlighting of the A-10 pairings earlier in the Brew, we thought we’d toss it out there and see how many of you could name all the conferences the Patriots have been full-time members of during its Division I tenure that dates back to 1976.

Think you got it?

Scroll on down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

🌠 THIS IS IT! WE NEED YOU!

Today’s the day! One final push to wrap the 2023 Mason Blitz Week Challenge.

As our fiscal year ends, all of Mason Nation can get in on the competition to unlock challenge dollars for their favorite Mason team. YOU CAN HELP our 22 teams FINISH STRONG.

Your support can help enhance not only team success but the overall college experience for student-athletes. No one understands the benefits more than you as an alumni-athlete. This challenge will end on June 30, 2023, so give today and support your sport!

IT'S GAME TIME! Get involved, tell your teammates, & donate today!

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Patriot Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Two!

Obviously, the Atlantic 10 is the current conference, but the only other conference that Mason was a part of was the Colonial Athletic Association, which they were a founding member of in 1979.

Let’s finish the week strong Patriots! Have a great weekend!