Good morning, Owls Family. FAU VP and AD Brian White announced Monday that Zach Kittley—the youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) at age 33—has been named the school's Hagerty Family Head Football Coach. One of the most innovative offensive minds in college football, Kittley comes to Boca Raton after three seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Tech.

Kittley will be officially introduced to the Florida Atlantic community at a press conference at FAU Stadium on Friday—details are forthcoming.

🏆 Go here for more on Kittley’s many accomplishments that led him to Paradise.
👀 Check out what others in the athletics community have said about this top-tier hire.

What else do we have mixed into today’s Brew? Check it out below!

🏈 Plenty of FAU football players received accolades this week
🏀 Both MBB and WBB teams have road matchups tonight
🦉 And much, much more

🔼 A Bowl Game But Make it Hoops. Florida Atlantic men's hoops announced the third annual Megabowl on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. ET versus Jacksonville in the Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena. The Owls will play two games, the second scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, against Texas State.

🎟 Go here for the full rundown, including ticketing info. 🏀

🔼 Owls > Frogs. The Florida Atlantic Owls head to the Lone Star State tonight for a midweek top 10 battle against the No. 9-ranked TCU Horned Frogs. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and airs on ESPN+. This marks the first meeting between the two teams.

🔼 Magic City Matchup. The Florida Atlantic men's basketball team has headed south to Miami to take on FIU tonight. The game, airing on CBS Sports Network, will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET.
 
It will mark the 55th matchup between the Owls and the Panthers in a rivalry that dates back to 1990. While the latter currently holds the series lead at 28-26, the Owls have won their last seven meetings, tying their longest winning streak. The last matchup between the two on Dec. 13, 2023, saw Florida Atlantic take a convincing 94-60 victory.

⇢ Go here for all the details, including the scouting report.
👂🏼 Listen to Coach Jakus preview the game.

🔼 Two CJs + One Logan = Success. Three Florida Atlantic football players were recognized as All-American Athletic Conference performers on Tuesday.
 
CJ Campbell Jr, a redshirt junior running back, led the Owls with 844 rushing yards on 165 carries and ended the 2024 season second in receiving with 466 yards and three scores via a team-leading 40 catches. CJ Heard, a true freshman safety, represented the Owls' defense as a third-team All-AAC selection. Heard recorded three double-digit tackling performances and ended his rookie season atop all Owl tacklers with 82. Logan Lupo rounds out the 2024 FAU selections. Lupo ended his three-year career as an Owl with 101 punts for 4466 yards, an average of 44.2 yards per punt, and recorded a long of 71 yards.

🔼 No “Laps” in Judgement. The Florida Atlantic men's and women's swimming & diving teams will hit the road with five swimmers to compete in the 2024 Toyota U.S. Open, set to take place today through Saturday—Dec. 4 – Dec. 7—in Greensboro, North Carolina. This meet provides an opportunity for Owl swimmers to qualify for the national team of their home country.

🔼 Above and Beyond. Florida Atlantic Athletics has named its Prestige Windows & Doors Student-Athletes of the Month for November, with men's swimming and diving's Andrew Billitto and Bernice Chau from the spirit team earning the honors.
 
"Andrew joined Florida Atlantic this year after transferring from Auburn and has made an exceptional transition into his first semester,” said Hannah Smith, Assistant Director of SASC. “He has not only adapted quickly to his new environment but has also excelled academically.”

"Even when facing adversity, she [Bernice] continues to be a leader within her team and across the Florida Atlantic campus while excelling academically in her criminal justice major,” said Caitlyn Shumate, Athletic Academic Advisor/Learning Specialist.

🔼 It’s Worth Mentioning. Leading the Owls in the Thanksgiving Classic, including a decisive 65-50 win over Manhattan, Mya Perry was named the American Athletic Conference Honorable Mention. The honor marks the third weekly award for the Owls and Mya's first this season.
 
Perry led the Owls this week against Manhattan and Austin Peay. She finished with a team-leading 12.5 points per game, shooting 39 percent from the field (9-of-23) and 3-point range (5-of-13), and a perfect 100 percent (2-of-2) from the line.

🔼 Full Court Press. Baba Miller of the Florida Atlantic men's basketball team has been named an American Athletic Conference honorable mention this week. This marks the first AAC honor of his collegiate career and makes him the second Owl to earn an honorable mention during the 2024-25 campaign.
 
Against FGCU, Miller led the Owls with an all-around performance on both ends of the floor, recording his second double-double of the season with a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds on 9-for-11 shooting.

🔼 In Stark(s) Contrast. Tyriq Starks led the Florida Atlantic football team to a 63-16 victory over Tulsa last Saturday. For his efforts, the redshirt junior quarterback has earned a spot on the Davey O'Brien Awards' Great 8 for Week 14.
 
Week 14 was so special that they called it Davey Double, honoring 16 QBs rather than just 8. The National QB of the Week will be announced Tuesday at noon.

🔼 Can’t Stop This. Florida Atlantic football's CJ Campbell Jr., a redshirt freshman RB, earned American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honorable mention honors on Monday.
 
Campbell tallied 100 rushing yards and added a team-leading 118 receiving yards for 218 all-purpose yards, accounting for 33% of the team's 665 total yards. He was on the receiving end of quarterback Tyriq Starks' record-tying touchdown night with a career-long 78-yard reception.

🔼 Emerald Isle Be Seeing You. It’s the last podcast of 2024. This week, we recap Coach Mac’s Trip to Ireland and discuss the baseball free agency and implementation of a salary cap, along with some other nuggets from the 2025 regular season schedule.

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Wednesday, Dec. 4
🌊 Swimming & Diving @ Toyota U.S. Open
🏀 Men’s Basketball @ FIU @ 6:30 p.m. ET CBS 640 South Florida | Live Audio | Live Stats
🏀 Women’s Basketball @ TCU @ 7:30 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats

Thursday, Dec. 5
🌊 Swimming & Diving @ Toyota U.S. Open

Friday, Dec. 6
🌊 Swimming & Diving @ Toyota U.S. Open

Saturday, Dec. 7
🌊 Swimming & Diving @ Toyota U.S. Open

Sunday, Dec. 8
(No Activities Scheduled)

🦉 Go here for the complete Florida Atlantic University Athletics Calendar

⇢⇢⇢ Tyriq Starks tied the Owls' school record for touchdowns in a game with Saturday’s 63-16 rout of Tulsa. How many touchdown passes did he have? 

Have a guess?

Scroll to the bottom to find out!

Paradise Trivia is brought to you by Choice Mortgage Group, the Official Mortgage Lender of Florida Atlantic Athletics.

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🦉 ONE BIG THING

Anyone Need a Tandyman? Congrats, KyKy, on this incredible milestone!

The Answer: Five!

In total, Tyriq Starks completed 18 of his 25 passes for 295 yards.

🦉 Let’s get over the hump, y’all!