SUWANEE, Ga. - The first observance of Division
III Week – a celebration by member schools of the
division’s unique philosophy that equally values academics,
athletics and student-athletes’ involvement in a full and
rich campus life – is set for April 9-15.
The SCAC, in conjunction with the conference’s
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, will help sponsor events
related to this celebration on four member campuses.
“We are excited to assist our member institutions in an
opportunity to celebrate the uniqueness that is the Division III
experience,” said SCAC Director of Sports Information Jeff
DeBaldo, who also serves as the SCAC Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee advisor. “After conference calls with our campus
SAAC leaders, it was evident that there was a tremendous amount of
interest to participate in this inaugural week of
celebration.”
After receiving various submissions from campus SAAC groups, the
SCAC will assist in funding the following activities on or around
NCAA Division III Week:
To kick off Division III Week at Austin College, student-athletes
will be wearing old jerseys around campus on Friday, April 6th
(National Student Athlete Day) to get people to notice all the
athletes. On Wednesday, April 11th, during the actual week of
Division III Week, the school will host an ice cream social to
recognize the achievements and accomplishments of all its
student-athletes. Faculty will be invited to this event as well.
Later in the month, the Austin College SAAC will attend a Special
Olympics track meet in Cedar Hills, Texas, and volunteer their time
as assistants.
The Colorado College SAAC is sponsoring a local group of Special
Olympics athletes to attend a soccer clinic that will be conducted
by a variety of Colorado College student-athletes on Sunday, April
1st. Following the clinic, the fields will be set up for actual
contests for the Special Olympic athletes with CC student-athletes
serving as “fans” for these games. “The local
Special Olympics office is very excited, as are we,” said
Andy Obringer, Coordinator of Sports Services at Colorado College.
“It should be a fun day.”
Oglethorpe University will sponsor Student-Athlete Night on
Tuesday, April 10th to honor all of those student-athletes who
earned SCAC All-Academic honors during the fall semester.
At Rhodes College, the campus SAAC will host a 2-3 hour event on
Saturday, April 14th, for Special Olympic athletes.
“We’ve been working with the Lynx Club – the
Rhodes College student organization – and (SAAC) had the idea
of hosting a play-day where we run it like a mini Olympics, mixing
teams of Special Olympic athletes with Rhodes varsity
student-athletes from each sport,” said Meg Spangler, Rhodes
College Assistant Field Hockey Coach and SAAC Advisor.
The Rhodes College SAAC has a long-standing relationship with
Special Olympics Memphis and raised over $3,500 for the
organization in February via a Polar Bear Plunge into the
Mississippi River.
With the inception of NCAA Division III Week, every member
institution and conference was urged to schedule at least one
activity explicitly linked to the observance, celebrating an aspect
of the Division III student-athlete experience from these three
categories of activities:
- Academic accomplishment, including activities such as taking
time during a game to acknowledge student-athlete academic
achievement, or asking teams to select a faculty member to serve as
a guest coach for a practice or competition.
- Athletics activity, including conducting events such as a youth
sports clinic or competition, or scheduling recognition of school
teams’ or individuals’ athletics accomplishments during
a game.
- Community or campus outreach, such as scheduling a community-service activity during the week, or participating in an event involving a local chapter of Special Olympics as part of Division III’s developing partnership with that organization.
“The activities we have chosen to assist in funding well represent the intended spirit of the Division III celebration,” said DeBaldo. “In the four highlighted examples, we are recognizing and celebrating the academic and athletic achievements of our student-athletes as well as the passion to serve and the desire to assist in the community that has become a hallmark trait of all SCAC student-athletes.”
