National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

May 20, 1996

Football squad lends a hand

The Wingate University football team lent its brawn to yard and house work for elderly homeowners, a homeless shelter and a public park in Union County, North Carolina, recently as part of the local United Way's Spring Day of Caring.

Divided into five work crews, team members were assigned to homes of the elderly and a garden in a city park. The student-athletes also cleaned out an unused portion of the building housing the homeless shelter.

Twice before, the Wingate football team has worked on Fall Days of Caring, which kicks off the United Way's annual fund drive, but this was the team's first spring effort.

"I told our team before we left here, they're very blessed and fortunate with what they have and this is their opportunity to give back," head coach Doug Malone said. "I think it's just an opportunity to see people who are a lot less fortunate than they are."

United Way operations manager Tim Gray said the labor is appreciated, but the football team's gift of time may mean more to the homeowners. Just seeing the team members helps the senior citizens, Gray said, because so many of them spend days alone with few visitors -- especially young ones.

Women walk for program

An estimated $100,000 was raised for scholarships and travel for women athletes at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, through the recent Diet Pepsi/UNO Women's Walk.

The walk is in its 11th year and is the primary fund-raiser for the women's athletics department at Nebraska-Omaha. It has raised more than $800,000 since its inception.

Nebraska-Omaha associate athletics director Connie Claussen said more than 1,000 women participated this year. "The weather wasn't as warm as we'd like but the women still had a great time. I am so thankful to all of these women for supporting UNO women's athletics."

A special walker this year was April Siemek, mother of Lady Mav softball athlete Nicole Siemek. Nicole, an outfielder, missed most of the first half of the 1996 season because her mother had two brain surgeries in March. Just before the Women's Walk, April was released from the hospital and started walking again. She participated in the UNO walk, getting around on her own for one lap on the Nebraska-Omaha track and using Nicole's assistance for the rest of the walk. She had solicited pledges so she could contribute to the cause.

The Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company, sponsor for the past eight years, gives a $15,000 annual donation to cover costs of the walk so that all money raised by walkers directly benefits the female student-athletes.

Seeking Native Americans

A national search to identify Native American college athletes has been launched to recognize their outstanding accomplishments in sports by highlighting them in a publication called "Native Sports Heroes."

" 'Native Sports Heroes' will contain profiles and messages from Native American athletes as a way to increase sport participation and healthy lifestyles among American Indian and Alaska native youth," said J. R. Cook, executive director of United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY).

UNITY, a Native American youth leadership organization in Oklahoma City, received a $25,000 grant from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association to produce the publication and to purchase equipment and supplies for sports and fitness programs in Indian communities.

Each college athlete who is interested in being considered for inclusion in the book is asked to submit a photo, preferably a sports action photo; a one-page athletics profile; a personal message encouraging Indian youth to use their talents in competitive sports; a list of honors/awards; and proof of tribal affiliation. All materials should be sent to UNITY/SGMA, P.O. Box 25042, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125.

UNITY is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 to foster the spiritual, mental, physical and social development of Native American youth.

--Compiled by Sally Huggins

Facilities

The University of Missouri, Columbia, announced it has received a $10 million gift from William J. and Nancy Walton Laurie to be applied to the construction of a new sports arena. The donation is the largest single private gift ever at the school. The gift is intended to begin fund-raising for the arena, which would replace the 24-year-old Hearnes Center as the home of Missouri basketball. Additional support for the project is expected from ticket sales, other private contributions and possible revenue bonds, among other sources. The Missouri men's basketball team has played before 96 consecutive regular-season sellout crowds at Hearnes Center. The new arena is expected to provide more seating for fans and students, but the university said specific details about the design and timeline for construction of the arena are awaiting the outcome of site selection and a feasibility study.

Sacred Heart University held groundbreaking ceremonies April 30 for the $18 million William H. Pitt Health and Recreation Center. Among the participants in the ceremony was Pitt, who donated $3 million for the project. The 143,000-square-foot complex will house physical therapy classrooms and athletics facilities, including a 2,000-seat arena for men's and women's basketball. The center is expected to open in summer 1997.

Sports sponsorship

Western Kentucky University has announced plans to add three varsity sports by the year 2001. The sports -- women's swimming, softball and soccer -- will increase the number of varsity sports offered by the university to 20 (10 for men and 10 for women). The new sports will be phased in one at a time over a five-year period.