Hall of Champions exhibit acclaimed as 'Best of Show'

The NCAA Hall of Champions, which opened in Indianapolis this March, was honored recently as a champion itself.

One of the Hall's multimedia features, "What is a Champion?" was recognized during the 2000 Aurora Awards, taking home a Platinum Best of Show award in the Entertainment/Drama category.

The "What is a Champion?" exhibit features an emotionally charged original soundtrack and a high-definition video that tells the story of a student-athlete's journey and the moments that define what makes a true champion.

The video refers to dedication, discipline, teamwork, courage and passion for the game, ultimately asking: "Is the champion the one who learns respect for opponents, respect for teammates, respect for self, respect for the game? Or is the champion merely the one who wins? The answer matters far beyond the game."

The Aurora Awards are a national competition designed to recognize excellence in the film and video industries. The awards program focuses on nontraditional commercials, regional or special-interest entertainment and corporate-sponsored film and video.

The Platinum Best of Show award is the highest honor given through the Aurora Awards. All entries are judged in areas of creativity, message effectiveness and technical excellence.

Pyramid Studios is the Richmond, Virginia, company responsible for the exhibit's conception and development.

"The staff of the Hall of Champions is extremely pleased for Pyramid Studios and our facility that we have been honored with such a prestigious national award," said James W. Shaffer, NCAA director of the Hall of Champions.

"The Hall of Champions congratulates Pyramid Studios for this outstanding honor. 'What is a Champion?' represents what the Hall of Champions is all about -- the extraordinary 'journey' of the student-athlete. It is an emotional tribute that has become one of the most -- if not the most-- popular features in the Hall of Champions."

Off to a fast start

Robert Gomes, a junior student-athlete on the Elms College men's soccer team, has launched himself into the season in a big way.

Gomes scored four goals in a 6-1 win over Bard College in the season opener, then he scored four more goals in a 6-0 victory against Daniel Webster College. In Elms' third game, he scored four more goals in the
7-0 win over Newbury College, assisting on the three goals.

Hockey in Holland

The Lebanon Valley College field hockey team took its game to Europe this year, trading the hot weather in Annville, Pennsylvania, for the cooler temperatures of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

"Field hockey in Holland is as popular as football and basketball are in the States," said Lebanon Valley senior forward Beth Light. "The hockey clubs also are a place for socializing after matches."

One highlight of the trip was a visit to the village of the team's tour guide.

"He took us to his village celebration, which turned out to be a country line-dancing festival," Light said. "The village folk did not speak English very well, but line dancing -- just like field hockey -- turned out to be a universal language."

--Compiled by Kay Hawes

Number crunching

Looking back

October 1993 -- The National Association of Basketball Coaches conducts an "issues summit," but many minority coaches choose not to attend as a statement against NCAA policies they believe discriminate against minority student-athletes. The summit convened more than 280 men's basketball coaches who confronted presidents, athletics directors and conference commissioners with a plea to deregulate the rules book and implement policies based on common sense. In turn, administrators challenged coaches to put pressure on their peers who abuse rules and force the closing of legislative loopholes. "Don't schedule them," said Colonial Athletic Association Commissioner Thomas E. Yeager. "Somewhere along the line -- collectively, not just basketball coaches -- we've got to disarm this thing and bring some sanity back into it." (The NCAA News, October 25, 1993)

October 1986 -- An ad hoc committee of the American Council on Education proposes that the college basketball season not start until January, and that the total number of scholarships in the sport be reduced from 15 to 12. The proposals are not under consideration for the 1987 Convention, but one piece of Convention legislation would have similar cost-cutting ramifications: reducing the basketball recruiting period from nine months to four. As for the ACE proposals, not much support is forthcoming from coaches. "I'd go nuts," said Kansas coach Larry Brown about the proposed shift in the season. "That group making the rules has no idea what's going on." (The NCAA News, October 27, 1986)

Who was talking

"All Babylon on a holiday would size up like a Quaker meeting when compared to the madly excited crowd on the streets of Des Moines last night, all because Grinnell brought her much bescarred gridiron roasters down to town to have Drake beat them by a score of 6 to 0."

-- An account in the Des Moines Register and Leader after college football's first game under outdoor lights October 5, 1900, between Drake University and Grinnell College