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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Celebrating achievement
National Student-Athlete Day shines light on and off field of play
National Student-Athlete Day shines light on and off field of play
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By Leilana McKindra
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
Watching your favorite college athlete run, slide, shoot and score, it’s sometimes hard to imagine them in any other element. However, thanks to National Student-Athlete Day, schools at all levels across the nation paused to recognize the student-athletes who get it done not just in competition, but in the classrooms and the community, too.
Celebrated annually on April 6, the day also is set aside to recognize parents, teachers, coaches, advisors and administrators who support them. This year marked the 20th anniversary of event.
Sponsored by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports and Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society and presented in conjunction with the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 310,000 elementary, middle school, high school, college and university student-athletes were recognized, according to Suzi Katz, a director for the National Consortium for Academics and Sports.
Celebrations took on many forms, from luncheons and halftime ceremonies to more formal programs such as the one held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which five years ago became the first elementary school in the country to recognize the annual day.
At Mount Carmel, coaches, administrators, faculty, and current and former student-athletes representing the Ivy Group office and member institutions were invited to speak to selected student-athletes. Speakers unable to attend in person were asked to write letters of encouragement to the students, which are printed in a program and handed out during the ceremony.
Myles Campbell, who is in charge of the enrichment programs at Mount Carmel, said National Student-Athlete Day fits well with the mission of the school.
“We emphasize the academic side of being a student-athlete, which is part of the reason we do this in association with the Ivy Group,” said Campbell. “The first thing that comes to mind when you talk about the Ivy Group is academics, but those schools also have excellent athletics programs, and people have been very willing to volunteer to speak to the kids and talk about some of their experiences in giving back to the community. So they are excellent role models.”
In addition to honoring thousands of student-athletes on a local level, recipients of the National Student-Athlete Day Giant Steps Award also were recognized. Montclair State University basketball student-athlete Maurice Torres, and Brittany and A.J. Detwiler, former and current student-athletes at Boston University, respectively, were honored as this year’s male and female courageous student-athletes.
At age 4, Torres was homeless, sleeping in alleys with his mother while his sisters remained with their grandmother. Because of his mother’s lifestyle, Torres was subjected to drugs and violence as a young child. Eventually, he and his sisters were taken from their mother. Over the next weeks and years, he and his sisters moved from home to home. Ultimately, the siblings, including Maurice, were adopted. Torres has gone on to become the first person in his family to attend college.
Detwiler, a wrestler at Boston U., and his younger brother Corey woke one night last April to the sound of their father, Andrew, screaming at their mother, Suzanne.
According to the Center for the Study of Sports in Society, the brothers found their father in the kitchen holding a knife to their mother’s neck. After retrieving two guns and ammunition that had been hidden, they were able to free their mother and lock their father in the garage. While trying to escape from the house, Suzanne was struck and killed by a bullet as their father shot his way out. She died in A.J.’s arms. When Andrew aimed his guns at his sons, Corey shot him twice in self-defense. Andrew died from his injuries. Brittany, a softball student-athlete at Boston U. who was away from home at the time of the tragedy, immediately took over as the family’s caregiver.
Other Giant Steps honorees include Julie Foudy, former Stanford University all-American and member of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, who is being honored for her civic contributions, and Jody Conradt, former head women’s basketball coach at the University of Texas at Austin, who is being recognized for her outstanding coaching career. Retired U.S. Army soldier and distinguished wheelchair athlete Johnnie Williams was chosen as the Barrier Breakers honoree.
Katz said she is looking forward to another 20 years of honoring stu-
dent-athletes and expects the numbers of those recognized to continue to grow.
“There are so many positive things about sport, so many things that kids get out of it and so many things they give back,” said Katz. “The vision of National Student-Athlete Day with the academics, athletics and community service — to have all three together, I’m proud of that.”
For more information about National Student-Athlete Day and the Giant Steps Award, go to http://www.nsad.cc/.
Celebrated annually on April 6, the day also is set aside to recognize parents, teachers, coaches, advisors and administrators who support them. This year marked the 20th anniversary of event.
Sponsored by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports and Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society and presented in conjunction with the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 310,000 elementary, middle school, high school, college and university student-athletes were recognized, according to Suzi Katz, a director for the National Consortium for Academics and Sports.
Celebrations took on many forms, from luncheons and halftime ceremonies to more formal programs such as the one held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which five years ago became the first elementary school in the country to recognize the annual day.
At Mount Carmel, coaches, administrators, faculty, and current and former student-athletes representing the Ivy Group office and member institutions were invited to speak to selected student-athletes. Speakers unable to attend in person were asked to write letters of encouragement to the students, which are printed in a program and handed out during the ceremony.
Myles Campbell, who is in charge of the enrichment programs at Mount Carmel, said National Student-Athlete Day fits well with the mission of the school.
“We emphasize the academic side of being a student-athlete, which is part of the reason we do this in association with the Ivy Group,” said Campbell. “The first thing that comes to mind when you talk about the Ivy Group is academics, but those schools also have excellent athletics programs, and people have been very willing to volunteer to speak to the kids and talk about some of their experiences in giving back to the community. So they are excellent role models.”
In addition to honoring thousands of student-athletes on a local level, recipients of the National Student-Athlete Day Giant Steps Award also were recognized. Montclair State University basketball student-athlete Maurice Torres, and Brittany and A.J. Detwiler, former and current student-athletes at Boston University, respectively, were honored as this year’s male and female courageous student-athletes.
At age 4, Torres was homeless, sleeping in alleys with his mother while his sisters remained with their grandmother. Because of his mother’s lifestyle, Torres was subjected to drugs and violence as a young child. Eventually, he and his sisters were taken from their mother. Over the next weeks and years, he and his sisters moved from home to home. Ultimately, the siblings, including Maurice, were adopted. Torres has gone on to become the first person in his family to attend college.Detwiler, a wrestler at Boston U., and his younger brother Corey woke one night last April to the sound of their father, Andrew, screaming at their mother, Suzanne.According to the Center for the Study of Sports in Society, the brothers found their father in the kitchen holding a knife to their mother’s neck. After retrieving two guns and ammunition that had been hidden, they were able to free their mother and lock their father in the garage. While trying to escape from the house, Suzanne was struck and killed by a bullet as their father shot his way out. She died in A.J.’s arms. When Andrew aimed his guns at his sons, Corey shot him twice in self-defense. Andrew died from his injuries. Brittany, a softball student-athlete at Boston U. who was away from home at the time of the tragedy, immediately took over as the family’s caregiver.
Other Giant Steps honorees include Julie Foudy, former Stanford University all-American and member of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, who is being honored for her civic contributions, and Jody Conradt, former head women’s basketball coach at the University of Texas at Austin, who is being recognized for her outstanding coaching career. Retired U.S. Army soldier and distinguished wheelchair athlete Johnnie Williams was chosen as the Barrier Breakers honoree.Katz said she is looking forward to another 20 years of honoring stu-
dent-athletes and expects the numbers of those recognized to continue to grow.
“There are so many positive things about sport, so many things that kids get out of it and so many things they give back,” said Katz. “The vision of National Student-Athlete Day with the academics, athletics and community service — to have all three together, I’m proud of that.”
For more information about National Student-Athlete Day and the Giant Steps Award, go to http://www.nsad.cc/.
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