National Collegiate Athletic Association |
The NCAA News - Briefly in the NewsOctober 21, 1996
Like mother, like daughterCharlene Anderson calls Colleen Dellwo her mentor, advisor, assistant coach and friend.
This year, Charlene, a volleyball student-athlete for North Dakota State University, is fighting her way back from a serious knee injury. She had all of the usual ups and downs that come with extensive rehabilitation, but the secret weapon in her recovery was her mother. Colleen Dellwo has been involved with volleyball her entire life and is something of a legend in amateur volleyball circles for her devotion to the game. But columnist Dave Kolpack of the Fargo Forum related in a recent column how far beyond the athletics arena Colleen's inspiration goes. First, Colleen lost a husband and a son in an automobile accident before Charlene was born. Then, years later on November 12, 1975, Colleen had to jump from a balcony to save herself and her unborn baby in a house fire. Her two sons perished in the fire. The baby was Charlene. "My parents started calling her a miracle baby," Colleen told Kolpack. "Everyone was so happy she was alive that she was so wanted and so loved. She's God's special gift." Charlene has not forgotten her origins. She remembers the pictures on the wall of the two boys who died in the fire and her mother telling her how they had helped pick out the furniture for the baby's room -- her room. "You talk about perspective," Charlene told Kolpack. "My mother has survived many tragedies and had to live her life through many losses. I lost a ligament. She's the real fighter."
It's on the houseHamilton College may not offer a 300-piece band , running backs who can run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash or other things associated with big-time football. But starting this fall, it is offering something that few other institutions do: free admission.Beginning with its October 5 game against Trinity College (Connecticut), Hamilton eliminated admission charges for all regular home events. It previously had charged for football, men's basketball and men's ice hockey games. "This will further strengthen the ties that the college has with the local community," said athletics director Tom Murphy. Hamilton will continue to charge for Eastern College Athletic Conference or NCAA events.
Day jobOpponents will want to take note of the fullback on the Long Island University-C. W. Post soccer team this year. He may not be the toughest player on the team, or even the most talented, but he is the only one who has a job with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.Brian Harkins graduated last spring with a degree in accounting and landed an entry-level job as an information-processing specialist with the FBI. He was in graduate school this fall and had not planned to use his last year of soccer eligibility, until injuries weakened C. W. Post's defensive unit. The FBI, showing its flexible side, allowed him to change his working hours from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., which allows him to arrive just in time for practice at 3 p.m. Then he grabs a bite to eat before heading off to the graduate classes at night. "I probably only get about six hours of sleep a night if I'm lucky," Harkins said. "The schedule is already weighing on me a bit, but I figure that the hard work I'm putting in now will pay off in five or six years." -- Compiled by David Pickle
FacilitiesConnecticut College dedicated its new track and field facility to trustee Lyn Silfen, a 1967 graduate, and her husband, David, who donated funds for the project. The Silfen Track and Field includes a 400-meter track; high jump, pole vault, long jump and triple jump facilities; a steeplechase water jump; a javelin runway and landing area; playing fields in the interior of the track; and related equipment, including a FinishLynx timing system.Ewing Coliseum at Northeast Louisiana University received a facelift over the summer with the installation of a permanent wood floor, replacing the tartan surface that had been used since 1971-72. The floor consists of padding between the old tartan surface and two layers of plywood, and a maple playing surface. DuFour Field at Catholic University has undergone a $60,000 makeover. The grass was removed during the summer and the dirt rolled and crowned, eliminating almost all of the bumps that have plagued the field in the past. The field now is covered with 13,500 square yards of Kentucky bluegrass sod. Purdue University broke ground this month for a $6 million, world-class golf course. Purdue has two golf courses but the project became necessary when Tippecanoe County commissioners decided to widen a road that bisects the university's north course, taking out several of the course's existing holes. The funds for the project were donated by three families. In addition to the golf team, students and faculty will use the golf course as a living laboratory to study how grass is affected by disease, insects and divots. Expansion of the football stadium at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, makes the stadium the second-largest college stadium in the country, second only to the University of Michigan. Tennessee expanded the stadium by more than 20,000 seats by closing up the end of the horseshoe-shaped stadium to make it a complete oval, giving it 100,000-plus seats. Three concession stands were added, bringing the number to 21. The athletics department handles all concessions at the stadium, generating about $1.5 million annually for athletics.
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Colleen also happens to be Charlene's greatest inspiration -- and her mother.
