New honor society lauds both sides of student-athlete

In May 1996, Nick Mourouzis, head football coach at DePauw University, founded Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society (NCAHS).

The NCAHS honors junior and senior student-athletes who have earned a varsity letter while maintaining a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.400 (4.000 scale).

Mourouzis, who is planning to retire at the end of the year, came up with the idea after discovering the Association of College Honor Societies, which registers honor societies for everything from economics to music to sociology, had nothing representing athletics.

While Mourouzis says he is pleased with the number of participating schools to date, his vision for the NCAHS is much loftier.

"We want Chi Alpha Sigma to be recognized in athletics like Phi Beta Kappa is recognized in the academic world," he said.

"Student-athletes don't get recognized enough for being both a student and an athlete," he said. "There's all these athletics awards that student-athletes receive. On the flip side there's the academic awards that student-athletes receive. But you never hear much about the two of them being combined. I just feel that it's about time that someone recognize the amount of time it takes to do both and to excel at both."

Oklahoma compiles annual athletics report

For each of the past three years, the University of Oklahoma athletics department has taken the time to celebrate its accomplishments and progress with the publication of an athletics "annual report."

The goal of the report, according to Kenny Mossman, assistant athletics director for media relations, is to provide contributors and fans of Oklahoma athletics with a progress report covering all aspects of the athletics program.

"There's a real attempt to make sure we tell the entire story and not focus too much attention on one or two areas," said Mossman. "That stretches from competitive success right through our financials and community service -- practically everything we're involved in as an athletics department."

According to Mossman, feedback about the publication has been positive, primarily because the information is so comprehensive.

Mossman doesn't think Oklahoma is unique in that it publishes the report because other schools do the same, if not annually, at least intermittently. But, he said the school fields calls from other institutions wanting to see the publication.

"I think it's achieved a certain respect in that other schools are asking for it to use as a guide."

-- Compiled by Leilana McKindra <

Number crunching

Looking back

Notable September 1s

1952: A total of 121 NCAA institutions enroll in an inaugural NCAA Intercollegiate Athletic Group Insurance program, a plan approved by the NCAA Insurance Committee to provide catastrophic-injury medical coverage for student-athletes engaged in intercollegiate athletics competition.

1965: The NCAA agrees to cooperate with the United States Senate Commerce Committee in its call for binding and contributing arbitration in a track and field dispute. NCAA President Everett D. Barnes proposes that a new national commission be organized to administer United States track and field.

1968: In accordance with legislation passed at the 61st annual Convention requiring members to designate College or University Division in all sports rather than sport by sport, 223 members select University Division and 386 choose College Division.

1969: The NCAA membership prepares for the 100th anniversary of college football with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, hosting Princeton University, in a rematch of the schools' historic clash in 1869. Barbara Specht of Texas Tech University is elected Centennial Queen.

1977: The NCAA enters its first four-year football television contract. Previous television plans for football were limited to two-year agreements. The agreement with ABC covers the 1978 through 1981 seasons.

1999: Lesley Ashford of Concord College sets a Division II women's soccer record for the fastest goal at the start of a game (:13).

2000: The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, women's soccer team sets records for consecutive conference wins (55) and conference games unbeaten (55).