South Atlantic Conference
South Atlantic Conference AndersonBrevardCarson-NewmanCatawbaLenoir-RhyneLincoln Memorial UniversityMars HillNewberryTusculumWingate
| Championships | Awards | Directory | History | About the SAC | Member Institutions | Sponsors | NCAA Division II
Men's Sports Women's Sports General Info

Newberry College Wins NCAA Community Engagement Award For Second Year In A Row

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Newberry College has won a $500 award from the NCAA as the South Atlantic Conference school with outstanding community engagement, it was announced this week. This is the second consecutive year Newberry was the conference winner.

The honors are part of the third annual Division II Community Engagement Award of Excellence, an award established in 2008 to build momentum for Division II's community-engagement initiative and reward institutions for their creativity in advancing the effort.

Division II schools were encouraged to submit their best community-engagement promotion from the "ideas that work" section on the Division II community-engagement Web site.

"What a great honor to be selected as one of 18 Division II schools across the nation to receive recognition through the Division II Community Engagement Award," said associate athletic director and senior woman administrator Robin Muller. "The student-athletes at Newberry College embrace the opportunity to give back to the community. Through our Halloween Haunted Hoops event, we could provide a safe and fun environment for the community children to trick or treat, as well as play basketball and meet our athletes. Our goal is to continue to vie for this award each year."

Newberry's signature community engagement event of the year was the Halloween Haunted Hoops event in Eleazer Arena on October 28, 2009.

The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) brought all of Newberry's athletic teams together to provide children from the community with a safe opportunity to enjoy Halloween festivities. The athletes felt rewarded by the opportunity to directly interact with the children and serve as role models.

The night was an amazing success, as attendance well exceeded the athletic department's expectations. Throughout the lobby and corridors of Eleazer Arena, fully costumed athletes from their respective teams set up booths and various activities. Each team was responsible for organizing one activity, which included mummy wrapping, bobbing for apples, face painting, pumpkin decorating, monster building and guessing candy corn quantities. The athletes also provided autographs and picture opportunities to the young fans.

The baseball team provided an interactive haunted house which invited children and adults alike to explore the mad scientist's lab, a cemetery and Dracula's lair. Those brave enough anxiously navigated the dark and fog as a band of ghouls and goblins banged doors, clanked chains and jumped out of coffins. The children were always relieved to exit, but also hurriedly got back in line to go through again.

Chelsea Stone, a Newberry College cheerleader enjoyed interacting with the kids and serving as a positive influence. "It was great to see all of the kids' faces light up with excitement," she said. "I love to have the opportunity to impact the kids and know that we're making a difference."

The athletic department would like to give a special thanks to Professor Matthew Fuller and the Theater Department for working together on this event. The event could not have seen the same success without their generosity and willingness to provide costumes and support.

As the participants gathered in the gym for the rest of the evening's entertainment, a costume contest was held for all the children in attendance. Though the competition was fierce, the winner ended up being a two-foot tall Princess Leia.

As the fans settled in the seats, the men's and women's basketball teams teamed up to showcase their skills and provide fans with a taste of what to expect in the 2009-10 season. The showcase began with a word from the head coaches of the men's and women's basketball teams. Next the players from both teams were all introduced and came together at center court.

After all the names were called, children were invited down to the court to dribble, shoot and even dunk atop the players' shoulders. The showcase itself began with the men and women competing in a nail-biting three-point contest that came down to the buzzer. Next the women competed amongst themselves in an around-the-world style shooting contest. Finally, it was the men's turn to ignite the crowd with a high-octane slam-dunk contest. After the dust settled, the faces the crowd all adorned smiles as they departed.

The evening served as a great opportunity to continue Newberry's community service engagement while generating interest in the basketball programs.

Benedict College's community-engagement effort, the Daniel Burgess Tricycle Relays, was named as the national winner.
FULL NCAA RELEASE

CONFERENCE WINNERS
California Collegiate Athletic Association - Cal San Diego
Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference − Holy Family
Great Lake Intercollegiate Athletic Conference − Saginaw Valley State
Great Lakes Valley Conference − Rockhurst
Great Northwest Athletic Conference − Montana State Billings
Gulf South Conference − North Alabama
Heartland Conference − Texas A&M International
Lone Star Conference − Texas A&M-Kingsville
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Conference − Missouri Western State
Northeast-10 Conference − Franklin Pierce
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference − Upper Iowa
Pacific West Conference − Grand Canyon
Peach Belt Conference − Peach Belt Conference
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference − Shippensburg
South Atlantic Conference − Newberry
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference − Benedict
Sunshine State Conference − Lynn
West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference − Fairmont State

Printable VersionOpen As Word Bookmark and Share