Principled Profiles in Sports

2011-03-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

NOMINEES FOR McWHORTER AND DAVIS POST-GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS ANNOUNCED

The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship has been presented by the Southeastern Conference since 1986 to the league’s top male and female scholar-athletes.
The SEC Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship was named for former Associate Commissioner Brad Davis. Davis succumbed to cancer on March 2, 2006. He had been a member of the SEC staff since 1988, first serving as an assistant commissioner until 1994 when he was promoted to associate commissioner.
The Southeastern Conference will name the 2010 recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship on April 6 in conjunction with National Student-Athlete Day. The Davis Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship winners will be announced on April 5.
The nominees from the 12 SEC institutions are listed below:

ALABAMA
Greg McElroy, Football (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Earned B.S. degree in Business Marketing in August 2009
• Completed M.S. degree in Sports Administration in December 2010
• Recipient, NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award, 2011
• Capital One/CoSIDA Football Academic All-American of the Year, 2010
• SEC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 2010
• National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame National Scholar-Athlete Award, 2010
• President’s List and Dean’s List member
• Led Alabama to an undefeated season and BCS National Championship in 2009
• MVP of 2009 SEC Football Championship Game
• Captain of 2010 Alabama Football Team
• Finished football career with a 24-3 record as a starter (88.9 percentage)
• The Southlake, Texas native is the son of Greg and Jamie McElroy.

Kayla Hoffman, Gymnastics (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn B.S. degree in Human Environmental Sciences in December 2011
• National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women Scholastic All-American, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10
• National Society of Collegiate Scholars, 2008
• President’s List and Dean’s List member
• First Team All-American on Uneven Bars (2010) and Vault (2008)
• NCAA Regional Champion on Vault (2009, 2010) and Uneven Bars (2009)
• Second-team All-SEC, 2008, 2009, 2010
• Won 45 individual titles in career (through 10th meet of senior year)
• Scored 9.9 or better 68 times in career (through 10th meet of senior year)
• Volunteered at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa
• Volunteered at Huntsville Women & Children’s Clinic in Huntsville
• The Union, N.J. native is the daughter of Richard Hoffman and Helen Cicalese.

Dan Armstrong, Swimming & Diving (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering in May 2011
• President’s List and Dean’s List member
• Bryant Award Scholar-Athlete Nominee (2010)
• Three-year SEC Scorer (2008, 2010, 2011)
• Earned three letters and served as team captain in 2011
• Volunteered for Laps for CF, Habitat for Humanity and Project Angel Tree
• Member of UA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• The Madison, Ala. native is the son of Hampton and Mechelle Armstrong

Jessica Allaway, Rowing (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Biology in May 2011
• President’s List and Dean’s List member
• Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society member
• Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society
• Earned a gold medal at the SIRA Championships as part of UA’s First Varsity
• Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete Award
• Member of UA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Volunteered for Project Angel Tree and Halloween Extravaganza
• The Tuscaloosa, Ala. native is the daughter of Arthur and Beth Allaway.

ARKANSAS
Luke Laird, Track and Field (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Horticulture in May 2011
• Two-time member of United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coach’s Association All-Academic Team.
• President’s List and Dean’s List student
• Chairman of UA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Community Service efforts
• Volunteered for Lift Up America (distribution to local food pantries)
• Volunteered for Book Hogs, reading to local elementary school children
• Three-year letter winner
• First-team All-SEC, SEC Champion, USA Junior Champion, all-region and National Qualifier in 2008
• Participated in SEC’s “Together We Can” food drive and Adopt-a-Street in the Fayetteville community.
• The Gardner, Kansas native is the son of Scott and Tammy Laird

Michelle Stout, Gymnastics (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Earned B.S. degree in Marketing Management in May 2010
• Will complete Masters of Education in May 2011
• Member of the University of Arkansas Honor Roll six times
• National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches/Women Scholastic Scholar-Athlete, 2007
• Named Razorback Academic Champion in Fall 2010
• Four-time first-team All-American (vault-twice, uneven bars, all-around)
• Member of Arkansas’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and was organization’s vice president in 2010
• Volunteered for SEC Canned Food Drive, Reading with the Razorbacks, Razorback Relief: Operation Haiti, and Lift Up America.
• Participated in NCAA Leadership Conference
• The Endwell, N.Y. native is the daughter of Tom Stout and Linda VanPatten.

Chris Nott, Tennis (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in International Business in December 2011
• Member of SEC Freshman Academic Honor Roll
• Four-year starter for the Razorback tennis team and team captain this season
• Second-team All-SEC as a junior (2009-10)
• Participated in Book Hogs program (reading to children) and Sweat Hawgs (working with kids in PE classes).
• Held a USTA Tennis Clinic for kids and also taught kids tennis at David Johnson II Memorial Kids Tennis Day.
• Participated in Lift Up America food drive.
• The Chorley, England native, is the son of Derek and Lorraine Nott.

Britni Williams, Soccer (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.A. degree in Sociology and Criminal Justice in May 2011.
• Athletic Director’s List student and member of Razorback Honor Roll
• Four-year starter at goalie and team captain as a senior (2010)
• Is Arkansas’ all-time leader with 27 career shutouts and 30 career wins.
• She is Arkansas’ representative to the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
• Participated in Book Hogs program (reading to children), Sweat Hawgs (working with kids in PE classes) and the Lift Up America food drive.
• Volunteered at soccer clinics for youth, Razorback Relief: Operation Haiti and the SEC’s “Together We Can” food drive.
• Member of SEC Academic Honor Roll
• The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native is the daughter of Robert and Deborah Williams.

AUBURN
Dan Mazzaferro, Swimming and Diving (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Earned a B.S. degree in Chemistry in May 2010
• Will earn his M.B.A. degree in December 2011
• Phi Kappa Phi National Graduate Fellowship Recipient
• President’s Medal for College of Science and Mathematics Recipient
• Auburn University Honors Scholar
• Member of Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society, Golden Key International Honor Society, Delta Epsilon Iowa and National Society of Collegiate Scholars
• Captain of Auburn’s swimming & diving team as a senior
• 2011 SEC Champion in the 3-meter and Platform diving events (NCAA championships this weekend in Minneapolis, Minn.)
• Seven-time NCAA All-American
• U.S. Olympic Diving Finalist (7th in 10-meter platform)
• College Swimming Coaches Association of America Academic All-American (2007-2009)
• 2009 Co-SEC Male Diver of the Year
• Participated in Unite for Sight, a 10-day mission to Ghana, assisting ophthalmic surgeries and raising funds for eyeglasses for patients in Ghana.
• The Cheshire, Conn. native is the son of Thomas and Cynthia Mazzaferro.

Erica Meissner, Swimming and Diving (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn a B.A. degree in Anthropology in Summer 2011
• NCAA All-American (2008)
• Member of Phi Kappa Phi, Chi Alpha Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa and Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Fraternities.
• Member of Auburn’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
• Rhoads Scholarship Finalist (2010)
• College Swimming Coaches Association of America Academic All-American (2008, 2009)
• Six-time Auburn Top Tiger, awarded to Auburn’s top student-athletes
• Volunteer at Lee County’s Big House, mentoring foster children, and the Lee County Humane Society.
• Participated in Laps for Cystic Fibrosis and Swim Across America.
• The Auburn, Ala. native is the daughter of Walt and Rosemarie Meissner.

Justin Hargett, Baseball (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Exercise Science in May 2011
• Member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars
• Dean’s List and four-time Auburn Top Tiger, awarded to Auburn’s top student-athletes
• Three-year starter
• Led team in hitting in 2009 (.330)
• Served as a mentor at Children’s Hospital and served as a captain of volunteers with Operation Christmas Child.
• Volunteered at Rehab Works and Total Rehab, assisting therapists and helping patients.
• Member of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD).
• The Hartselle, Ala. native is the son of Greg and Kim Hargett

Addison Ragsdale, Soccer (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.F.A. degree in Graphic Design in December 2011
• Dean’s List and three-time Auburn Top Tiger, awarded to Auburn’s top student-athletes
• Helped lead Tiger soccer team to four consecutive NCAA appearances and two SEC West titles
• Member of Auburn’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Volunteered at the Lee County Humane Society, the Boys and Girls Club and East Alabama Food Bank.
• Participated in the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s “Together We Can” food drive, Toys for Tots and the Kappa Delta Shamrock 5k to support Cystic Fibrosis.
• The Birmingham, Ala. native is the daughter of Bill and Karen Ragsdale.

FLORIDA
Michael Yuan, Swimming and Diving (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn B.S. degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition in May 2011
• Has been accepted into UF’s College of Dentistry
• Gator swim team captain this season.
• President of the Central Florida Young Professionals’ Club
• Member of UF’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award by the Central Florida Taiwanese American Chamber of Commerce
• Served as a Dental Assistant under UF Dental School’s Sealant Program
• Member of Goodwill Gators, working with underprivileged children.
• Volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and Climb for Cancer, working with children with terminal illnesses.
• The Winter Garden, Fla. Native is the son of Jiann-Shinn and Huili Yuan.

Ali Crabb, Track and Field (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Biology in May 2011
• U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Academic All-American
• Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll member
• Member of Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society
• Four-year letterwinner in cross country and two-time letterwinner in track and field
• First-team All-SEC and All-South Region Cross Country in Fall 2008
• Member of UF’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Member of UF’s Goodwill Gators, working with underprivileged children
• Member of American Medical Student Association and College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Honors Program Student Advisory Board
• The St. Petersburg, Fla. native is the daughter of Roger and Kelli Crabb.

Bobby Walsh, Swimming and Diving (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Business Administration in December 2011
• President’s Honor Roll and SEC Academic Honor Roll
• Four-year letter winner
• President of UF’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (2010-11)
• Participated as lead mentor in Collegiate Achievement Mentoring Program, working with at-risk middle school students
• Volunteered with March of Dimes Charity 5k
• Read to children as part of Story Book Saturdays.
• The Virginia Beach, Va. native is the son of Robert and Chona Walsh

Megan Bush, Softball (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Health Education and Behavior in December 2011
• Earned Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America All-District Honors (2009-10)
• First-team All-SEC in 2010 and second-team All-SEC in 2009
• 2009 NCAA Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team
• Four-year letter winner and team captain in 2011
• Co-head of Gator Tracks program, working with underprivileged children
• Organized team members to participate in Special Olympics bowling activities
• University Athletics Association Life Skills Cup Award (2008-09; 2009-10)
• The Anaheim Hills, Calif. native is the daughter of Mike and Andrea Bush

GEORGIA
Mark Dylla, Swimming and Diving (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn B.S. degree in Finance and Real Estate in May 2012
• Three-time member of the College Swim Coaches Association All-Academic Team
• Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and Dean’s List
• Team captain this past season
• Inducted into the Sphinx Society, the oldest honorary society at the University of Georgia, in 2010
• Member of Terry College of Business Leonard Leadership Scholars Program
• Member of UGA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Volunteer swim coach with Special Olympics and has given speeches to young swimmers on swimming and hard work
• 13-time NCAA All-American (3 1T, 10 HM) and four-time SEC Champion
• The Littleton, Colo., native is the son of Bernie and Judy Dylla

Chelsea Nauta, Swimming and Diving (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

•Will earn a B.S. degree in Biology in May 2012
•Three-time member of the College Swim Coaches Association All-Academic Team
•Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll student
•Member of Alpha Epsilon Delta National Premedical Honor Society
•Inducted into the UGA Palladia Society, the highest honor a woman can receive at the University of Georgia
•Member of UGA’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
•Volunteer swim coach and also participated in Athens Food Drive
•Participated in American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life
•13-time NCAA All-American (11 1T, 2 HM) and three-time SEC Champion
•Member of the 800 freestyle relay that set the American record at the SEC Championship
•Team captain this past season
•The Tampa, Fla., native is the daughter of Steven Nauta and Andrea Rogers.

Asaph Levy, Track and Field (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Biology in May 2011
• Member of 2010 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team
• Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll student
• Three-year letter winner for UGA as a triple jumper, including advancing to the 2010 NCAA East Regional
• Founder and Vice-President of the UGA Biology and Life Sciences Association
• Member of Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation
• Served as a mentor to students at Barrow Elementary School
• Volunteered at St. Mary’s Hospital and with Heroes, a program for HIV and AIDS awareness for young children
• The Kennesaw, Ga., native is the son of Dane and Karrol Levy

Bridget Lyons, Track and Field (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

• As a double major with a 3.88 GPA, will earn a B.S. degree in Biology and B.A. degree in Spanish in May 2011
• Member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and a Presidential Scholar at UGA
• U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team
• Member of Alpha Epsilon Delta premedical honor society
• Member of National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society
• Received 2011 Peach of an Athlete Award, given by Atlanta area Boy Scout Council to outstanding community service
• Student-Athlete representative to UGA Athletic Association Board of Directors
• Volunteered at Hope Dental Clinic, Oasis after School for Spanish speaking elementary school students, American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and Town and Gown Theatre Company.
• The Evans, Ga., native is the daughter of Jill Miller

KENTUCKY
Josh Nadzam, Track and Field (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn B.A. degree in Social Work in December 2011
• Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient
• U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team (2010)
• Three-year letter winner in Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field and Outdoor Track and Field
• Inducted into the UK Frank G. Ham Society of Character
• Recipient of UK Athletics Department “Catspy Award” for community service
• Member of SEC Community Service Team for track & field
• The Monaca, Pa. native is the son of Wendy Nadzam

Lauren Rapp, Volleyball (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn a B.A. degree in Elementary Education in May 2011
• Dean’s List, Athletic Director’s Honor Roll and SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient
• Two-time Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America All-District Team
• Member of UK chapter of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
• 2010 team captain and was first-team All-SEC and All-South Region
• Second-team All-SEC in 2008 and 2009
• Inducted into the UK Frank G. Ham Society of Character
• Volunteered at the East Seventh Street Community Center, UK’s Children’s Hospital and Lighthouse Ministries.
• The Indianapolis, Ind. native is the son of John and Leslie Rapp.

Marcus Davis, Football (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Earned a B.A. degree in Journalism in December 2010
• Recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award, given to African-American student-athletes with an exemplary grade point average
• Inducted into the UK Frank G. Ham Society of Character
• Member of SEC Academic Honor Roll in all four seasons at UK
• Three-year letter winner
• President of UK’s Athletes in Action chapter as a senior and active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes
• Participated in Read across America and has volunteered at youth sports clinics, spoke at local churches and was part of a mission trip to Nicaragua.
• The Union, Ky. native is the son of Miles and Eugenia Davis

Samantha DeMartine, Softball (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Kinesiology and Health Promotion in December 2011
• Member of the Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll
• Inducted into the UK Frank G. Ham Society of Character
• Finalist for the Sullivan Award, given by the AAU for exemplary athletic abilities as well as showing leadership, sportsmanship and character
• Four-year starter for the Wildcats at catcher
• Volunteered her time with UK’s Children’s Hospital, American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald House, Salvation Army and Special Olympics of Central Kentucky.
• She was active in the SEC’s “Together We Can” food drive and Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
• Recipient of the 2010 UK Darrel A. Van Meter Award, given to students who display unselfish spirit and commitment to community service
• The Marlboro, N.Y. native is the daughter of Douglas and Mary DeMartine

LSU
Sebastian Carlsson, Tennis (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn B.S. degree in Biological Sciences in December 2011
• Three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and LSU Athletic Director’s Cup for Academic Excellence recipient
• Member of Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society
• Three year starter and team captain in 2010 and 2011
• 2010 Southern Region ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr., Leadership and Sportsmanship Award winner
• Has volunteered with Special Olympics, read to children at local elementary schools and has visited with children at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital
• Participated in Halloween BOOzar children’s activity as well as Thanksgiving with the Tigers and Christmas Toy Drive.
• The Uppsala, Sweden native is the son of Kent and Marina Carlsson

Jane Trepp, Swimming and Diving (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Psychology in December 2011
• Two-time College Swim Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American
• Chanellor’s List and Dean’s List student
• Voted LSU’s Most Outstanding Swimmer and served as team’s co-captain in 2009 and 2010
• LSU record-holder in the 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, 200 and 400 free relays and 200 and 400 medley relays
• 2011 SEC champion and SEC record holder in the 100 breaststroke
• 2010 FINA World Championships Finalist
• Volunteered with the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and the Hurricane Gustav relief efforts
• Participated in Christmas with the Tigers and Halloween BOOzar, both visiting with local underprivileged children
• Volunteered at LSU Greenring Day, activity designed to help beautify LSU campus
• The Baton Rouge, La. native is the daughter of Angela Trepp.

Kyle Rose, Track and Field (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Will earn a B.S. degree in Kinesiology in August 2011
• Chancellor’s List and Dean’s List student
• Member of SEC Academic Honor Roll and LSU Scholar-Athlete Directors Cup
• Two-year letter winner in Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field
• Member of LSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
• Active in Halloween BOOzar and Christmas with the Tigers, working with underprivileged children
• Participated in Habitat for Humanity and American Cancer Society Relay for Life
• Created and coordinated “Geaux Givers Recruits”, serving as tour guides to middle school students to LSU’s campus and athletic facilities
• The New Orleans, La. native is the son of Mark and Kelly Rose.

Courtney Alexander, Soccer (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

• Earned a B.S. degree in Kinesiology in December 2010
• Two-time Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American All-District
• Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll member
• Three-year starter and 2010 team captain
• President of LSU’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter (2009-10)
• Helped organize fundraisers for Desire Street Ministries
• Volunteered with Lespwa means Hope, including mission trip to Haiti and organizing fundraising auction
• Served as mentor to children as part of Kid’s Hope USA
• The Liberty, Mo. native is the daughter of Ted and Dana Alexander

OLE MISS
Lee Moore, Track and Field (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

· Will earn B.S. degree in Biology in May 2011
· Chancellor’s Honor Roll and Ole Miss Athletics Honor Roll
· Member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society
· U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic selection
· Three-year team captain
· Has held USA and NCAA top time in the 400m hurdles during his career.
· Volunteered at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis
· Participated in Reading with the Rebels, a program where student-athletes read to children at local elementary schools
· Has also volunteered at local schools tutoring and mentoring students in promoting a healthy lifestyle
· The Cordova, Tenn. native is the son of Linda Moore

Emily Kvitle, Volleyball (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

Earned a B.S. degree in Exercise Science in December 2010.
Chancellor’s Honor Roll, UMAA Honor Roll and SEC Academic Honor Roll student
Member of Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Alpha Lambda National Honor Societies
Member of National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Four-year letter winner and two-year (2009-10) team captain
Member of Ole Miss’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
Active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Has volunteered with Special Olympics, Salvation Army and Big Brother/Big Sister in Oxford
Participated in “Reading with the Rebels,” Thanksgiving Drive, helping provide meals, and Rebel Rerun, collecting shoes to send overseas.
The Quincy, Ill. native is the daughter of Kirk and Barbara Kvitle.

Barnabus Kirui, Track and Field (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

Earned a B.B.A. degree in Banking and Finance and Accountancy in 2010
Will earn Master of Accountancy degree in may 2012
Chancellor’s Honor Roll and Dean’s List student
Named to Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Team
Member of Beta Alpha Psi and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Societies
NCAA Champion in 3000m Steeplechase (2007)
SEC champion for three years (2006, 2009, 2010) in cross country and 3000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
SEC Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2007 and 2010
Founded project called "Rebel Reruns" in which Ole Miss Athletics collects shoes and sports cleats that are sent back to less fortunate children in Kirui's native country of Kenya.
Served internship with Price Waterhouse Cooper accounting agency in 2011.
Member of STAND – Students against Genocide in Darfur and member of African Carribean Association.
The Litein, Kenya native is the son of Albina Mibei

Juliana Smith, Track and Field (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

Will earn a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice (emphasis on Homeland Security) in May 2011
Member of Chancellor’s and Dean’s Honor Roll
Named Who’s Who among American Universities
Ole Miss record holder in the weight throw and hammer throw
Member of USATF Coaches Association All-Academic Team
Named USTFCCCA first team Indoor All-American in 2011
Member of first-team All-SEC in 2009
Member of Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society
Volunteered with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and college ministry at New Mercies Christian Church
Served an internship with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation
The Loganville, Ga. Native is the daughter of Francis and Juliana Smith.

MISSISSIPPI STATE
Derek Sherrod, Football (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

· Earned B.B.A. degree (cum laude) in Risk Management Insurance and Financial Planning in August 2010
· Will earn Masters of Education degree in December 2011
· National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete (2010)
· Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American
· President’s Scholar and Bulldog Honor Roll
· Four year letter winner and team captain as a senior
· Two-time All-SEC and first-team All-America selection in 2010
· Participated in the Starkville Academy Fall Festival, Thanksgiving Food Drive and Halloween Carnival
· The Columbus, Miss. native is the son of Louis and Harriette Sherrod

Leanna Baldner, Soccer (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

Earned a B.A. degree (summa cum laude) in Communications/Public Relations in August 2010
Will earn Masters of Education degree in December 2011
President’s Scholar, Dean’s Scholar and MSU Bulldog Honor Roll
MSU Athletic Department’s Newsome Academic Achievement Award for women’s soccer
Four-year letter starter and three-year captain
Two-time member of SEC Soccer Community Service Team
Counselor at Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Church of God camps
Active in Campus Crusade for Christ and Reformation University Fellowship
MSU M-Club President (2010-11)
The Marion, Miss. native is the daughter of Bill and Jodi Baldner

Mark Melichar, Football (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

Earned a B.B.A. degree in Insurance, Risk Management and Financial Planning in May 2010
Will earn Master of Science degree in December 2011
Dean’s List Scholar and Bulldog Honor Roll
Member of Alpha Lambda Delta and Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Societies
Four-year letter winner
Visited children at Jackson (Miss.) Children’s Hospital, Aiken Village Preschool and West Point Middle School
Was a bellringer for Salvation Army and collected goods for Palmers Home
The Birmingham, Ala. native is the son of Randolph and Debbie Melichar

Courtney Nesbit, Softball (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

Will earn a B.S. degree in Special Education in December 2011
Presidential Scholar and Dean’s Scholar
Member of Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society
National Fastpitch Coaches Association Academic All-American
Three-year starter as first baseman/outfielder
She has been active in MSU’s Halloween Carnival for children, Bully’s Book Blitz, Festival of Trees and canned food drives.
Helped coach 3^rd-grade girls basketball team and taught Vacation Bible School.
The Acworth, Ga. native is the daughter of David and Kim Nesbit

SOUTH CAROLINA

Jimmy Maurer, Soccer (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

· Earned B.S. degree (magna cum laude) in Finance and Marketing in December 2010
· President’s List, Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll member
· Capital One/CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American
· Third-team NSCAA All-South Region (2010)
· Second all-time in Carolina history in shutouts
· Four-year starter and 2010 team captain
· Participated in free soccer clinics in the Columbia community
· Made frequent visits to children at Palmetto Children’s Hospital
· The Lawrenceville, Ga. Native is the son of T.A. and Betsy Maurer

Mollie Patton, Soccer (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

Earned a B.S. degree (magna cum laude) in Exercise Science in August 2010
Is currently working on Doctor of Pharmacy degree
President’s List, Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll member
First-team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American
Second-team NSCAA Scholar All-Region
Carolina all-time leader in career wins (45) and single-season wins (19)
Has volunteered at Ronald McDonald House, Habitat for Humanity, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and American Red Cross.
Also visited local elementary schools, reading to children
The Milford, Ohio native is the daughter of Randy and Meg Patton

Mike Zajac, Track and Field (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

Will earn a B.S. degree in Accounting in May 2011
Three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic
Three-time All-American (twice in Indoor Hammer Throw; once in Outdoor Hammer) and twice SEC runner-up in the weight throw
Two-time team captain
Volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Lift Up America, SEC’s “Together We Can” food drive and the Columbia Food Bank.
Helped coach inner city children at City of Columbia Summer Camp and visited elderly with “Gamecocks Giving Back.”
The Lynchburg, Va. native is the son of Bert and Susan Zajac

Jewel May, Basketball (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

Will earn B.A. degrees in Psychology and Sociology in May 2011
Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll member
Four-year letter winner and three-year starter
Team captain during senior season
Earned one of the 26 NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarships for Careers in Athletics
Served as mentor at South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
Volunteered with “Gamecocks Giving Back”, “Team Gamecocks”, and the Harvest Hope Food Bank.
Assisted with MLK Day American Red Cross Telethon and helped raise funds for helping underprivileged families during Christmas
The Conyers, Ga. native is the daughter of Dennis and Georgina May

TENNESSEE
John-Patrick Smith, Tennis (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

· Will earn a B.S. degree in Economics in May 2011
· Two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete and Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America All-District Team
· He is a three-time ITA All-America in singles and doubles in addition to being a three-time All-SEC selection.
· Three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll and UT Thornton Center Honor Roll
· 2010 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Male Amateur Athlete of the Year
· 2010 SEC Player of the Year
· He is a two-time NCAA doubles finalist as well as an NCAA singles finalist
· Member of UT’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
· Frequently visits with children at Knoxville Children’s Hospital
· Gave free tennis lessons to underprivileged kids at Tennis Townsville Association
· Also works with kids at Knoxville YMCA and Townsville Grammar School
· The Townsville, Australia native is the son of Kevin and Susan Smith

Nikki Fowler, Volleyball (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

Will earn a B.S. degree in Marketing in May 2011
2010 Capital One/CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American and three-time academic all-district selection
2010 SEC Volleyball Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year
American Volleyball Coaches third-team All-American (2010)
Member of the 2010 U.S. National A2 Training Team and was recently named to the 2010 CVU.com Honorable Mention Stellar Spiker list
Three-time All-SEC first-team
Three-year member of UT’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
Team captain as a senior
Volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and Boys and Girls Club
Organized and hosted free volleyball clinics benefitting Second Harvest Food Bank
The Plano, Texas native is the daughter of Marc and Regina Fowler

Michael Wright, Swimming and Diving (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

Will earn a B.A. degree in Studio Art in May 2011
SEC Academic Honor Roll and VolScholar Academic Honor Roll
Captain of the UT swimming & diving team
First-ever African-American national champion in USA springboard diving
Member of UT’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
Helped organized and direct the SEC’s “Together We Can” food drive
Participated in the SAAC Holiday Dinner for Volunteer Ministries
Visits with kids at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and Big Brother/Big Sister in Knoxville
The Forest Park, Ill. native is the son of Al and Kris Wright

Jackie Areson, Track and Field (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

Will earn a B.S. degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in May 2011
2010 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American
Three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Team member and four-time member of SEC Academic Honor Roll
Holds UT indoor records in the 3000 and 5000 meters
2011 NCAA indoor 5000 meter champion
2011 SEC Indoor Women’s Runner of the Year after breaking a 24-year-old meet record in the 3000 meters and anchoring distance medley relay to a meet record
Also anchored 2010 SEC champion indoor distance medley relay team and was the 2010 SEC indoor and outdoor 5000 meter champion
Collected food for the SEC’s “Together We Can” food drive
Also helped with Toys for Tots campaign, Habitat for Humanity and the UT Environmental Club
The Hypoluxo, Fla. native is the daughter of Mary Areson

VANDERBILT

John Stokes, Football (Male McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

Will earn a B.A. degree in Medicine, Health and Society in May 2011
Three-time Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American All-District Team
Dean’s List and SEC Academic Honor Roll student
Four-year letter starter (long snapper – 2007, 08, 09 and linebacker – 2010)
Member of football team’s Leadership Council and Captain’s Award recipient in 2010.
Took two service trips to Belize through Manna Project Vanderbilt.
President of Vanderbilt’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter (2010-11)
Participated in a clinical research project with a surgical oncologist (2008-09)
Traveled to South Africa as part of USAID service program
The Memphis, Tenn. native is the son of Jack and Carol Stokes

Molly Kinsella, Soccer (Female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Nominee)

Will earn a B.A. degree in Biological Sciences in May 2011
Dean’s List and SEC Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2010)
Capital One/CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American and Lowe’s Senior CLASS first-team finalist
Four-year starter and team co-captain in 2009-10
Second team All-SEC in 2009-10
Served as an intern at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Taught middle school students as part of Vanderbilt’s “Volunteers for Science”
Volunteered as a pharmacy technician at a VA Hopsital
Involved in community service with Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Memphis, Tenn. native is the daughter of Peter and Angela Kinsella

Bram Chisholm, Cross Country (Male Davis Community Service Nominee)

Will earn a B.A. degree in Classics and Economics in May 2011
Earned Dean’s List honors every semester
Three-year letter winner and named Vandy’s Most Improved Cross Country Runner (spring 2009)
Worked with children at Westminster Presbyterian Church, serving as a Youth Group Assistant Leader
Active in Vanderbilt student government and the Vanderbilt University Chinese Association
Volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and went to New Orleans to help rebuild homes after Hurricane Katrina
The Alpharetta, Ga. native is the son of Tim and Louise Chisholm

Rebecca Silinski, Basketball (Female Davis Community Service Nominee)

Will earn a B.A. degree in Political Science and Communication Studies in May 2011
Three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll and Dean’s List member
Four-year letter winner and team captain as a senior
Named team’s Most Improved Player as a junior
Has volunteered her time with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Nashville Buddy Walk and the Gift of Life Kidney Foundation Walk.
Served as president of Vandy’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
Helped organize Senior Day awareness games for Lyme disease and World Vision, which is an organization dedicated to tackling poverty
Visited with residents at Blakeford at Green Hills Nursing Home
The Birmingham, Ala. native is the daughter of Rob and Karen Silinski

2011 SEC Men’s Basketball Community Service Team Announced

2011-03-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

Birmingham, Ala. -- In a continuing effort to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition, the SEC once again highlighted a Community Service Team for men's basketball for the 2010-11 season.

This marks the 13th year for the SEC Community Service Team for men's basketball as well as for women's basketball. All 20 league-sponsored sports have had a Community Service Team since 2004, with at-large teams for men's and women's sports being chosen from 1999-2003. The SEC began this concept with a football Community Service Team in 1994.

Charvez Davis – Alabama Sr. G 6-3 186 Montgomery, Ala.
Has volunteered and mentored at three different local schools, including one for at-risk students, this semester ... Has volunteered every Thursday this semester and will is scheduled to continue on this schedule for the remainder of the term.

Marcus Britt – Arkansas Sr. G 6-3 198 Madison, Ark.
Visited the Washington County Juvenile Detention Center each of the last two Thanksgivings to deliver dinners to the detainees … Visited assisted living center to meet and spend time with patients … Played with underprivileged kids and local gaming area the past two years around the Christmas holiday … Has been an active participant at several Boys and Girls Club events including passing out donated backpacks to attendees.

Frankie Sullivan – Auburn Jr. G 6-1 195 Uniontown, Ala.
Visited children and cancer patients at East Alabama Medical Center ... City of Auburn Downtown Trick or Treat by signing autographs and passing out candy ... Mentored elementary school students at the Lee County Youth Development Center and read to them.

Chandler Parsons – Florida Sr. F 6-10 218 Casselberry, Fla.
Chandler Parsons is extremely active in the Gainesville community … In addition to his leadership role in the Gators’ locker room as a four-year player, Parsons has spent countless hours giving back to the Gainesville area … He has made numerous trips to the pediatrics ward at local Shands Hospital … Parsons has helped serve meals to the homeless at the famous St. Francis House in Gainesville at Thanksgiving time … In addition, he has visited numerous local elementary schools promoting the values of education ... Last year, Parsons was also among a group of UF basketball players that visited the set of Extreme Makover: Home Edition recently, as the Gators supported a huge community effort.

Connor Nolte – Georgia Jr. G/F 6-7 205 Alpharetta, Ga.
Participated in the Read Across America program at Barrow Elementary School in Athens … Participated in the SEC’s “Together We Can” Food Drive … Wrote Christmas cards to troops stationed in the Middle East … Went Christmas shopping with children from the Boys and Girls Club of Athens … Spoke to middle school kids as a representative of the FCA … Helped raise money to provide Thanksgiving meals to needy families in the Athens area … Participated in a basketball clinic at Stegeman Coliseum for special needs children … Helped administer the “Do it for Broph” 5K race to raise money for the Kevin Brophy Memorial Scholarship Fund … Served on the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee … Maintained a blog throughout the 2010 season called “Passersremorse.com” that brought national notoriety to the UGA basketball program, mainly through the staging of weekly trick shots by himself, teammates, coaches and other “celebrities.”

DeAndre Liggins – Kentucky Jr. G 6-6 210 Chicago, Illinois
Helped raise money for Haiti earthquake victims in Hoops for Haiti ... Washed feet and helped give shoes in inner city Detroit through Samaritan’s Feet ... Helped pack and deliver food bags for God’s Pantry food bank ... Spent time at Ronald McDonald house ... Visited UK Children’s Hospital where he signed autographs ... Part of a school mentoring program ... Visited children at a Pediatric Oncology hospital in Portland, Oregon. Other Activities, Awards, etc.: Inducted into Frank G. Ham Society of Character.

Daron Populist – LSU So. G 5-10 170 Slidell, La.
Serves as the basketball representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) … Was a participant in the Halloween BOOzar, which brings hundreds of kids to the LSU campus for a night of safe trick or treat activities … Volunteered for the Thanksgiving with the Tigers program in which the basketball team adopted an underprivileged child for the holiday and provided gifts at a program while serving the family a Thanksgiving style meal ... Also volunteered for the Miles for Myles Walk in honor of the NCAA’s late president Myles Brand ... Each year the men’s basketball team goes room to room visiting patients, wearing Santa hats and singing Christmas carols passing out basketball and posters.

Zach Graham – Ole Miss Sr. G 6-6 210 Suwanee, Ga.
Zach Graham is a regular participant in Reading with the Rebels (a program which helps promote reading to area students) and spends time with children at local daycare centers ... He has volunteered at a summer basketball camp and has joined teammates in visiting patients at the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital and Children’s Cancer Clinic at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson ... He and his teammates have taken time to visit with underprivileged children from the local Boys and Girls Club, building scarecrows with them during the fall and delivering Christmas gifts to them in December ... He has also participated in the SEC “Together We Can” food drive, collecting items for the Oxford Food Pantry.

Brandon Bolen – Mississippi State Sr. G 6-3 208 Madison, Miss.
Several days a week, Brandon works with kids at the Starkville Park & Rec, mainly playing basketball and teach them skills and fundamentals of the game... He also coaches a city league team comprised of 12- and 13-year olds.

Malike Cooke – South Carolina Jr. F 6-6 213 Charlotte, N.C.
Helped at the Darrin Horn Ladies Clinic - a ladies clinic which benefits organizations that aid in breast cancer research ... The entire South Carolina men’s basketball team and coaching staff went to the Oliver Gospel Mission over the Thanksgiving holiday to help serve the Thanksgiving meal to the less fortunate in Columbia ... Spoke to kids at Gadsden Elementary School school about being good students, respecting parents and teachers, etc.

Melvin Goins – Tennessee Sr. G 5-11 180 San Diego, Calif.
Read to children at a local elementary school ... Served as a finish-line greeter and handed out roses to cancer survivor at Knoxville’s Race For The Cure ... Visited with patients at UT Medical Center multiple times ... Participated in a home re-model for local child suffering from a brain tumor (even sewed pillow shams) as part of a project for “Special Spaces” ... Starred in a PSA for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life event at UT ... Assisted down syndrome children on the basketball court at the Hoops For Hope event at Farragut High School. Other Activities, Awards, etc.: Served as a campus host for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the fall ... Works closely with a UT faculty mentor.

Joe Duffy – Vanderbilt Jr. F 6-8 225 Charlotte, N.C.
Raised over $5,000 for the charity “Nothing But Nets” last April by putting on a 3-on-3 basketball tournament that he organized; the charity helps purchase mosquito nets for people in Africa ... On tap to do the same thing this April with a “Buzzkill Shoot-Out” ... Other Activities, Awards, etc.: Member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee on campus and is a member of the Vanderbilt Finance Career Mentoring Program, which helps sophomore and junior students network to find jobs in the finance industry.

NAISMITH GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD TO BE PRESENTED TO VOLS’ HALLIE KING

2010-12-15T11:34:00.001-08:00

Hallie King (first name pronounced: HAIL-lee), a sophomore at the University of Tennessee and statistician for the Volunteers men’s basketball team, has been selected to receive the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award. King distinguished herself in the 2008 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games in Milwaukee, Wis., as the first and only high school student in the 34-year history of the games to serve as the official statistician/scoring and timing crew chief.

The Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award is the most prestigious award presented by the Naismith International Basketball Foundation (NIBF). The award honors individuals and institutions involved in basketball for their displays of tremendous sportsmanship on and off the court, their positive contributions to the game and lifelong dedication to the sport. Recipients are selected by a nine member ad hoc committee in recognition of significant and lasting contributions to the sport and the spirit of basketball. In addition, honorees are selected for their role in furthering the values of fun, respect and teamwork that Dr. James Naismith wrote into the 13 original rules of the game. The award is presented only when merited and not on a regular schedule.

The Foundation itself was established by the founding family of basketball to promote sportsmanship.

Ian Naismith (first name pronounced: yon), grandson of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball in 1891, is the founder and director of the NIBF. Naismith is scheduled to present the award to King prior to tipoff of the noon ET Tennessee men’s basketball game vs. Vanderbilt at Thompson-Boling Arena on Jan. 15. The game is being televised by ESPN, and ESPN College GameDay will originate from Thompson-Boling Arena that day beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

“I first met Hallie King at the McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball games in 2008,” Ian Naismith said. “What I observed was a 17-year-old young lady providing a courtside clinic on basketball statistics to some of the icons of the game who were attending as VIPs. I came to learn that Hallie has an unparalleled passion for the game of basketball.

“Her spirit and dedication exemplify the code of sportsmanship that my grandfather wrote into the original 13 rules of the sport. Hallie King represents all that’s good about the essence of the game of basketball. For these reasons, the Naismith International Basketball Foundation has chosen to honor Hallie as the youngest recipient of the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award.”

“Hallie is an asset to my staff, an innovator as it relates to basketball statistics and a wonderful young lady,” Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl said. “The Naismith Award is one of the top honors in all of sports, and the list of winners is a who’s who of the game of basketball. I’m proud to have Hallie associated with our program here at Tennessee, and to have another member of the Tennessee basketball family added to that distinguished list is outstanding.”

King, 20, will be the youngest recipient of the award and only the fourth female to be honored. NBA All-Star Steve Nash was the previous youngest honoree at age 32. Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt, Dorothy Gaters and Lynette Woodard are the prior female honorees.

Other notables to receive the award include John Wooden, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Red Auerbach. Organizations that have received the honor include the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., the YMCA and the Harlem Globetrotters.

King is a consultant to CyberSports Inc., a Redmond, Wash., based software development company for sports statistics. At Arrowhead High School (Hartland, Wis.) King earned multiple varsity letters as statistician for the boys’ basketball and volleyball teams. Arrowhead, ranked by Sports Illustrated as Wisconsin’s top high school athletic program, honored King on multiple occasions. She received the Warhawk Award in 2008 from the boys’ volleyball team as the individual who contributed the most to the team, for having the most team spirit and the hardest worker on the squad. It marked the first time in the history of the program that the award was given to a non-player and female. She also was the first non-player and first female recipient in the history of Arrowhead High School to receive the Al Vandertie Memorial Basketball Scholarship.

Additionally, King served as official statistician for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 and 2 Sectional Boys’ Basketball Tournament in 2009 at the Al McGuire Center and was the official statistician for the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association High School All-Star Games in 2007, 2008 and 2009 in Madison, Wis. The Harlem Globetrotters honored King by selecting her as their official statistician during their annual New Year’s Eve game at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee in 2009.

Previous Naismith Good Sportsmanship Awards have been presented at venues such as the NCAA Final Four, the University of Tennessee (Pat Summitt and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame), several NBA All-Star games, the NCAA Hall of Champions and other professional games.

Hallie is the daughter of Bill and Shelley King of Oconomowoc, Wis. Bill was the Director of Public Relations of the Milwaukee Bucks from 1977-99.

About the Foundation
The NIBF was founded in 1996 by the three grandchildren of Dr. James A. Naismith, who created the sport in 1891. The non-profit NIBF promotes sportsmanship, respect, dignity, fair play, teamwork and responsible conduct at all levels for the game of basketball. The NIBF seeks to awaken and reinvigorate the true spirit of the game that Dr. Naismith set forth in his original rules of the game. The Naismith Sportsmanship Award identifies men and women who are a credit to basketball and true role models for children and fans around the world. The original rules are a near 119-year-old document that Dr. Naismith hung on the bulletin board in the YMCA in Springfield, Mass., on Dec. 21, 1891. The document has belonged to the Naismith family since its conception until last Friday when Sotheby’s auction house in New York City sold the document for $4,338,500. Proceeds support the charitable endeavors of the NIBF.

About the Award
The award itself is recognized as one of the most beautiful historic awards in sports. Standing two-and-a-half feet tall and weighing 70 pounds, the award features a specially commissioned three-dimensional diorama bronze/pewter sculpture of Dr. Naismith standing in a YMCA of the 1890s. The work is based on photographs of Dr. Naismith and the Springfield, Mass., YMCA facility where he invented basketball in the winter of 1891. World renowned artist Michael Roche created the sculpture. The award’s massive base incorporates three plaques – two of which are inscribed with the full text of Dr. Naismith’s game rules. A third, central plaque includes a quote from Dr. Naismith on sportsmanship and is inscribed to Hallie King, “in recognition of significant and lasting contributions to the sport, and the spirit, of basketball.”

Prior Honorees
30 individuals have been honored with the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award. They are: Phog Allen, Red Auerbach, Jerry Colangelo, Homer Drew, Dorothy Gaters, Michael Jordan, Gene Keady, George Killian, John McClendon, Ray Meyer, Dr. James Naismith, Steve Nash. C.M. Newton, Lute Olson, Abe Pollin, Oscar Robertson, Don Ruedlinger, Boris Stankovic, Pat Summitt, Eddie Sutton, Rick Telander, Norm Van Lier, Dick Vitale, Gil Walker, Jerry West, Roy Williams, Tex Winter, Lynette Woodard, John Wooden and Morgan Wootten.

In addition, the award has been bestowed upon the following eight organizations: Harlem Globetrotters, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, National Association of Basketball Coaches, National Federation of High Schools, University of Kansas, Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and YMCA of the USA.

TANNER AND CALIPARI NOMINATED FOR 2010 UNITED NATIONS NGO POSITIVE PEACE AWARDS

2010-12-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

SEC Coaches Ray Tanner and John Calipari Nominated For 2010 United Nations NGO Positive Peace Awards
Award is a 21st Century Peace Prize that honors and recognizes individuals and groups for positive contributions

Atlanta, Ga. - Celebrate Positive announced today that University of South Carolina Baseball Coach Ray Tanner and University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball Coach John Calipari have been nominated for the inaugural 2010 United Nations NGO Positive Peace Awards in the Coach category. This award, viewed as a 21st century peace prize, honors and recognizes individuals, businesses, athletes, sports teams, entertainers and schools around the world for their positive contributions.

The 2010 Positive Peace Award nominees are judged by the United Nations NGO Voting Academy comprised of highly respected United Nations NGOs, such as Rotary International, Pathways to Peace, and Sister Cities International. The Voting Academy will use an established criteria of a coach's community involvement and impact on their community to determine this year's winner.

"Celebrate Positive congratulates Ray Tanner and John Calipari for exemplifying what giving back to the community means" said Scott Pederson, President and CEO, Celebrate Positive. "Coach Tanner and Coach Calipari are not only winners on the field. They are winners off the field as well."

"Coach Tanner's success on the baseball field, as illustrious and unprecedented as it is, nonetheless pales in comparison to what he has given back to the university and to the Columbia community," said Harris Pastides, President, University of South Carolina. "He has selflessly converted his personal accomplishments into a tremendous dedication to achieving the greater good. We are blessed at the University of South Carolina to have Ray Tanner the coach, but we are doubly blessed to have Ray Tanner the humanitarian."

“From day one when John Calipari arrived on our campus, he embraced the Commonwealth,” University of Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart said. “Everyone that has spent any time with Cal knows he has a heart of gold and both he and his wife Ellen care about children. He helped raise over a million dollars in the Hoops for Haiti telethon and didn’t stop there by involving his team with Samaritan’s feet and their cause after a trip to Haiti. We are extremely proud to have him as a representative of our program.”

Tanner was nominated by Oliver Gospel Mission for his personal involvement with the organization which included helping pack 500 boxes for needy families throughout the Midlands for Thanksgiving, and for his financial contribution through the Ray Tanner Foundation.

"Coach Tanner has a true heart for the homeless", said Wayne Fields, President/CEO of the Oliver Gospel Mission "He and his family have been helping the Mission over the years not only with their time but financially as well. We are excited to have him back again as this year's spokesperson."

Calipari was nominated by Samaritan's Feet where he not only helped deliver shoes in June to orphans in Haiti, but washed the feet of the orphans before putting new shoes on their feet. In August, the two-time Coach of the Year also set an example for his players and staff who joined him in washing the feet of children in need at a shoe distribution in Detroit, followed by leading the kids in basketball drills.

“Coach Calipari has used his platform to call attention to the plight of the millions of children around the world who suffer from infection, disease and even death due to a lack of proper footwear”, said Todd Melloch, Director of Marketing for Samaritan's Feet. “He recently went barefoot during the National Anthem at a Kentucky basketball game to encourage UK fans and students to support Samaritan’s Feet.

Rotary International, with over 33,000 Clubs and 1.2 million members in over 200 countries serves on the United Nations NGO Voting Academy.

"We at Rotary International are honored to serve on the voting committee for the United Nations NGO Positive Peace Awards," says RI General Secretary Ed Futa. "Every day, Rotary's 1.2 million members address the question, how do we make our world a better place? How appropriate that these awards recognize those individuals and organizations who are asking the same question and taking the necessary steps to achieve positive change in our world."

The winner of the sports categories for 2010 United Nations NGO Positive Peace Award will be announced in mid December.

About Celebrate Positive
Celebrate Positive, in coordination with the United Nations and its non-government organizations like, Rotary International, Sister Cities International and Pathways to Peace provides a platform to recognize communities, businesses, schools, athletes and entertainers for the positive work to make a difference in the world. Celebrate Positive has created a destination website that provides inspirational news from around the world as well as efforts being made by the United Nations to promote peace globally. For more information on Celebrate Positive or the organizations and agencies they work with, visit www.celebratepositive.com.

OLE MISS’ SCOTT AND SOUTH CAROLINA’S ARBAUGH NAMED 2010 SEC SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS

2010-06-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

Link also features video on the play from Ole Miss' Rodney Scott and Auburn's Zac Etheridge.
http://www.secsports.com//news/sec-sportsmanship-award-winners.aspx

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. – Ole Miss football player Rodney Scott and University of South Carolina softball player Sam Arbaugh have been named recipients of the 3rd annual SEC Sportsmanship Award, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive announced Tuesday. The winners will be forwarded for nomination to the NCAA for its national sportsmanship awards, to be announced in July.

The two were chosen by a vote of the SEC Directors of Athletics.

“Sportsmanship is one of the great lessons learned participating in sports,” said Slive. “Rodney and Sam have shown exemplary sportsmanship and I congratulate them on this outstanding honor.”

During the first quarter of the Auburn-Ole Miss football game on Oct. 31 in Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn safety Zac Etheridge helped make a tackle on Scott, a freshman tailback for the Rebels. When the collision occurred, Scott made a split-second decision to stay still underneath Etheridge, who had become unconscious.

Rather than forcing himself off the ground, which is generally a player’s first instinct, Scott did not move for almost 10 minutes while medical personnel attended to the injured Tiger defensive back. Scott sensed, almost immediately, that Etheridge was seriously injured, and chose to stay motionless while not to risk any further injury to the Auburn defensive back.

“It was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen,” said Auburn head coach Gene Chizik. “I’ve got to give that young man (Scott) a lot of credit. I don’t know how he knew he couldn’t move. It was one of the most phenomenal things I’ve witnessed.”

Etheridge was secured to a stretcher and carted off the field where he was taken to the hospital, where X-rays showed no structural damage to his spine, although he did tear ligaments attached to his spine and cracked his C-5 vertebra. He was in an invasive neck brace for three months.

The two players communicated with each other the week following the incident and still communicate several times a month.

Arbaugh, a sophomore infielder from Aiken, S.C., corresponded with members of the Dickinson State University softball team after three of its teammates died in a tragic automobile accident on November 1, 2009 in Dickinson, N.D.

She sent a card to the Dickinson State team expressing her sympathies. The card explained that she and her teammates were very sorry for their losses and they would keep the team and the families of the victims in their thoughts and prayers. She also explained that she would never know exactly how they felt but that they could only imagine how it would feel to lose people that were so important in her life.
Arbaugh is known for her work ethic on the Gamecock squad and for treating others with courtesy and respect.

Last year, the University of Alabama women’s tennis team and University of Arkansas track & field athlete Dorian Ulrey were recipients of the SEC Sportsmanship Award. In 2008, Florida golfer Jessica Yadloczky and Tennessee basketball player Chris Lofton were recipients of the honor.

Alabama's Barrett Jones Spends Spring Break Lending a Helping Hand in Haiti

2010-03-26T16:03:00.001-07:00

Tide offensive lineman makes a difference off the field

By Jaclyn Sunseri, UA Media Relations

Barrett Jones is not your typical college student. He did not make spring break plans for the beach or return home for a laid back week catching up with friends and family.
Instead, Jones headed to Pignom, Haiti, to aid in the relief efforts of a country struck by a devastating earthquake on January 14, 2010.
Jones is a redshirt freshman on the Alabama Crimson Tide football team and a 4.0 student who garnered second-team Academic All-America honors in the classroom while starting at right offensive guard and earning Freshman All-America accolades on the field. He helped the Crimson Tide put together a 14-0 season and capture the school’s 13th National Championship.
But soon after Alabama had finished celebrating its 37-21 victory over Texas in the Citi BCS National Championship Game, Jones began planning a mission trip to earthquake-ravaged Haiti, just looking for a way to give back.
“I saw the destruction and felt that there had to be something I could do,” said Jones. “So I started looking for an opportunity, a way to get over there to help.”
He found it with the mission group called, Eikon Ministries, based out of his hometown in Memphis, Tennessee. Director Soup Campbell had traveled to Haiti three times since the earthquake performing mission work, and he was someone Jones felt had the experience to take him and his friends.
Jones’ friends were his fellow teammate at Alabama, Hardie Buck, a walk-on wide receiver and friend James Gannon. Both joined him on the trip for a chance to give back.
“I felt that he (Campbell) was really experienced, and he was hooked up with a guy named Caleb Lucien, with Hosean International Ministries, who is a missionary in Haiti,” Jones said.
A very enthusiastic Jones embarked on his journey Saturday, March 13, just one day after the Crimson Tide opened spring football practice. He soon found it was not going to be easy. When scheduling the trip, they found that the Port-au-Prince airport in Haiti was closed, so Jones’ group flew into Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. But from there the group still had quite a trip before reaching their destination city of Pignom, Haiti.
“Puerto Plata is about a 10 hour trip [to Pignom],” said Jones. “The first three hours were in a taxi and then the last seven were in the back of a truck. It was seven of us, with nine pieces of luggage.”
Pignom has become somewhat of a refugee camp for the children who lost their families when the earthquake struck. Jones’ group spent the first day building showers; they dug the holes and began to lay the pipes. The next couple of days Jones spent his time with the kids, showing them there are still people that care.
“There was a wide range of kids anywhere from newborns to 20,” said Jones. “We taught them how to play Uno, played soccer with them, a lot of them just kind of needed to be loved.”
And when Jones traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he saw first-hand the reason why.
“I was definitely more shocked when I saw it in person just because on TV it seems so far away; but in person, it is real,” said Jones. “Seeing people who had lost it all; they live in big fields filled with tents called tent cities. You see thousands of tents. It is where they live because all their houses are in shambles or condemned.”
The group spent the rest of the week in Pignom, performing different relief projects and continuing to form bonds with the Haitian people, until it was time to return home.
Jones returned to Alabama this week, to not only classes, but to spring ball. Spring practice recommenced on March 22, and will continue until the A-Day Game on April 17. Is Jones wishing he had spent his spring break relaxing, maybe going to the beach with his friends?
“Definitely not, there will be plenty of other times to go to the beach, but this was the experience of a lifetime,” said Jones. “Something I may never be able to do again, and an experience I would never take back.”

2010 Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Community Service Team Announced

2010-03-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

Birmingham, Ala. -- In a continuing effort to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes beyond the field of competition, the SEC once again highlighted a Community Service Team for men's basketball for the 2009-2010 season.

This marks the 12th year for the SEC Community Service Team for men's basketball as well as for women's basketball. All 20 league-sponsored sports have had a Community Service Team since 2004, with at-large teams for men's and women's sports being chosen from 1999-2003. The SEC began this concept with a football Community Service Team in 1994.

Senario Hillman – Alabama
Jr. • G • 6-1 • 192 • Irwinton, Ga.
Community Service Projects: Visited school children at University Place Elementary & read books to them in library ... Tuscaloosa Animal Shelter volunteer ... Attended Focus on Senior Citizens program where he spoke to elderly and participated in games ... Spoke to elderly and attended their tailgate party at Glen Haven Retirement Home ... Coordinated bucket toss game for kids at UA Halloween Extravaganza ... Several hours of various volunteer activities with the Tuscaloosa YMCA.

Rotnei Clarke – Arkansas
So. • G • 6-0 • 184 • Verdigris, Okla.
Community Service Projects: Has been a featured speaker at several events including church groups and Fellowship of Christian Athletes ... At Christmas was part of a group that went to a local game stop to play with underprivileged children ... Visited the Fayetteville Juvenile Detention Center on Thanksgiving day and served meals ... Participated in the campus event “Take a Walk in Her Shoes” to bring awareness to rape, sexual assault and gender violence ... Visited the Fayetteville Veterans Administration Hospital on Valentine’s Day to speak to those staying ... Has been asked to be a special guest to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Fame induction of former Arkansas Football Coach Ken Hatfield.

Lucas Hargrove – Auburn
Sr. • F • 6-6 • 218 • Pontiac, S.C.
Community Service Projects: 2010: Visited children and cancer patients at East Alabama Medical Center ... Ran in East Alabama Medical Center Cancer Race ... Served dinner at American Red Cross “A Meal for Haiti” event on Auburn’s campus. 2009: Signed autographs at City of Auburn CityFest ... Ran in East Alabama Medical Center Cancer Race ... Visited children and cancer patients at East Alabama Medical Center ... Signed autographs at City of Auburn Downtown Trick or Treat ... Donated toys for Student Athlete Advisory Committee Toys for Tots Drive ... Participated in the Miles for Myles 5K Run for Myles Brand.

Dan Werner – Florida
Sr. • F • 6-8 • 230 • Middletown, N.J.
Community Service Projects: Dan Werner is extremely active in the Gainesville community ... In addition to his leadership role in the Gators’ locker room as the team’s lone senior, Werner has spent countless hours giving back to the Gainesville area ... He has made numerous trips to the pediatrics ward at local Shands Hospital ... Werner has helped serve meals to the homeless at the famous St. Francis House in Gainesville ... In addition, he has visited numerous local elementary schools promoting the values of education ... Werner was also among a group of UF athletes that visited the set of Extreme Makover: Home Edition recently, as the Gators supported a huge community effort.

Trey Thompkins – Georgia
So. • F • 6-10 • 247 • Lithonia, Ga.
Community Service Projects: Participated in Habitat for Humanity home builds ... Participated in reading and mentoring programs through the Athens/Clarke County & Oconee County school systems ... Volunteered with programs that collected food products for distribution through the Northeast Georgia Food Bank ... Volunteered at the Athens/Clarke County Council on Aging ... Visited patients at St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens ... Participated in mentoring program for the Boys & Girls Club of Athens ... Played Santa Claus at the basketball team’s Christmas party for underprivileged children

Patrick Patterson – Kentucky
Jr. • F • 6-9 • 235 • Huntington, W.Va.
Community Service Projects: Repeatedly makes visits to UK Children’s Hospital to visit and sign autographs ... Has visited students at local elementary schools ... Made visit over Christmas holiday to UK Children’s hospital along with the team ... Involved in Hoops for Haiti project that helped raise over $1 million for Haiti earthquake victims. Other Activities, Awards, etc.: 2009 First Team All-SEC and NABC Second Team All-District ... SEC Player of the Week in 2009 and 2010 ... Member of UK’s prestigious 1,000-point club.

Alex Farrer – LSU
Sr. • G • 6-5 • 200 • Phoenix, Ariz.
Community Service Projects: Member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board representing men’s basketball at LSU ... Helped setup the basketball activity for kids at the Halloween BOOzar ... Led the Christmas With The Tigers event for men’s basketball, where he led his team in adopting an underprivileged child for Christmas ... Also was part of the annual team visit to our Lady of the Lake Hospital children's ward where the team visits patients singing Christmas Carols.

Zach Graham – Ole Miss
Jr. • G • 6-6 • 218 • Suwanee, Ga.
Community Service Projects: Has participated in Reading with the Rebels (a program which helps promote reading to area students) ... Spent time with children at local day care centers during his time at Ole Miss ... He has joined teammates in visiting patients at the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital and Children’s Cancer Clinic at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson ... This December, he and his Rebel teammates took time to visit with underprivileged children from the local Boys and Girls Club, while also delivering Christmas gifts to them.

Barry Stewart – Mississippi State
Sr. • G • 6-3 • 170 • Shelbyville, Tenn.
Community Service Projects: Reads books to kids at the library and at local schools ... Works with Boys & Girls Club and is a yearly guest speaker at Camp of the Rising Sun.

Austin Steed – South Carolina
Jr.. • F. • 6-8. • 235. • Hephzibah, Ga.
Community Service Projects: Has participated in After School Kick Off at Alcorn Middle School, Ronald McDonald House Day, Columbia Parks and Recreation SEC Can Food Drive, NCAA Diversity Workshop Participant, Dodie Academic Enrichment Center Ambassador and is an SAAC Representative.

Bobby Maze – Tennessee
Sr. • G • 6-3 • 195 • Suitland, Md.
Community Service Activities: Maze has been an intricate part of Tennessee’s community efforts and has volunteered for numerous events during his two years in Knoxville ... In 2008-09, Maze assisted with the Hoops for Hope basketball tournament for children with Down Syndrome ... He also visited with patients at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and helped to raise the walls on a new home for a woman in need as part of a Habitat For Humanity project ... Maze was the featured speaker during the 2009 April Play Day event for the Boys & Girls Club at Apostolic Christian, as he helped to mentor at-risk youth ... During the 2009-10 season, Maze again took part in the Hoops for Hope tournament and has visited with patients at ETCH and the UT Medical Center in conjunction with the basketball program’s OUTLIVE initiative ... He also assisted with Knoxville’s Race For The Cure.

Joe Duffy – Vanderbilt
Jr. • F • 6-8 • 225 • Charlotte, N.C.
Community Service Projects: He is Vanderbilt men’s basketball SAAC (Student Athletic Advisory Committee) representative and is constantly involving his teammates in service projects through SAAC, like the annual SAAC Christmas Party and the organization’s Field Day with a local elementary school ... He is also organizing a charity basketball tournament this spring for “Nothing But Nets”, with the proceeds going towards buying mosquito nets to protect children in Africa from Malaria.

Winter Olympics Story of Sportsmanship

2010-02-22T05:39:00.000-08:00

http://www.deseretnews.com/blog/65/10008403/Vancouver-games-2010-Another-story-of-sportsmanship.html

By Amy Donaldson
Deseret News

Kris Freeman, Andover, New Hampshire,is competing in his third Olympic Games here in Vancouver. He is a cross country athlete who raced on Saturday at Whistler Olympic Park.

The 29-year-old, who is a Type I Diabetic, wasn't properly fueled and ran out of gas during the race during the race. It was the kindness of a coach from another team that allowed him to at least finish his race.

Here is his story in his words:

"I miscalculated on the blood sugar today," he said."All of a sudden it was lights out in the classic race. All of a sudden my body wasn't working. I thought that was going to be it. If the coach hadn't come over I thought I was going to have to walk back to the finish line...On the 4th lap of the classic race, I had a blood sugar crash and I stopped and laid on the ground. One of the German coaches came over and gave me a 20oz bottle of Gatorade and goo and I took it. It's the Olympics and I want to finish the race. I got up and after about 5k and I started to feel better, the sugar started coming back up."

"I'm crushed. I don't know what's happened. I've been skiing towards this for 4 years and it's my worst nightmare."

Umpires' call confirms that nice guys finish 1st

2010-02-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

Umpires' call confirms that nice guys finish 1st

Special to The Montgomery Advertiser

LINK - http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20100122/SPORTS0304/1220307/1002/sports/Umpires-call-confirms-that-nice-guys-finish-1st

University of Georgia freshman and Montgomery native Cooper Moseley has received the inaugural National Umpires Association Player of the Year/Sportsmanship Award, the group announced Thursday.

The award is given to the nation's top amateur baseball player who most "exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the field -- ethical behavior both on and off the field, fair play and integrity," according to the NUA.

In 2009, the umpires group assessed thousands of players in the 14U-18U age brackets from across the country during spring and summer. At the close of the regular summer season, the umpires' vote was unanimous for Moseley as the player who best exemplifies these standards.

"It was Moseley's unselfish, classy and service-oriented approach to the game and to life that made him stand out," said Jim Stros, national director of the NUA. "He's an extremely hard worker with a positive, can-do attitude."

Stros added that several of the umpires in NUA took notice of Moseley's faith; his humble approach on and off the field toward coaches, teammates, and opponents; and his consistent professional attitude toward the umpires.

Moseley, a 5-11, 170-pound right-hander, is the son of Carey and Eve Moseley of Montgomery.

During his prep career, he played at Evangel Family Christian Academy and Success Unlimited Academy in Montgomery. He posted a 7-1 record with a 1.22 ERA and 130 strikeouts as a senior. He also produced at the plate, batting .583 with four home runs and 46 RBI.

Mosely was rated the No. 1-ranked high school player in Alabama by Perfect Game USA in 2009.

Moseley is projected to contribute as a pitcher and second baseman for the Bulldogs. In his first semester at Georgia, the agriculture major excelled in the classroom, earning a spot on the Fall 2009 Athletic Director's Honor Roll. Student-athletes must post a grade point average of 3.00 or high to earn this distinction.

"Cooper is an outstanding student-athlete and a fierce competitor," Georgia coach David Perno said. "He had a productive fall, and we're looking forward to him making a huge impact for our 2010 team."

547 Student-Athletes named to Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll

2010-01-29T11:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.secsports.com/news/secs-fall-academic-honor-roll.aspx

2009 FALL SEC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL

Birmingham, Ala. -- A total of 547 student-athletes were named to the 2009 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll, Thursday by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.

The University of South Carolina topped the list with 78 student-athletes on the fall academic roster. The University of Georgia was next with 54 fall student-athletes honored. The 2009 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll is based on grades from the 2009 Spring, Summer and Fall terms.

Any student-athlete who participates in a Southeastern Conference championship sport or a student-athlete who participates in a sport listed on his/her institution’s NCAA Sports Sponsorship Form is eligible for nomination to the Academic Honor Roll. The following criteria should be followed: (1) A student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.00 or above for either the preceding academic year (two semesters or three quarters) or have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution. (2) If a student-athlete attends summer school, his/her grade point average during the summer academic term must be included in the calculation used to determine eligibility for the Academic Honor Roll. (3) Student-athletes eligible for the Honor Roll include those receiving an athletics scholarship, recipients of an athletics award (i.e., letter winner), and non-scholarship student-athletes who have been on a varsity team for two seasons. (4) Prior to being nominated, a student-athlete must have successfully completed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours of non-remedial academic credit toward a baccalaureate degree at the nominating institution. (5) The student-athlete must have been a member of a varsity team for the sport’s entire NCAA Championship segment.

The complete list of honorees can be found at http://www.secsports.com/news/secs-fall-academic-honor-roll.aspx.

Golfer Lauded for Sportsmanship After Losing Title

2010-01-27T05:53:00.000-08:00

http://www.tonic.com/article/golfer-adam-van-houten-earns-sports-illustrated-sportmanship-award/

By Darragh Worland / Tonic.com

Sometimes it's not about winning the game, but how you play it.

We generally think of "winning" as another way of saying we're the best. But those at the top of their game, aren't always the most sportsmanlike.

So it's nice to see that at a time when golf's image has been tarnished by the personal failures of the game's top player, another player has earned a spot on Sports Illustrated's sportsmanship of the decade list — not for his game, but for his honesty (five years ago!)

Golfer Adam Van Houten was about to celebrate a seven-stroke victory in the Ohio high school golf championship in 2004 when he noticed an error on his scorecard, reports the Associated Press. One of his playing partners had scribbled a "5" for the 10th hole instead of the "6" that Van Houten had actually earned. But he'd already signed the card, so to come forward would mean disqualification from the tournament, because, well, he'd essentially signed off on the error.

But despite the consequences, Van Houten brought the mistake to light, and as expected, lost the title.

For those of us who don't follow golf, the error seems minor and its consequences brutal, but for Van Houten, being a good "sport," meant playing by the rules of the game. He knew his speaking up would cost him the state championsip, but he did it anyway.

Van Houten is now a sophomore golfer at George Mason University near Washington, where he can hold his head high. The Ohio State High School Athletic Association honored him with a commemorative medal this week in honor of being a sportsman of the decade.

Now that's the kind of athlete kids can aspire to be: not one who cheats the rules, but who excels while playing by the rules.

College athletes score in community

2010-01-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

http://www.uticaod.com/features/x1767499379/College-athletes-score-in-community

By JOHN PITARRESI
Utica (N.Y.) Observer-Dispatch
Posted Jan 02, 2010 @ 06:14 PM

College athletes tutoring youngsters, passing on the fundamentals of their sports, working in a soup kitchen for an evening, helping raise money for charity?

In the past it might have been done on an individual basis now and then, but whole teams volunteering their time and energy to help out in the community was rare to non-existent.

“It didn’t happen when I was in school,” said Hamilton College Athletic Director Jon Hind, who played football and lacrosse for the Continentals and graduated in 1980.

It does now, all the time. It is difficult to find a team at any of the colleges in the Utica-Rome area that isn’t involved in some sort of volunteer activity.

“I think it is a great thing,” said Jessica Berry, a Utica College basketball player from Rome who has volunteered in several different arenas with her teammates, including a clinic for the Girl Scouts and helping out in the kitchen at Hope House. “It gives us a chance to get off the campus and interact with other people in the community. It’s always good to give back. It makes you realize a lot and appreciate what you do have.”

And there are other rewards.

“You meet a lot of nice people and a lot of nice kids,” Berry said. “It’s nice to see the progress kids make, even in one day. If you can get someone to smile or someone to laugh, it’s a great feeling.”

The collegiate-athlete/community-service phenomenon has taken off in the last decade. The NCAA has had such initiatives for more than 20 years, such as its Youth Education in Sports (YES) program. The National Junior College Athletic Association also promotes interaction with the community.

Hind said that all teams at NCAA championship sites are required to participate in some kind of community outreach.

---For more on story, click link at top of story ---

UNLV Running Back hopes charitable ways inspire fellow Rebel athletes

2009-12-29T18:58:00.000-08:00

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/28/randle-hopes-charitable-ways-inspire-fellow-unlv-a/

By Ryan Greene
Las Vegas Sun

When new UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood recently talked in public forums about student-athletes getting out in the community more on his watch, Bradley Randle's ears perked up.

The UNLV running back, who redshirted this fall, always has been a charitable guy — a lesson handed down from within his family.

But now, the Murrieta, Calif., native hopes to be an ambassador of sorts within the athletic department.

Randle spent the days leading up to Christmas offering his time to the "Christmas in Compton" toy drive, which is put on by one of his older brothers.

Randle and his family joined another Compton native — rapper The Game — in handing out toys to youths at a Compton church Wednesday.

When he returns to campus Jan. 10 in time for the spring semester, Randle said his goal will be to keep things going on that front.

"We've already been doing it," he said. "But now it's just doing it more."

Randle, who was a cornerstone in last year's recruiting class, could have an elevated role on the field under new coach Bobby Hauck as spring football approaches. Hauck recruited Randle during the 5-foot-8, 190-pound back's decorated prep career at Vista Murrieta High, and Randle said he is looking forward to playing for the former Montana coach.

Randle also said he'll be taking some initiative off of the field, too. He plans to read to local youths and hopes to start a food drive for home games at Sam Boyd Stadium, where canned goods and non-perishable items would be collected at the gates.

"There's a lot of people who want to give," he added. "Little things can be a big thing for somebody else."

Southeastern Conference Football Community Service Team Announced

2009-11-26T19:31:00.000-08:00

2009 SEC Football Community Service Team Announced

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The SEC sponsors Community Service Teams for all 20 league sponsored sports. The Community Service Team highlights an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts. This year’s Football Community Service Team honorees are listed below:

Alabama Crimson Tide

Javier Arenas

Senior, Cornerback, Tampa, Fla.

Javier Arenas has volunteered more than 50 hours of community service throughout the Tuscaloosa community. He has spent time in the local school systems, speaking to children about the dangers of bullying and the positive effects of team work. He has also attended birthday parties of physically challenged children and reached out with phone calls to children battling cancer. He is also involved with Project Angel Tree.

Arkansas Razorbacks

D.J. Williams

Junior, Tight End, Little Rock, Ark.

D.J. Williams faced domestic violence growing up and has used his platform in an effort to help other dealing with similar circumstances. Williams is active at the University of Arkansas and in the city of Fayetteville with numerous community initiatives. He has participated in the Razorback for a Day program where he signed autographs and took pictures with kids from the Northwest Arkansas Children Center. He also assisted in the SEC Together We Can program. He is a volunteer with Big Brother/Big Sisters and has helped feed the hungry in Northwest Arkansas with the “Lift Up America” program. Williams is a member of SAAC for 2009-10 and last year was involved in the Christmas Shop Razorback SAAC program at Toys-R-US. In May of 2009, he was selected to represent the University of Arkansas at the National Student-Athlete Development Conference at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Auburn University

Walter McFadden

Senior, Defensive Back, Pompano Beach, Fla.

Walter McFadden has been active with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for the last three years. He has participated in Toys for Tots and the Beat Bama Food Drive the last three years with the AU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He participated in the BRIDGES Summer Program at Drake Middle School, as a featured speaker during the summer day camp. He has also participated in the Learning Zone Day Care Center Pep Rally and the Auburn Early Education Center Pep Rally and has been a featured speaker at the KUMON Math and Reading Center and Camp Kaleidoscope (summer program sponsored by the City of Auburn).

Quote from Walter McFadden

"The reason why community service is so important to me is because it had an effect on my life. A lot of people came back and helped out in the organizations I grew up playing in, and they helped me get to where I am today, so I felt like I should return that favor."

University of Florida

David Nelson

Senior, Wide Receiver, Wichita Falls, Texas

David Nelson has headed up Florida's huge charity event, the Gator Charity Challenge, which took place July 31 in The Swamp. Nelson was the main spokesman, meeting weekly to promote the event. In addition to his in-depth work and plentiful time devoted to the Gator Charity Challenge, Nelson also made time to take part in several other community outreach activities, including making a visit to Shands Hospital in Gainesville to visit sick patients, taking part in a tour of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, serving as a leader during one of UF's "Swamp Fieldtrips", where local school kids are rewarded for good work by visiting "The Swamp" and meeting a special guest such as Nelson. Additionally, Nelson spent three hours on a hospital visit for the March of Dimes, the charity for which he was a captain during Gator Charity Challenge, while also taking time to attend a community outreach video game contest put on by the UF Football team.

University of Georgia

Jeff Owens

Senior, Defensive Tackle, Sunrise, Fla.

Jeff Owens has been deeply involved in community service activities during his four-year Georgia career. His resume of community service activities include assisting in building a home with the Athens area Habitat For Humanity, visiting patients at St. Mary’s Hospital, Boys and Girls Club, the SEC “Together We Can” Food Drive, adopting local families as part of the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Holiday Helpers, visiting patients at the Egleston Children’s Hospital, Barrow Elementary School Reading Program, HERO for a Day (non-profit agency dedicated to improving quality of life of children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS) and Countdown to Kickoff, benefitting Children’s Heath Care of Atlanta.

University of Kentucky

Alfonso Smith

Senior, Tailback, Louisville, Ky.

Alfonso Smith has been very active in the “Cats That Care” service program during his four years as a Wildcat. He has put in over 200 hours of community service with his Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and with his help Phi Beta Sigma won the Community Service Award in 2009. Smith has been a visitor and guest speaker at numerous schools and events, including the West End Community Empowerment Project, the American Cancer Society Relay and the March of Dimes’ step show. He participated in a fundraiser for the homeless in Lexington and volunteered with the Salvation Army by serving as a bell ringer, selling baked goods and donating his own clothing. Smith also is a nominee for the Allstate / AFCA Good Works Team.

Louisiana State University

Lyle Hitt

Senior, Offensive Guard, Baton Rouge, La.

Lyle Hitt has been active in RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) at LSU, which is a Presbyterian based campus ministry group. He is also a member of National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the National College Athlete Honor Society. As an active member in FCA, he routinely speaks to high school FCA groups in the Baton Rouge area. He went on a week-long medical mission to the Dominican Republic in May of 2009 and continues to pursue his goal of attending medical school. He has worked at a food pantry through a local ministry and is active in reading to students at local elementary schools. He is also a member of the LSU Mortar Board.

University of Mississippi

Dexter McCluster

Senior, Wide Receiver, Largo, Fla.

Dexter McCluster participates annually with Reading with the Rebels at Oxford area elementary schools. He is a volunteer with the annual National Student-Athlete Day Community Service Project and the “As We Grow” Summer Fitness Program. He has participated in Arts for the Angels charity performance for Angel Ranch, with all proceeds going to benefit temporarily displaced children who are in the protective custody of the Mississippi Department of Human Services. During game week at the 2009 AT&T Cotton Bowl, he visited with children at Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas.

Mississippi State University

Tyson Lee

Senior, Quarterback, Columbus, Miss.

Tyson Lee is an active member in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the student-athlete M-Club, and completes several service projects a year with both groups. Tyson is an active speaker visiting with youth groups, classrooms and local churches. Tyson is scheduled to graduate in December and plans on a career in teaching or coaching.

Quote from Tyson Lee

"Giving back to others is something that we have a responsibility to do as leaders in the community. We're blessed to be able to walk into schools and places around the community and be looked up at and welcomed, so it's our duty to make sure we're being a positive influence and a role model to everybody that's watching us."

University of South Carolina

Moe Brown

Senior, Wide Receiver, Anderson, S.C.

Moe Brown has been very active in the Columbia community over the past four years. The Gamecock wide receiver is a mentor at New Providence Elementary School, has been a regular participant at Camp Kemo, a camp for children with cancer, Children’s Chance Evening with the Gamecocks, and has been a participant in the Pigskin Poets program, reading and meeting with over 300 children at the annual event. In addition, Brown ran a station at our recent Boy Scouts Day, in which over 500 boy scouts were taught teamwork and sportsmanship. He served as the final speaker at the event as well. Brown is also the football team’s representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Quote from Moe Brown

“It’s very important to give back to the community to me personally just because they pour themselves into us as fans with their support for us. To have a chance to put a smile on someone’s face when they may be having a bad day, it gives me joy as well as them. We who are blessed are supposed to give back. I feel like a blessed person and I can bless someone in return. That’s why I like to give back to the community.”

University of Tennessee

Ben Martin

Junior, Defensive End, Cincinnati, Ohio

Ben Martin has volunteered his time with the Knox County Public Law Defender’s Office, working with children from low-income areas. He has visited patients at East Tennessee’s Children’s Hospital and has worked with children at the Knox Kicks Soccer Clinic and Boys and Girls Club. He has been a volunteer, playing with children, for a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fundraiser and with Teams for Toys. A member of UT’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, he has also participated in campus clean-up efforts.

Quote from Ben Martin

“The thing I had the most fun doing was soccer camp with refugee kids last summer here at UT. It was a lot of fun watching them run around and interacting with them. We played soccer, we played other kinds of games. It was rewarding seeing them have fun and also a lot of fun for me."

Vanderbilt University

Myron Lewis

Senior, Cornerback, Pompano Beach, Fla.

Myron Lewis has spent the last two summers working with inner-city kids in the Nashville area. As a counselor at the Martha O’Bryan Center in east Nashville, Lewis has served as a mentor and counselor for dozens of elementary school children at the center.

Quote from Myron Lewis

“To tell the truth, I’ve probably enjoyed the last two summers at the Martha O’Bryan Center as much as the kids have. It’s been an extremely rewarding experience.

“I enjoy the role of being a mentor or big brother because I know how important it was in my own life. I always had older brothers there to encourage and support me, and simply help guide me when I was younger. They were my mentors.

“I’ve met a lot of youngsters at the O’Bryan Center that have their entire lives ahead of them. Hopefully, I’ve been a positive influence on them, given some good advice and lots of encouragement, and just been a positive role model.”

USA Hockey: Teach your child to honor officials

2009-11-17T05:31:00.000-08:00

http://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=PL_08_01&id=274448

Teach your child to honor officials
November 16, 2009

This week, the weekly parent tip focuses on respecting officials, a component of the Honoring the Game code: ROOTS

Responsible Sports Parent Tip of the Week:
“Some officials are learning the game, just like your child. Avoid criticizing them when you think they’ve made a mistake. Officials have a tough job, and we couldn’t have games without them.”

During competition it’s easy to forget that the officials may very well be just beginning to referee hockey games, and learning as they go. Respecting officials is one component of ROOTS, the acronym that stands for Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates and Self, which helps us remember the code of Honoring the Game.In this article, you’ll read how to honor officials, and how our actions as Responsible Sport Parents carry over to the actions of our players and what you can do prepare your young athletes to not overreact, which can be the basis of bad sportsmanship.To start, think about how your athlete would react to a questionable call on the ice. Would you approve of their reactions? Would the coach know how to control his or her emotions and Honor the Game? Read how to respond to this scenario and access the downloadable PDF’s to bring to games!

Read more about Honoring Officials>>

The Liberty Mutual Responsible SportsTM program supports volunteer youth sports coaches and parents who help our children succeed both on and off the ice. We offer many youth sports resources including $2,500 community grants, instructional videos, weekly tips, peer and expert advice, and coursework for those interested in improving the youth sports experience for all involved.

Despite recent national events, sportsmanship isn't dead

2009-11-17T05:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/524445.html?showlayout=0

Despite recent national events, sportsmanship isn’t dead
By Kellie Goodman, For the Mirror

Have you seen that video of Elizabeth Lambert? She's the University of New Mexico women's soccer player who became an overnight sensation after Lobos' game against BYU earlier this month.
Lambert is seen in a montage of heated physical encounters, punching an opponent in the back, tripping other players, and even throwing an opponent to the ground by her ponytail.
Lambert has issued an apology and been suspended indefinitely from all of her team's games, practices and activities for her unsportsmanlike conduct.
Interestingly, this video has become one of the most-viewed on You Tube after being splashed throughout national news and entertainment programs from ESPN to CNN to Leno. Comedians told jokes about the soccer player and played the video repeatedly, while Lambert's actions were debated, chastised and defended in a variety of news media.
Shortly after this incident, another video received national attention. This time, it was a brawl that broke out during a high school girls' soccer game in Rhode Island, both on the field and in the stands. Again, the tape was replayed and dissected by the national media.
Some questioned whether such conduct was prevalent throughout the sport of women's soccer; others wondered if sportsmanship in general is dying. Both questions are unfortunate for the sport of women's soccer and for sport in general.
Of course, there are physical moments in college women's and high school girls' soccer; the level of physicality and intensity undoubtedly rises with the experience and expertise of the players, and there are times when participants cross the line of good sportsmanship.
However, the violence that recently received national attention is the exception rather than the rule. It would be unfair to condemn the sport as a whole because of a few isolated instances that unfortunately happened within a few days of one another.
Soccer is a sport played with pride and passion around the world, both by men and women. That passion, as we have seen on the world class stage, has sparked fights and even riots among fans. Still, there is much more to soccer, and to sport, than those negative images.
Soccer is also a sport that requires a tremendous amount of skill, conditioning, dedication, concentration and teamwork; a sport that teaches physical coordination, mental toughness and life lessons.
Hopefully some of those lessons are being learned by players, coaches, officials and fans throughout the country in light these recent negative incidents. It is definitely a teaching moment for young players who are learning the game.
Certainly, there are instances in all levels of sport where the pressure and passion of the moment replaces good judgment. That does not mean that sportsmanship as a whole is dying.
Most sporting events, including women's soccer games, end without incident and without national attention. They simply end with handshakes.

Sportsmanship acts unify student-athletes

2009-10-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

By Leilana McKindra The NCAA News

This is the third in a series of stories about the seven recipients of NCAA Sportsmanship Awards for 2009. National recipients announced last month were Anthony DiCarlo, a wrestling student-athlete at Anderson (South Carolina), and Aleksandra Maskiewicz, a fencing student-athlete at Brown. Other recipients were the Fitchburg State women’s lacrosse team and Carthage swimmer Isaac Rothenbaum.

Southern Mississippi track and field student-athlete Aaron Ammons, Oklahoma basketball player Blake Griffin and Clarion swimmer Jamie Maloney are from different divisions and participate in vastly different sports, but they are united by the way they play the game.
The three standout student-athletes were among seven finalists – representing all three divisions – recognized this year by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct, each for their example of respect and good sportsmanship.
Ammons has been playing sports since he was 5 years old. But while the track and field star suspects his competitive sports career is drawing to a close, he didn’t use that as a license to take a short cut to his goal of qualifying for NCAA regional competition this past spring.
During an April 25 home outdoor track meet, Ammons was competing in the shot put, and he was still trying to post a regional qualifying mark of 16.80 meters. His implements were weighed and carried onto the field just like in any other meet. But Ammons knew something was off on his first attempt.
“I wasn’t sure how far it went, but as soon as they called it, I was like ‘whoa,’ ” said Ammons, whose throw had not only registered a regional qualifying mark but also a personal best. Even so, he immediately decided to set the shot aside until he could weigh it again. “Something just wasn’t right,” he said.
His subsequent attempts, neither of which went nearly as far, further confirmed his suspicions. After the meet, Ammons re-weighed the questionable ball and found it was under weight.
“I went back and told my coach to scratch the throw,” he said.
Three weeks later, Ammons captured the shot put title at the Conference USA championships to earn an automatic bid to regionals.
“I feel like doing the right thing always works out the best way,” he said. “If I had done that any other way I would have lost conference or hurt myself before then. I think God put me in that situation to do the right thing and it worked out for me in the end.”
Though he’s the one receiving the award, Ammons said coach Kevin Stephen and his mother deserve the credit for teaching him the value of sportsmanship and making good decisions.
Ammons graduated in May and is currently pursuing his teaching certification. He aspires to be a teacher and a coach.
Just walking away
As one of the top basketball players for Oklahoma and across the nation, Blake Griffin drew attention not just from fans and media, but from opposing players as well.
Griffin faced tough physical play throughout his collegiate career, and it was no different during the 2009 NCAA tournament. In the second half of the Sooners’ first-round game against Morgan State, with 7:41 to go and Oklahoma maintaining a substantial lead, Griffin and a Morgan State player were battling for a rebound when Griffin was flipped over the shoulder of the Morgan State athlete and slammed to the floor.
Griffin simply collected himself and walked away. The Morgan State student-athlete was ejected.
It wasn’t the first time the Sooners’ standout had displayed such maturity and respect. Earlier in the season, during a game against Southern California, a Trojan player hit Griffin below the belt. He didn’t retaliate, but the opposing student-athlete was ejected. Less than two weeks later, Griffin was intentionally tripped by an opposing player during the game. Again, the power forward kept his cool and refused to retaliate. However, the offending player was suspended by his coach for two games.
In nominating Griffin, the university wrote, “Those who know him best, the people in the Sooner program, say that Blake Griffin has always demonstrated that he has respect for others, respect for the University of Oklahoma and the character and integrity that should make all proud that he chose to wear the Sooner uniform. Because of the stage he was provided as a Division I basketball player, people of all ages across the country had the opportunity to see that as well. In many ways, college basketball and intercollegiate athletics are better for the example Griffin has set.”
A small gesture
As an all-American swimmer and standout track and field athlete at Clarion, Jamie Maloney knows a little something about speed and timing. At the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference swimming and diving championships this past spring, Maloney was in the right place at the right time.
She had just finished competing and was standing near the blocks when she noticed that a swimmer from West Chester, one of Clarion’s top conference rivals, was in a state of panic. Moments before her heat, the student-athlete realized she had forgotten to bring her goggles with her and didn’t have time to return to her equipment bag.
Though she didn’t know the swimmer personally, after quickly assessing the situation, Maloney simply offered up her own goggles.
“I’d already swum and had everything with me. She just needed a set of goggles so I handed them over,” Maloney said. “She swam her event and came back and said thank you over and over again. All I could say was ‘you’re welcome.’ ”
Clarion coach Mark VanDyke didn’t see the exchange but wasn’t surprised to hear that it happened. VanDyke said such gestures are typical of Maloney and the rest of the conference as well. In fact, he said, he saw several other similar acts during the same meet and at nationals.
“The big thing we always talk about here is you want to give everyone a fair chance,” said VanDyke.
Maloney, a senior molecular biology major who is in the process of applying to medical school, said even the smallest gestures can have a major effect on others.
“What I want people to take away from this is to see how big of an impact small things can make on people,” she said, “especially when it comes to big meets, moments you may not be a part of, but something they are going through. It means a lot to them, even the smallest of ways, like handing over your goggles. Never overlook that.”

Cal's Tierra Rogers Hoops Career Over

2009-10-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, October 3, 2009

"How much more can this kid take?" Cal coach Joanne Boyle asked.

"At 51, it's hard to understand, so at 18, it's got to be nearly impossible to figure out," former Sacred Heart Cathedral coach Brian Harrigan said. "I was devastated, because she's already gone through the worst thing you can imagine. Even, as an adult, you have to wonder, 'Why?'"

Rogers, who was released from UCSF on Friday night, was a top-flight freshman recruit for Cal. Now she will never play there. She was diagnosed with a form of heart disease (arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia) that called for a surgery to implant a defibrillator. This after her father was killed about 11/2 years ago.

"My first reaction was, 'Thank God she's still alive and with us,' " Boyle said. "We'll figure out another passion for her, but it won't be basketball. She's defined by more than basketball."

Rogers hadn't felt well for a while, so when she was breathing heavily Sept. 21, she thought it was her previously diagnosed asthma. She sat down, got back up and believed she was having an asthma attack.

Except she fainted.

Having gone through something similar as a 13- and 16-year-old, Rogers tried to walk to a car. Suddenly, she clutched her chest and lost consciousness for the second time in an hour.

The Cal training staff prepared the defibrillator - though reports vary on whether it was used. Rogers' breathing stopped, then was restored, and she was rushed to Alta Bates Medical Center

After Rogers was out of critical condition, she was sent to heart specialists at UCSF. There, she was informed that surgery was necessary, and her career was most likely over.

"It was a long 10 days with a lot of speculation, poking and prodding," Boyle said. "She has an unbelievable inner strength. Not many kids go through traumatic events back-to-back like this, so she's in shock, but she's one who will come out greater."

Minutes after hearing the career-ending news, Rogers asked if she could still attend practice as an observer. Anything to be part of a team.

"She just wants normalcy," Boyle said. "She is quiet and funny and doesn't want sympathy. She has an unbelievable perspective and an ability to see the bigger picture."

In January 2008, Rogers' father was killed outside a Sacred Heart Cathedral game. She was broken-hearted but led the Irish to a perfect 32-0 record that season.

"We're all stunned and we all feel awful for her," Cal guard Lauren Greif said.

Third SEC "Together We CAN" Drive Pushes Total Contributions above 236,000 Pounds

2009-10-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

Third SEC "Together We CAN" Drive Pushes Total Contributions above 236,000 Pounds

The Southeastern Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s third annual league-wide community service project, the “SEC Together We CAN Drive,” concluded on Sept. 27. And with student-athletes and administrators from all 12 SEC institutions participating, the project raised more than 42,500 pounds of food and financial contributions, bringing the initiative’s overall total to more than 236,000.

The SEC SAAC encouraged fans and supporters to donate at various sporting events, on campuses and in the community from September 18-27. All proceeds from the effort benefit food banks and local charities across the Southeastern Conference region.

“It is great to see how student-athletes in the SEC supported and encouraged fans to help those around them during increasingly difficult times,” said SEC SAAC staff liaison, Torie Johnson. “There are families in the southeast that will have a meal tonight and in the months ahead because someone thought enough to bring a can or make a donation. I am proud of our students and thankful for administrators who helped alongside them.”

The SEC SAAC is comprised of two student-athletes from each institution. It was established in 1992 to serve as a medium of communication through which student-athletes, conference administrators, institutional representatives and coaches discuss and take action on issues relating to rules governance, student-athlete welfare and community service.

Members of the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for 2009-10 are: Allyson Angle (Alabama, women’s swimming); Nathan Corder (Alabama, men’s track); Amanda Caldwell (Arkansas, softball); Michelle Stout (Arkansas, gymnastics); Addison Ragsdale (Auburn, soccer); Dan Mazzaferro (Auburn, men’s diving); Bobby Walsh (Florida, men’s swimming); Ashley Kerr (Florida, gymnastics); Jamaal Parker (Georgia, men’s track); Taylor Adams (Georgia, women’s track); Christine Johnston (Kentucky, women’s tennis); Jennifer Pason (Kentucky, rifle); Lauren Saucier (LSU, women’s track); Orlando Gunn (LSU, football); Juliana Smith (Ole Miss, women’s track); Colin Moleton (Ole Miss, men’s track); Misty Flesher (Mississippi State, softball); D.J. Looney (Mississippi State, football); Patrick Rada (South Carolina, men’s golf); Kacie Brewer (South Carolina, soccer); Geoff Sanders (Tennessee, men’s swimming); Holly Kane (Tennessee, women’s track) and Jessica Cohen (Vanderbilt, women’s swimming).

Food banks and charities receiving donations from the “2009 SEC Together We CAN Drive” include: West Alabama Food Bank; Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Food Bank of East Alabama; Bread of the Mighty Food Bank; Food Bank of Northeast Georgia; God’s Pantry of Lexington; Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank; Oxford Food Pantry; Mississippi State University M-Club; Harvest Hope Food Bank; Second Harvest Food Bank; and the Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee.

-30-

SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Kicks off annual "Together We CAN" Food Drive

2009-09-17T07:29:00.001-07:00

Great things being done by SEC Student Athletes ...

http://www.secsports.com/news/together-we-can-drive-launches.aspx

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sept. 16, 2009) -- The Southeastern Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is coordinating its third annual league-wide food drive during the dates of Sept. 18-27. All 12 SEC institutions are participating by collecting food and financial donations at various sporting events, community locations and on campuses.

During last year’s food drive, the SEC SAAC raised more than 150,000 pounds of food and donations that benefited local food banks and shelters.

The SEC SAAC is comprised of two student-athletes from each institution. The SAAC was established in 1992 to serve as a medium of communication through which student-athletes, conference administrators, institutional representatives and coaches discuss and take action on issues relating to rules governance, student-athlete welfare and community service.

Members of the SEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for 2009-10 are: Allyson Angle (Alabama, women’s swimming); Nathan Corder (Alabama, men’s track); Amanda Caldwell (Arkansas, softball); Michelle Stout (Arkansas, gymnastics); Addison Ragsdale (Auburn, soccer); Dan Mazzaferro (Auburn, men’s diving); Bobby Walsh (Florida, men’s swimming); Ashley Kerr (Florida, gymnastics); Jamaal Parker (Georgia, men’s track); Taylor Adams (Georgia, women’s track); Christine Johnston (Kentucky, women’s tennis); Jennifer Pason (Kentucky, rifle); Lauren Saucier (LSU, women’s track); Orlando Gunn (LSU, football); Juliana Smith (Ole Miss, women’s track); Colin Moleton (Ole Miss, men’s track); Misty Flesher (Mississippi State, softball); D.J. Looney (Mississippi State, football); Patrick Rada (South Carolina, men’s golf); Kacie Brewer (South Carolina, soccer); Geoff Sanders (Tennessee, men’s swimming); Holly Kane (Tennessee, women’s track) and Jessica Cohen (Vanderbilt, women’s swimming).

A list of the athletic events and activities where donations can be collected will be posted on the SEC’s official website, www.secsports.com.

Vince Young fills in as dad for Steve McNair's sons

2009-09-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Showing the human side of the man inside the helmet ...

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090917/SPORTS01/909170371/2072/SPORTS/Vince+Young+fills+in+as+dad+for+Steve+McNair+s+sons+

Vince Young fills in as dad for Steve McNair's sons

McNair's sons get surprise

By Jim Wyatt
THE TENNESSEAN

As a kid, Titans quarterback Vince Young looked up to Steve McNair.

On Wednesday, McNair's two young sons looked to Young as their father figure.

As part of "Dear Dads Breakfast" at St. Paul Christian Academy, Young surprised the children when he showed up at their house early Wednesday and took them to the Pancake Pantry.

Other students and their fathers also accompanied Young and McNair's children, Trenton and Tyler.

McNair was shot and killed July 4.

"It was a great, great gesture,'' said Julie Dilworth, admissions director at the school. "All the kids had been talking about the dads' breakfast and (Trenton and Tyler) were wondering what was going to happen with them.

"They were thrilled … the boys came to school with huge smiles on their faces.''

Even before McNair quarterbacked the Titans from 1995-2005, he was close to Young. They met through McNair's uncle, Young attended McNair's football camps as a youngster, and he even called the elder quarterback "Pops."

At McNair's funeral in Hattiesburg, Miss., Young looked into the crowd and told 11-year-old Trenton and 5-year-old Tyler they could count on him. The children also visited training camp at Baptist Sports Park as Young's guests.

"Those are my boys,'' Young said Wednesday. "I wouldn't say it was to pay anyone back; it was just out of love. Steve would do it for me. He pretty much did it for me when I was growing up. I have a history with the boys and I want to do anything I can. I am their big brother.''

Young gave jerseys and autographs to several St. Paul children. The breakfast is usually held on the school's campus in Green Hills, Dilworth said, but because of construction the students were given permission to dine elsewhere and arrive at school later than normal.

St. Paul has 401 students in grades ranging from junior kindergarten to sixth grade.

"It was a surprise, and just to see the excitement on their faces, it's a great feeling,'' Young said. "We had a good time eating pancakes. I had an omelet.

"Overall they are doing cool, doing good. Just talking to their mom, I think they are going to be all right. I am always going to be here for them, always.''

College athletics remembers NCAA President Myles Brand

2009-09-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

www.ncaa.org

College athletics remembers NCAA President Myles Brand

Tom Jernstedt, Executive Vice President: ''Myles has been a visionary. He has been extremely courageous and creative throughout his tenure at the NCAA. Myles is highly intelligent, skilled at appointing task forces for specific issues and selecting individuals with expertise in given topics.

''Myles has been committed to academic reform and provided the NCAA with the leadership to begin achieving positive results. In the beginning, many were doubtful, resistant and even pessimistic that the NCAA could make meaningful progress in this critical area. Myles has shown everyone that academics is the first focus for student-athletes, the membership and the organization.

''When I think back about the time I have spent with Myles, a distinct memory comes to mind. Early in Myles' tenure, we had a working dinner with two prominent college basketball coaches. The coaches were somewhat skeptical about his level of interest in athletics and perhaps surprised that he had been selected to serve the NCAA as its president. By the conclusion of the evening, though, the two coaches were effusive in their comments about Myles. They were highly impressed with his genuine interest, his concern about the issues in their sport and his instant ability to converse and relate to them."

Walter Harrison, president at the University of Hartford and former chair of the NCAA Executive Committee and the Division I Committee on Academic Performance: ''Myles Brand leaves a clear and strong legacy that captures all the best things about college sports. As the president of two Division I institutions, he set very high standards for presidential leadership. He will always be remembered in part for his dismissal of Bobby Knight as head basketball coach, but I think it's important to remember that was just part of a career-long effort to provide presidential leadership and set appropriate standards and the appropriate tone on our college campuses.

''Likewise, his tenure as president of the NCAA marked an era of significant positive change. He led the Association as it became much more responsive to its members' needs. He furthered the movement to make university presidents and chancellors primarily responsible for governance of the Association and oversight of college sports. He set very high standards for maintaining what's unique about the college sports experience in an era of growing commercialism.

''In my role as a Board member, as chair of the Executive Committee, as chair of the Presidential Advisory Group and as char if the Committee on Academic Performance, I had the special privilege of watching his leadership in the academic reform movement, in the establishment of the Academic Performance Program and in presenting a very clear message to all member institutions and the public at large that the NCAA is committed to the academic success of the student-athlete.

''At the heart of all that was Myles' commitment to education and to a positive experience for every student-athlete. For that, we will always be in his debt."

Bernard Franklin, Executive Vice President of Governance and Membership: ''Myles Brand will be remembered not only for his unyielding demand that intercollegiate athletics reflect the values of higher education but also for his advocacy of the student-athlete. This was a man who understood the importance of higher education, as well as the benefit of athletics participation as part of the educational experience. He did not waver from that as a tenet of NCAA operations, and as a result, the Association will continue to benefit from his influence for years to come."

Greg Shaheen, Senior Vice President of Basketball and Business Strategies: ''Myles Brand will long be remembered for his ability to balance the audiences of the various constituencies served by the NCAA. The manner in which he could move with a thoughtful ear from an audience of coaches to faculty representatives and the very university presidents who guide our organization made our work achievable.

''His unwavering belief that solutions to long-term challenges were only a focused effort away made the entire academic-reform movement his biggest success. Myles' reaffirmation of intercollegiate athletics as a vital part of higher education raised awareness in the public, and millions of young people will benefit for generations from the unique, perceptive leadership Myles Brand brought to the NCAA."

Charlotte Westerhaus, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion: ''Diversity and inclusion have always been top of mind with Myles Brand. He understands the value of inclusion from his dealings in higher education, and that has translated to intercollegiate athletics as well. He championed not only diversifying the head-coaching ranks in football but also leadership positions in athletics administration for both men and women."

Kevin Lennon, Vice President of Academic and Membership Affairs: ''Without question, the leadership of President Myles Brand has been critical in meeting the challenges of our day and refocusing our collective efforts on the student-athlete experience. His steady hand steered the academic-reform package through uncharted, and potentially dangerous, waters. His unflinching commitment to improving the academic success of all student-athletes through increased academic standards and meaningful consequences for team behaviors brought about the most significant cultural shift in intercollegiate athletics I have seen in more than 20 years in the enterprise.

''His reach to help student-athletes also included his commitment to the 'student-first' philosophy, challenging the NCAA staff and the governance structure to be more responsive to the needs of student-athletes, and to do so in a less bureaucratic manner. His mantra was 'Keep the student-athlete at the heart of all you do.' Myles expected this of all staff, and he held us accountable. Countless individual student-athletes remain indebted to President Brand for constantly reminding us why we do what we do."

Graham Spanier, President of Pennsylvania State University: "Myles Brand's appointment as president of the NCAA represented a new chapter for the organization, coming at a time when there was strong sentiment for appointing a university president to this leadership role. Many of the NCAA's challenges are not purely athletic, but rather focus on the concept of the student-athlete. It is hard to imagine anyone who could have made this transition better than Myles. He had been the president of two universities and was a distinguished and respected academic leader. Myles has emphasized the well-being of the student-athlete, integrity in athletics and has reached out to every imaginable constituency to open the doors of cooperation and understanding on behalf of college athletics."

Carol Cartwright, President of Bowling Green State University: ''As a Division I Board member and chair of the Executive Committee from 2003 to 2005, I had the privilege of working with Myles in the early years of his impressive record of leadership for the NCAA. Myles was absolutely committed to ensuring that the collegiate model for intercollegiate athletics was at the core of the NCAA's values and that it was reflected in key plans and policies. He was an effective spokesperson for all of us on a broad array of issues and demonstrated great courage in addressing many that were controversial. Strong leaders like Myles make a difference every day. We will miss him and his contributions on behalf of higher education.''

Bob Lawless, President Emeritus, The University of Tulsa, Chair, NCAA Executive Committee 2001-2003: ''When it was my honor to chair the Search Committee for the President of the NCAA, I was terribly excited when Dr. Brand accepted the offer of the Executive Committee to become President. The NCAA was transitioning from an organization that was known principally for athletic championships and enforcement to an organization that equally focused on the academics of higher education. I had great expectations for the organization under Dr. Brand's leadership and all of my expectations have been exceeded. He accomplished more than I would have thought possible in exerting positive influence on the national collegiate scene. If one considers that the President of the NCAA does not have a vote in the governance system and that everything achieved has to be done through persuasion and influence, his accomplishments have been almost unbelievable."

''His legacy will be everlasting.''

Dave Berst, vice president of Division I: ''Myles brought his academic experience in philosophy and higher education to the NCAA and effectively challenged the athletics community to demonstrate accountability for the educational values we espouse. He pushed to develop the data and systems in Division I to enhance graduation rates in all sports and helped the public understand that the vast majority of our student-athletes turn pro in something other than sports. He has been a good friend to the over 400,000 student-athletes in NCAA programs and he taught the NCAA staff how to keep the interests of student-athlete's top of mind in our work. Myles leadership will be missed greatly, but he also nurtured a proud and professional culture that can keep its bearing while enduring such a great loss.''

Tim Selgo, chair of the Division II Management Council: ''Myles Brand has been the best leader the NCAA has had during my career in intercollegiate athletics. I greatly appreciated the support he always gave to Division II and to the leadership of Division II at every level of our membership. He showed a sincere interest in all of our initiatives and was a strength to us in helping us achieve our goals for the division. He will be hard to replace and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.''

Stephen Jordan, president Metropolitan State College of Denver and chair of the DII Presidents Council: ''Higher education lost an uncommon leader today and Division II lost a true friend. Myles Brand always reminded us that we in the NCAA are a higher education association. And, it was his commitment to that essential characteristic which empowered Division II to redefine our selves consistent with the missions of our 300 colleges and universities. His passion for student welfare and success, his belief in the transformative power of intercollegiate athletics and his encouragement to focus on "doing the right things" will leave a lasting legacy in the lives of Division II athletes for decades to come.''

Mike Slive, SEC Commissioner: ''Myles Brand cared about people, especially the student-athletes who represent the NCAA's colleges and universities. You couldn't help but be energized by his commitment to intercollegiate athletics when you were around him. He was passionate about improving the lives of student-athletes. He wanted to see them earn their degree while, at the same time, benefitting from intercollegiate athletic competition. If there was an audience to be found, he eagerly jumped at the opportunity to expound on the great things being done by student-athletes around the country. We will miss his passion and energy. We have lost a wonderful advocate for intercollegiate athletics and higher education and I have lost a friend and colleague.''

Jim Barker, President of Clemson University, Chair of the Division I Board of Directors: ''Throughout his life Myles Brand set the standard for leadership in higher education as a professor, university president and president of the NCAA. His legacy in college sports will be that national academic reform would not have happened without him.''

Grant Teaff, Executive Director of the American Football Coaches Association ''Myles Brand quickly earned the respect of football coaches as his first official act as President of the NCAA was to attend the AFCA convention and speak at the FBS Head Football Coaches meeting.''

''Myles brought an honest and clear vision to the NCAA that inspired everyone who came in contact with him.''

''Myles listened, explained his position and acted. It was evident it was his goal to make the NCAA a better organization; make coaches and administrators better leaders and more responsible; and inspire student athletes to reach their potential as students and as athletes.

''He will be sorely missed as a leader and as a friend.''

Friends of Jaclyn

2009-09-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9za3x_friends-for-jaclyn_news

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090902/SPT0101/309020080/1062/SPT/Bearcats+have+a+new+teammate

At first, Mitch Stone was hesitant when he was approached with the idea of being “adopted” by the University of Cincinnati football team.

Mitch, who completed the fifth grade last year at Maddux Elementary School with straight A’s, does not like a lot of attention, according to his mother, Dee. And even though he was an ardent UC fan, he wasn’t sure this was right for him.

“I had to talk him into it,” Dee said.

That was back in July when the Bearcats became the first Division I football team in the country to adopt a child as part of the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. Six weeks later, both Mitch and his family are grateful for the support they’ve received from UC.

Mitch was diagnosed with a brain tumor in February. He has undergone surgery to attempt to remove the tumor and has had 31 radiation treatments. Now he’s in the midst of high-dose chemotherapy and a stem cell rescue over a four-month period. He just finished round three.

It’s a lot to ask an 11-year-old to endure, even one as upbeat and optimistic as Mitch, but he hasn’t had to endure it alone. Besides his parents, Dee and Anthony, he has a twin brother, Nick, two older sisters, Piper and Paisley, and plenty of friends lending their support.

Deaf athletes hurdle barriers, achieve goals in college sports

2009-09-15T05:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2009-09-15-deaf-athletes_N.htm

Deaf athletes hurdle barriers, achieve goals in college sports

By Robert Klemko, USA TODAY
TOWSON, Md. — In a Towson University football team meeting room filled with more than 60 players and a dozen coaches, linebacker Ryan Bonheyo makes a sign for the word "slow," then points at the whole bunch.
Everybody laughs; Bonheyo just grins.
His coaches say he has to toughen up, which doesn't make him different from any other wide-eyed freshman player. Except that Bonheyo was born deaf.
Last year, 76 deaf and hard-of-hearing students played NCAA and NAIA sports, according to Deaf Digest Magazine, and 39 played in Division I. That does not account for those who do not wish to be identified. Those figures have steadily risen since the 1973 Rehabilitation Act mandated interpreters for deaf and hard-of-hearing students at universities and provided against discrimination based on disability.

Civility on the college gridiron: Teams to hold pregame handshake

2009-08-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2009-08-14-pregame-handshake_N.htm

By Steve Wieberg, USA Today

Before Oklahoma tests its national championship aspirations against Brigham Young and Alabama and Virginia Tech butt top 10 rankings in Atlanta — before the hits start coming and tensions ratchet up on college football's opening weekend — the sport is asking for a little civility.

Coast to coast, players and coaches from each pair of opposing teams are being urged to walk onto the field for a pre-kickoff handshake. See folks? We can all play nice.

Officials hope it sets a tone for sportsmanlike behavior on the field and in the stands.

"It is symbolic," says former Baylor coach Grant Teaff, who heads the Texas-based American Football Coaches Association. "But it is, we think, a very important initiative."

The onetime, opening-day gesture expands on a clause in the AFCA's ethics code that calls for coaches to exchange a handshake before games. Teams will spread across the middle of the field, shake or fist-bump or whatever, and be back off in an estimated four minutes.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: | |

Teaff laid out the plan Friday. The ceremony won't be mandatory, but he says, "I'd be surprised if the high, high majority of our teams do not participate in this.

"We don't think that this is something we could do, or even should do, prior to games (throughout the season)," he says. "I know basketball shakes hands after games, but football has a lot larger numbers and it's kind of burdensome and cumbersome. .. to do that."

However, he says the coaches' association will discuss with the NCAA whether to make the pregame exchange a season-long routine.

The NCAA's football rules committee, meanwhile, is weighing its own sportsmanship-related measure. Taunts or showboating by players in mid-play — for instance, as a ball carrier is five or 10 yards from crossing the goal line — could be treated as live-ball rather than dead-ball fouls, potentially wiping out scores in the same way holding and clipping do.

The panel considered the change for the coming season and passed, but will look at the issue again next year, say its secretary and rules editor, Rogers Redding.

"I think the sense is it would stop it in a heartbeat," says Redding, the Southeastern Conference's coordinator of football officials.

"The issue is not around celebrating.. .. We want the (the players) to play with enthusiasm and celebrate with their teammates and enjoy the game. The line gets crossed when there's taunting and inciting."

WNBA Indiana Fever's Douglas making a difference in life and death

2009-07-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

http://www.indystar.com/article/20090725/SPORTS05/907250370/1004/SPORTS/Fever%20s%20Douglas%20making%20a%20difference%20in%20life%20and%20death?GID=neL6M6a5zBlt3fHoVGLD2svPJnoC75fYOKJVzpMo9Tc%3D

David Woods
Indianapolis Star

Katie Douglas gets her first WNBA All-Star starting assignment today at Uncasville, Conn. While the Indiana Fever guard has made basketball a career, she has not made it her life. Death changed that.
Douglas, 30, lost her mother to breast cancer in 2000 and her father to pancreatic cancer in 1997.
When she was asked to speak to a woman fighting breast cancer, a person she didn't know, it didn't take long to get Douglas on the phone. She talked to Loraine Quillen, a crowd management employee who considered the Fever, Pacers and others at Conseco Fieldhouse part of an extended family.
"Just for her to step out of her world and take the time to call my mom, a total stranger . . . even if she didn't work at Conseco, she would have still called her," said Amy Malott, Quillen's daughter. "It just shows the remarkable character of Katie."
Douglas said she tried to cheer up the woman, praised her courage and told her she was missed by fellow ushers. Although Quillen was sedated, her daughter said the message got through.
"I just extended my thoughts, my prayers to their family," Douglas said. "I've been there before. It's sad and devastating."
Hours after the call, at 2:30 a.m. on July 10, Quillen died at the Indiana University Cancer Center. She was 68.
At the invitation of a friend last year, Douglas went to Brooke's Place, an Indianapolis organization providing support and services to grieving children and families. She said it was a resource she wishes she had when her parents died.
Malott, 41, Kokomo, said her daughters played basketball and were always fans of the Fever, who also have leading vote-getter Tamika Catchings representing Indiana in today's All-Star Game. The girls especially enjoyed seeing their grandmother when they traveled to Indianapolis for games.
The fieldhouse was "really a positive place" for Quillen, her daughter said.
"Mom was one of those people who loved people," Malott said. "She loved talking. She loved sports."
A memorial and prayer gathering will be held for Quillen from 1-5 p.m. Sunday in Pepsi Square at Conseco Fieldhouse. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking donations be made to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Tissue Bank at the IU Cancer Center.

For Youkilis, painful memories fuel desire to help prevent suicides

2009-07-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

Boston Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis spends time with speaking about teen suicides

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/needham/2009/07/for_youkilis_painful_memories.html

By Matt Rocheleau, Globe Correspondent
NEEDHAM — As an up-and-coming baseball player at the University of Cincinnati, Kevin Youkilis sometimes was told he wasn’t good enough for the big leagues. But his roommate, a close friend since high school, stood by him.
"People told me throughout my college years that, 'I don't know. He's kind of pudgy. He can't really move around well. I don't know if he can be a professional athlete,'" the Red Sox infielder recalled today. "He told me ... 'The day you make it to the major leagues is the day I'll be there.'"
On Thanksgiving Day of his sophomore year, Youkilis learned that his friend had committed suicide. To this day, he said, "I sit back at night and wonder what I could've done."
But that was not the only friend Youkilis lost to suicide. There were two others.
Youkilis shared those painful memories before nearly 200 people gathered at the Sheraton Needham hotel for a benefit to raise awareness about teen suicide and how to prevent it. Needham has lost five teens to suicide in the past five years.

Editorial: Athletic Department funds come at good time

2009-07-15T05:38:00.000-07:00

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jul/15/athletic-department-funds-come-at-good-time/?print=1

Editorial: University of Tennessee's Athletic Department funds come at good time
Knoxville News-Sentinel
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
If it seems there is at times a disconnect between university athletic departments and the academic departments, the University of Tennessee is moving to close that gap in one of the most productive ways possible: committing funding for academic programs and scholarships.
Athletic Director Mike Hamilton announced last week that the UT athletic department has committed an additional $1 million a year to the university for the next 15 years. That brings the total in direct contributions from the athletic department to more than $8 million in fiscal 2009. Contributions from fiscal 2010 from the athletic department are expected to exceed $11 million.
It is true, as UT-Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said last week, that the athletic department does more for the university than most realize. "It is one of the top (programs) in the country as far as giving back to academics," he said.
Cheek not only praised the increased contributions; he pledged to do a better job communicating what the athletic department does for the campus in the next year. "It's a great amount," he said. "It makes a significant difference."
Cheek said he will rename $1.375 million in nonathletic scholarships to make certain that students know the funding comes from athletics.
The annual $1 million announced last week comes directly from a new television contract with CBS and ESPN that the Southeastern Conference signed last summer. The conference has not released monetary terms of the contract, but media reports placed the combined value at more than $3 billion over the next 15 years.
Hamilton said the athletic department is committed to the contribution and will make certain it is budgeted on the front end.
Cheek said that $800,000 of the athletic department's donation will fund about 40 graduate assistantships. Another $100,000 will be used for the Student Success Center, which provides tutoring and counseling services to all students.
Another $100,000 will go to the Tennessee Teaching and Learning Center, which provides faculty on the Knoxville campus with professional development.
The announcement of the athletic department's contribution comes at time when the money is sorely needed. The university system's board of trustees at its June meeting raised tuition by 9 percent for the coming academic year. The board also is looking at the possibility of eliminating more than 500 positions - 200 of which already are vacant - at its five campuses. About two-thirds of the 500 targeted positions are at the Knoxville campus.
No doubt many of the positions would have been eliminated this year, but the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the stimulus package) bought a two-year reprieve. The athletic department's stimulus to the academic departments is a positive statement that both facets of the school are working together.
Cheek and Hamilton alluded to 15 years in the future when the SEC pact would be revised. Hamilton said he would be retired, and Cheek said he hoped the SEC will increase the funding "after we've won several national championships."
Here's hoping Cheek is not dreaming - either about the increased funding or the championships.

Penn State football players raise money for charity

2009-07-15T05:28:00.001-07:00

Penn State football players raise $81K for charity
By Wayne Staats, Daily Collegian, Penn State
July 13, 2009
While continually flipping an immense tractor tire across Holuba Hall, Jared Odrick and his grunts drew cheers from onlookers.
Odrick helped his team finish second at the seventh annual Lift for Life competition Friday. The event raised $81,000 for the Kidney Cancer Association, bringing the seven-year total to almost $400,000.
"It's the toughest we'll get all year," Odrick said about the workout. "The competition is really tough. We're yakking back and forth with Navorro [Bowman] and Sean [Lee]."
Placing first in the challenge was team Slik Mick and the Magic Trix, which consisted of tight end Mickey Shuler and linebackers Bowman, Lee and Josh Hull.
Bowman and Lee replaced senior quarterback Daryll Clark and graduated tight end Greg Miskinis on last year's winning Lift for Life team.

http://www.uwire.com/Article.aspx?id=4157922

NCAA Panel calls for campus involvement to boost sportsmanship

2009-07-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/ncaa?key=/ncaa/ncaa/ncaa+news/ncaa+news+online/2009/association-wide/panel+calls+for+campus+involvement+to+boost+sportsmanship_06_29_09_ncaa_news

Panel calls for campus involvement to boost sportsmanship

By Leilana McKindra

The NCAA News

The Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct is calling for a campus-wide approach to sportsmanship.

The panel used its recent meeting in Indianapolis to focus on sportsmanship as an institutional issue, not just an athletics concern, and strongly emphasized the need for broad university support.

“We think a campus-wide committee is in order,” said John Blanchard, a senior associate athletics director at North Carolina and chair of the committee. “This is an institutional issue. It’s not restricted to athletics. For us to have a strong sportsmanship presence on campus, various elements of the university need to pull together and push the initiative. They don’t have to respond to negative behavior, necessarily, but it’s important to set the tempo and culture of respecting opponents and protecting the fan experience.”

The call for a campus-wide approach to sportsmanship was part of a broader effort to update the best practices included in the sportsmanship online tool kit housed on the committee’s Web site.

The group also spent time expanding Phases I and II of the Respect campaign, the national sportsmanship initiative the committee launched in January. Phase I of the campaign focuses on fan behavior, while Phase II deals with creating a campus culture of respect and integrity. The committee added examples for each step of the phases to give campuses ideas on how to apply the suggested guidelines.

In other actions, the committee reviewed the details of a proposed partnership with the American Football Coaches Association to promote sportsmanship.

The proposed “AFCA/NCAA Respect Weekend” is tentatively scheduled for the first weekend of the 2009-10 football season. That weekend, participating teams and coaches will shake hands at the middle of the field just before the coin toss and a public address announcement provided by the NCAA will explain the campaign.

The AFCA has indicated strong interest in the partnership and has forwarded the proposal to its board of directors for review. The initiative would build on current sportsmanship efforts by the AFCA and would come on the heels of a recent emphasis by the organization on the traditional postgame handshake between coaches.

Blanchard said the joint effort between the NCAA and the AFCA will bring increased attention to sportsmanship and to the campaign’s key messages of respect and integrity.

“This is an effort by a lot of people, but the AFCA and football coaches can bring us the visibility we need,” Blanchard said. “I think in the eyes of the fans, who we’re really trying to reach, it brings home the importance of sportsmanship, respect and integrity. When you have prominent coaches under the leadership of (AFCA Executive Director) Grant Teaff drawing attention to this critical issue, it just elevates the whole initiative.”

Blanchard and the committee also sees the partnership with the AFCA as an opportunity to emphasize the importance of fans positively supporting their teams while still respecting the opposing team. “We need to make some cultural shifts on how we treat opponents,” he said. “Hopefully this involvement with the AFCA will help us get there.”

The increased exposure of an NCAA-AFCA partnership would build on campaign messaging and signage that appeared at a few championships this winter and spring, including the Women’s Final Four, Men’s Frozen Four, Men’s College World Series, Women’s College World Series and Division I Men’s Lacrosse. The committee noted that campaign materials may be downloaded for inclusion in game programs or for Web site use, and other larger items such as banners and turnstile stickers may be purchased for dressing venues by visiting www.ncaachampspromotions.com (username is ncaa; password is membership).

The committee also discussed the creation of an NCAA Fan Code of Conduct in response to a presentation by Mary Wilfert, NCAA associate director for health and safety, on best practices for alcohol management, fan conduct and safety developed by the TEAM (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management) Coalition. Acknowledging that recent membership and public survey results identified fan behavior as a critical and pressing issue, the committee created a subcommittee to consider the need for an NCAA fan code of conduct.

Blanchard said he believes a code of conduct would help the Association articulate its position on sportsmanship and expectations regarding fan behavior.

“We want fans to move away from the negative cheering and taunting of opponents and officials to just being a positive support for their team,” said Blanchard. “We can put this in writing, make it clearer and give some direction in what we mean by sportsmanship. This has been successful in some of the professional sports and we want to bring that to the college level.”

SEC SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS ANNOUNCED

2009-06-12T15:14:00.001-07:00

http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=20&url_article_id=12808&change_well_id=2

ALABAMA WOMEN'S TENNIS TEAM, ARKANSAS' ULREY NAMED 2009 SEC SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD RECIPIENTS

BIRMINGHAM, ALA. -- The University of Alabama women's tennis team and University of Arkansas track & field athlete Dorian Ulrey have been named recipients of the 2nd annual SEC Sportsmanship Award, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive announced Friday. The winners will be forwarded for nomination to the NCAA for its national sportsmanship awards, to be announced in July.

The two were chosen by a vote of the SEC Directors of Athletics.

"Sportsmanship is one of the great lessons learned participating in sports," said Slive. "I congratulate the Crimson Tide women's tennis team and Dorian for championing the cause of sportsmanship this year and earning this prestigious honor."

The Alabama women's tennis team dedicated this season to the father of its coach, Jenny Mainz. Ed Mainz passed away just prior to the start of the season after a three-year battle with ALS. In its first match of the season against Florida State, the squad wore black ribbons and pins and black shoelaces. The squad got the Seminole team to wear them as well. The Alabama squad wore the black shoelaces all season.

The squad is also heavily involved in ALS awareness off the court, taking part and helping organize teams for the annual Walk to Defeat ALS fundraiser.

The Intercollegiate Tennis Association gave its National Team Sportsmanship Award for the month of March to the Tide squad. In the ITA release about the award, it said, "With heavy hearts, the team played every match during the course of the tournament with incredible passion and energy while exhibiting sportsmanship that truly represented themselves as ambassadors of the sport."

Ulrey, a junior from Port Byron, Ill., gave up his spot on the Distance Medley Relay team at the 2009 SEC Indoor Championships to his teammate, Michael Chinchar. By not participating on the Razorback's SEC champion distance medley relay team, Ulrey ultimately gave up an additional conference championship after previously winning the mile and the 3,000 meters as well as the Commissioner's Trophy, awarded to the high-point scorer. At the time of the decision, Ulrey stated that Chinchar should have an opportunity to be an SEC Champion.

Earlier this month, Ulrey was named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America All-District Men's Track and Cross Country Team. He was also named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May. Ulrey has a 3.50 grade point average, majoring in sociology.

Last year, Florida golfer Jessica Yadloczky and Tennessee basketball player Chris Lofton were recipients of the SEC Sportsmanship Award.

LESSON IN SPORTSMANSHIP

2009-06-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Great story featuring St. Louis University women's basketball coach Shimmy Gray-Miller.

http://new.southcountytimes.com/Articles-i-2009-06-12-165493.113118_Lesson_In_Sportsmanship.html

Lesson In Sportsmanship
by Leslie Gibson McCarthy (South County, Mo., Times)

06/12/2009 - All too often we hear horror stories about youth sports, about how tough coaches are or how over-the-top parents can be; about the win-at-all-cost mentality that seems to pervade ball fields and gym floors, many of them adjacent to neighborhood churches.
But here's a good story about youth sports, because once in a while coaches and commissioners get it right. The result was a night of lessons learned that will be long remembered by scores of young athletes - and their parents.
The occasion was a sports night at the parish, a chance to honor the teams that won championships over the previous year with banners. Invited to speak at St. Justin Martyr was Saint Louis University women's basketball coach Shimmy Gray-Miller.

Commentary: How words can last a lifetime

2009-06-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

Non sports but a nice story on remembering kindness ...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/31/greene.kindness/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Editor's note: CNN contributor Bob Greene is a best-selling author whose current book is "When We Get to Surf City: A Journey Through America in Pursuit of Rock and Roll, Friendship, and Dreams."

Bob Greene says a moment of kindness or encouragement can last a lifetime.

(CNN) -- The enduring moments of our lives, the ones that stay with us the longest, don't necessarily make the headlines.
The other afternoon I was talking with a woman by the name of Virginia Florey. She's 80 years old; she has lived in Midland, Michigan, all her life.
She was telling me that when she was 11 years old, she and her best friend, Charlotte Fenske, would walk to school together every morning. At the corner of East Carpenter Street and Haley Street, across from a Pure Oil filling station, there was a small grocery -- Thompson's grocery store, it was called.

A soccer story that the whole world could emulate

2009-05-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

David McCollum of the Log Cabin Democrat responds to Geoff Calkins' Memphis Commercial Appeal story about the community support for Kingsbury High School's soccer team to make it to the Tennessee state tournament.

http://www.thecabin.net/stories/053109/spo_0531090037.shtml

I tell this story about Kingsbury High School's soccer team not because it relates to my alma mater. But it speaks volumes about community, it connects to an inherent grace and goodness in most people and it breaks down stereotypes.
It also illustrates a wonderful element of sports that is often buried by an avalanche of yuck.
We often too quickly classify sports as a nasty world of spoiled, overindulged athletes. We often judge sports by the scoreboard. Many of us tend to rate extracurricular activities by what we see on the field and what the financial bottom line looks like.
But dig past the gold, the egos and the hype sometimes there's a treasure.
Haven't heard much positive news out of Memphis lately, have you? Haven't expected any, have you? Memphis is stereotyped as a messed-up city where professional teams fail, college teams bend the rules and crime is on the rise.

Falcons almost ready for their trip to state championships -- but they need a bus

2009-05-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

By Geoff Calkins, Memphis Commercial Appeal

Story on high school soccer team needing funds to make it to the Tennessee high school tournament. Result of this column posted in next post.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/may/19/spring-flingday-1-flying-high/

At 5:13 p.m. Monday evening, Jihad Haidar -- the 26-year-old coach of the Kingsbury soccer team -- was still concerned about one teensy weensy detail of today's big trip to the state championships in Murfreesboro.
"The bus," he said.
The bus?
"Yes," he said. "We do not have a bus."
Buses cost money, see.
Kingsbury soccer is rich in a lot of things -- sweat, grit, stories that would make your heart burst -- but money is not one of them.
"If I have to, I told them I will drive up and back, up and back, up and back," said Haidar. "If I have to take them one at a time we will be there."
Because they can't very well stop short of the state championships at this point, can they? Not when they've come this far.
From Liberia and China, from Mexico and Sudan. From Somalia and -- hey, look, there's one Kingsbury player from El Paso. How totally bizarre is that?
"We know all about obstacles," said Fakhry Khulfan, a forward.

Arkansas' Strode nets merit in class, on court

2009-05-19T06:25:00.000-07:00

http://wholehogsports.com/adg/260008

BY BOB HOLT
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2009

FAYETTEVILLE - After Arkansas tennis player Blake Strode completes his college career at the NCAA Singles Championships, he hopes to start playing professionally.
If that doesn't work out, there's always Harvard Law School.
Strode, who graduated from Arkansas this spring with a 3.98 grade-point average and double major in international economics and Spanish, can count himself among the approximately 550 of 7,200 Harvard Law School applicants to be accepted for next year's class.
Strode also applied to Duke, Georgetown and New York University law schools and was accepted to those as well.
"Harvard is kind of tough to turn down," he said of the winner in his final four.
Strode has an option to defer beginning law school at least for next year, which he plans to do so he can play in some pro tournaments this summer.

Company security officer doubles as gold medal winner

2009-05-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Company security officer doubles as gold medal winner

Carla Davis, Alabama Power Company (8/15/2008)

On Aug. 8-24, people everywhere are tuning into their televisions to track the feats of world-class athletes competing thousands of miles away at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. But Alabama Power employees at the Tuscaloosa Office don’t have to look that far, with a former Olympian working right in their midst.

As a college freshman, Lillie Leatherwood brought home a gold medal for her prowess in the 4x400-meter relay during the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Together, Leatherwood and her three teammates beat their competitors, running the relay in about 318.29 seconds.

“For me, there wasn’t that much pressure because I was the new girl on the scene. I was just happy to be there,” said Leatherwood, a part-time contract security officer at the Tuscaloosa Office for more than four years. “To make the Olympic team as a 19-year-old was a lifetime dream.”

Leatherwood qualified for the Olympic team while running track at the University of Alabama. During the Olympic trials, she placed third, running the 400 meters in 50.19 seconds. The qualifying time was 53 seconds.

The other top athletes who made the team were Sherri Howard, Valerie Brisco-Hooks and Chandra Cheeseborough. “I really liked the relay because you have to work together and communicate with each other, and that gives you the opportunity to become close,” said Leatherwood, who had never met these athletes until the trials.

A small-town girl from Ralph, Ala., Leatherwood got her start by competing in track during her junior year at Tuscaloosa County High School. “People in My PE classes would say, ‘You can run fast,’” she said. “Then, my oldest sister joined the track team before I did. That’s what really boosted me.”

Leatherwood’s athletic skills earned her a scholarship to the University of Alabama. While there, she was a member of one of the fastest track teams in the school’s history, running alongside other Olympians, including Pauline Davis, Emmett King and Calvin smith. Leatherwood holds school records in the 200-meter and 400-meter events and the 4x400-meter relay.

The 1984 Olympics launched Leatherwood as a nationally known athlete. For the next nine years, she competed in relay events all over the world, including France, England, Russia, Japan, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.

In 1988, she once again represented the United States at the Olympics. Her relay team won the silver medal in the 4x400-meter event at the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. She has also received honors at two World Championships -- the silver medal in Tokyo in 1991 and the bronze medal in Rome in 1987.

After she retired from competition, Leatherwood came home to Alabama, where she realized her childhood dreams of becoming a police officer and working with children. She was an officer for two years for the Tuscaloosa Police Department.

In 1995, Leatherwood transferred to the Police Athletic League. She is assistant director of the league’s Juvenile Crime Prevention program, which offers her the opportunity to share her Olympic adventures with area youth.

“I try to motivate the kids and let them know that they can be anything they want to be,” she said. “If their goal is to be in the Olympics, I say, ‘Go for it.’ It takes hard work. But no matter where you’re from, you can do it.”

Leatherwood still runs three or four miles a day and often coaches young Olympic hopefuls. In April, she won in her age group the 2008 Tuscaloosa Mayor’s 5k Cup walk/run.

Leatherwood said she will always treasure her experiences in the worldwide competitive arena. “It’s not only winning,” she said. “I was just happy to meet new friends, travel all over the world and get the chance to represent our country.

“Getting up on the podium and hearing our National Anthem. I think that was the most memorable moment during the Olympics,” she concluded.

Former SEC star Tamika Catchings to Receive 2009 Rev. Charles Williams Award

2009-05-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

Indiana Fever Superstar Tamika Catchings to Receive 2009 Rev. Charles Williams Award

http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3821693

INDIANAPOLIS - Tamika Catchings, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and All-WNBA performer for the Indiana Fever, will receive the Rev. Charles Williams Award at the 2009 Pathfinder Awards Banquet, co-presented annually by Indiana Sports Corp and Indiana Black Expo. The event is slated for Sunday, June 28 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Rev. Charles Williams Award recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves through direct service to youth in the Indianapolis community. Formerly known as the Chairman's Award, the award was renamed in July 2004 in honor of the late president of Indiana Black Expo.
The Pathfinder Awards Banquet, the companion event to the Youthlinks Indiana Charity Golf Tournament, celebrates its 22nd anniversary with the 2009 event. Nearly 900 guests attended the 2008 banquet, with proceeds benefiting the Champions in Life (CHAMPS) Grant Program and other youth-serving initiatives.

A Faith Journey: Stokes Endures, Graduates from Vanderbilt After 40 Years

2009-05-12T05:41:00.000-07:00

A Faith Journey: Stokes Endures, Graduates from Vanderbilt After 40 Years

http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/05/11/a-faith-journey-stokes-endures-graduates-from-vanderbilt-after/

By Jim Henry

Taylor Stokes dreamed of playing football at Alabama for Bear Bryant. Instead, he enrolled at Vanderbilt in 1969 as the school's first African-American scholarship football player. After three seasons, Stokes let his rancorous feelings about football and social slights affect him and he abruptly left school. His experiences left him so embittered he couldn't drive West End Avenue near the university for many years. In an unlikely turn of events given his history with the school, Stokes walked across the stage in Memorial Gym last Friday and received his diploma. Those few incredible seconds capped a remarkable 40-year journey of new-found spirituality, inspiration and perseverance."In a sense I am still on cloud nine and enjoying every moment of it," Stokes told FanHouse Monday morning from his home in Nashville, Tenn.

School sports are about more than wins, losses

2009-05-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

School sports are about more than wins, losses
By Kara Zumbusch
SPECIAL TO THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The Catalina Foothills School District board's recent proposal to cut 100 percent of funding for sports is appalling. I am a former Catalina Foothills High School student, a two-sport athlete all four years, and I'd like to share compelling examples on the value sports has had in my adult life and why budget cuts cannot be the reason we let the athletic programs die.

http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/291140

Ballgame's message still hits home

2009-04-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090427/NEWS/904270336/1001

Ballgame's message still hits home
WOU honors softball players who taught the world a lesson in sportsmanship
By Gary Horowitz • Statesman Journal

MONMOUTH — Never has one home run that few people saw in person received so much attention. But Sara Tucholsky's memorable round tripper just keeps resonating.
triggerAd(1,PaginationPage,9);

One year to the day after then-outfielder Tucholsky with Western Oregon University hit her first career homer at Central Washington, the main characters in the story were honored Sunday between games of a softball doubleheader at WOU. The women were presented flowers at home plate and signed autographs.
Approximately 100 people were in the stands April 26, 2008, in Ellensburg, Wash., when Tucholsky swatted a three-run homer in the second inning. After rounding first base, Tucholsky realized she didn't touch the bag. On her way back to first, Tucholsky's right knee gave out, and she crawled to the base in pain.

Florida athlete only needed one leg to have a Hall of Fame career

2009-04-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

By Christine Brennan, USA TODAY
As a rookie reporter at the Miami Herald in 1981, I was assigned to write about a one-legged linebacker at Bethune-Cookman College. His name was Carl Joseph, and although he was born without a left leg, he had been a star at Florida's Madison High, earning 13 letters in football, basketball and track.
VIDEO: YouTube clip of Carl Joseph
Joseph started two years at nose guard and captained the football team his senior year, cleared 5-10 in the high jump and dunked a basketball. He did all of this by hopping on a right leg that was almost as wide as his waist. He didn't wear an artificial limb. They were not allowed in competition. People who watched him said he looked like a "bewitched jackhammer" on the playing field.
In college, Joseph became known for his special-teams play. "The impact on all our kids and on how they perform is something," Coach Bobby Frazier told me back then. "When it's rough and Carl's in there, we know we can do it. I'd love to see what he'd do with all his limbs."
As inspiring as Joseph was, I lost touch with him in the nearly three decades that had gone by — until I opened a recent e-mail announcing that he had been elected to the Florida High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Joseph's induction will take place Sunday in Gainesville.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/brennan/2009-04-20-carljoseph_N.htm?csp=34

Florida's Tebow and Student Government raise monies for hospital and orphanage

2009-04-20T05:51:00.000-07:00

Tebow, SG raise $300K to benefit orphanage, Shands at UF
By TYLER RUTSTEIN, Alligator Contributing Writer
At 15 years old, Tim Tebow found his passion for something greater than sports and school when he returned to his birthplace in the Philippines and visited an orphanage for young children called Uncle Dick’s Home.“After spending time with those kids, from that point on I knew my ultimate goal in life wasn’t about how many touchdowns I could score, whether I could make a lot of money or become famous — it was about taking all my blessings and trying to help these kids,” Tebow said.Carlos, 7, is one of the orphans at Uncle Dick’s Home who is close to Tebow.
Carlos arrived a little more than four years ago at the orphanage after he was in his family’s old truck driving down a dangerous mountain, and the brakes failed. In a courageous attempt to save Carlos, his mother threw him out the window, and the rest of his family drove off the cliff. Carlos, severely injured with broken bones and a deep slash across his forehead, was the only one to survive.From losing his family in a matter of seconds, Carlos now has more than 50 brothers and sisters in his new family at Uncle Dick’s Home.

http://www.alligator.org/articles/2009/04/20/news/campus/090420_tebow.txt

Aaron Curry invites leukemia patient to NFL Draft

2009-04-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

When Aaron Curry realized he'd be one of nine players invited to the NFL draft, he knew he'd put on an expensive suit and surround himself with his family on one of the biggest days of his life.
The Wake Forest linebacker wanted to do something unique, too.
Curry wound up at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday. In a prearranged meeting set up by his agent and hospital officials, Curry told wide-eyed, 12-year-old Bryson Merriweather he wanted a tour of the place.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gLd5cr3f2Jh9tZPppaVRsbbMUohw

Southern New York High School Players Score Points with Sportsmanship

2009-04-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

Players score points with sportsmanship

By Al Losey, Elmira Star-Gazette

Not all high school basketball players flash a smile and are helpful to the referees. Many prefer to be flashy, and some argue when they're caught in violation of the rules.
So, here's a breath of fresh air that blew through our usually stuffy gymnasiums this season: The Southern New York Basketball Officials Association picked Elmira Free Academy's Liz Wick and Odessa-Montour's John Blaha as their 2008-09 Sportsmanship Award winners.
The award goes to players who were judged to be fair and played by the rules and who were good winners and good losers. Wick and Blaha are both seniors, and during the season they both exhibited qualities that basketball officials appreciated.

http://www.stargazette.com/article/20090405/SPORTS05/904050366/1119

USC's Dickerson, Auburn's Smith Win SEC Brad Davis Community Service Scholarships

2009-04-05T06:37:00.001-07:00

Dickerson, Smith Win SEC Brad Davis Scholarships

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- University of South Carolina basketball player Brionna Dickerson and Auburn University basketball player Andrew Smith have been named the 2008-2009 Brad Davis Southeastern Conference Community Service Leaders of the Year, Commissioner Mike Slive announced Friday.
The two were chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities. Each will receive a $6,000 post-graduate scholarship, provided by the SEC.

http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=20&url_article_id=12493&change_well_id=2

Six divisional winners for NBA Sportsmanship Award announced

2009-04-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.nba.com/2009/news/04/02/sportsmanship_division/

Boston's Ray Allen, Denver's Chauncey Billups, Detroit's Antonio McDyess, Golden State's Ronny Turiaf, San Antonio's Michael Finley and Washington's Antawn Jamison were selected by a seven-member panel of former players as divisional winners for the 2008-09 NBA Sportsmanship Award .

The NBA Sportsmanship Award, designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, is voted on by NBA players. The NBA will announce the winner after the regular season.

Federer and Blake win ATP Sportsmanship and Humanitarian of the Year Awards

2009-03-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Roger Federer and James Blake for winning ATP Sportsmanship and Humanitarian of the Year Awards.

http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2009-03-25/1032.php

Different uniform awaits Butler at end of career

2009-03-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Nice story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Georgia basketball player Corey Butler who will continue his studies after his college career. Remember this quote, "Sleep is a luxury, you have to earn it."

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/printedition/2009/03/10/butler0310.html%3Fcxntlid%3Dinform_artr

Orland's Valentin named CIF Model Coach

2009-03-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Story from the Orland (Calif.) Press Register about tennis coach George Valentin, recipient of the 2008-09 CIF Model Coach of the Year.

http://www.orland-press-register.com/sports/valentin_3207___article.html/tennis_coach.html

Sled hockey puts physical therapy on ice for the disabled

2009-03-05T06:16:00.000-08:00

Sports making a difference for the disabled ... A story out of today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09064/953162-55.stm

More than just wins and losses

2009-02-27T05:35:00.000-08:00

In this blog entry from the the NCAA's doubleazone.com site, a story about the game being more about winning and losing.

http://www.doubleazone.com/2009/02/indiana_hoosiers_college_basketball_tom_crean_walk_on_michael_santa.php

National Sportsmanship Day

2009-02-26T06:42:00.000-08:00

National Sportsmanship Day is Tuesday, March 3. This link goes to its official website and has plenty of information on how to promote sportsmanship.

http://www.internationalsport.com/nsd/index.cfm

Editorial: Let’s develop five-star character, not five-star talent

2009-02-22T16:13:00.000-08:00

An editorial from the Opelika-Auburn (Ala.) News that stresses character and sportsmanship over final results.

http://www.oanow.com/oan/news/opinion/editorials/article/editorial_lets_develop_five-star_character_not_five-star_talent/60187/

Blind high school runner, and her team, are a sight to behold

2009-02-21T20:13:00.000-08:00

A story from the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke about a blind cross country runner from Simi Valley Royal High School.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke22-2009feb22,0,907227,full.column

Springer's career a journey of family

2009-02-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

A story from the San Francisco Chronicle on Oakland A's relief pitcher Russ Springer, who has a son with autism. The story talks about how he has matured as a person and a teammate.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/21/SP2A161S1J.DTL

NOTE: I was the baseball SID at LSU when Russ was a pitcher for the Tigers.

Amid the grieving, a rare act of sportsmanship

2009-02-21T18:32:00.000-08:00

An Associated Press story out of DeKalb, Ill. that details a story of sportsmanship from high school basketball.

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ap-timdahlberg-021809&prov=ap&type=lgns

Coach: Losing Builds Character

2009-02-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

Story from the Newport News (Va.) Daily Press about how losing can build character

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/highschool/dp-spt_prepnotes_0222feb22,0,357863.story