Celebrating Father Biondi's Anniversary - Saint Louis University

iLLiken beAT
Saint Louis University led all league schools with
123 student-athletes named to the Atlantic
10 Conference Commissioner’s Honor roll for
the spring 2007 semester. Student-athletes
named to the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor roll
completed the spring semester with a 3.5
grade point average or better. in all, 1,118
student-athletes in the A-10 were named to the
Commissioner’s Honor roll.
VOUyOUkAS
Photos by Bill Barrett
MCiLWrAiTH
Former Saint Louis University men’s basketball
center Ian Vouyoukas has signed a threeyear
contract with Olympiakos bC in the A1
greek basketball League. Olympiakos finished
21-5 last season and reached the league’s
championship game. And former SLU women’s
basketball standout Tyler mcIlwraith has
signed with AutoCAD Amazone in Holland for the
2007-08 season.
Senior associate director of athletics doug
mcIlhagga is overseeing the operations of the
department of athletics until a new athletic
director is named. Former athletic director
Cheryl L. Levick resigned this summer to take a
position at the University of Maryland.
The saint louis university women’s basketball
team posted the 17th-best gPA among nCAA
Division i programs in 2006-07, according to
the Women’s basketball Coaches Association
(WbCA). The billikens’ 3.336 gPA put them on
the list.
foLLow the BiLLikenS wherever yoU Live
Billiken fans everywhere can now keep up with Saint Louis University’s athletic teams
online with the All-Access pass available at www.slubillikens.com through CSTV.
The SLU All-Access pass costs $9.95 per month or $79.95 for the entire year.
Billiken athletic events to be broadcast online include a minimum of 15 fall events in
addition to select men’s and women’s basketball games. Programming also will include press
conferences, men’s basketball features, video blogs from student-athletes and coaches as well
as other special features.
“The All-Access pass allows more of our student-athletes and coaches to showcase their
talents and personalities across a broader spectrum,” said Kosha Irby, associate athletics
director.
The SLU All-Access pass is compatible with both PC and Macintosh platforms. However,
Mac users must use the Safari Web browser to receive the feed. Pay-per-view programming
will be available to annual subscribers for free, while monthly subscribers will be
required to pay an additional fee.
Season ticket holders and alumni may qualify for a discounted annual price. Call the
Billiken ticket office at (314) 977-4758 for coupon information.
BiLLiken nAMed BeSt MAScot in the ncAA
The Saint Louis University Billiken was selected as the No.
1 college mascot by the Web site SPMsportspage.com.
The site listed the Top 100 College Nicknames/Mascots
among NCAA Division I schools. The column, written
by Larry Nauss, stated: “A nickname or mascot must be
fairly unique, captivating and somewhat imaginative, and/
or have some particular significance to the geographic location
of a school. He [the Billiken] was a rock star before there even were
rock stars, in the early 1900s. The rest is history, and it’s still the
premier nickname/mascot in all of college sports.”
Billiken Men’s BasketBall 2007-2008 schedule Billiken woMen’s BasketBall 2007-2008 schedule
Date OppOnent Site time
Fri., nOv. 2 UMSL (exh) St. Louis 7:30 p.m.
HiSpanic cOllege FunD cHallenge - univ. OF pittSBurgH
Fri., Nov. 9 vs. North Carolina A&T Pittsburgh 3:30 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 10 vs. Houston Baptist Pittsburgh 5:30 p.m.
SuN., Nov. 11 at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh 5 p.m.
WeD., nOv. 14 Detroit St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sat., nOv. 17 Furman St. Louis 7 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 21 at Missouri State Springfield, Mo. 7:05 p.m.
Sat., nOv. 24 Pacific St. Louis 7 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 28 at Kent State Kent, Ohio 6 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 1 Long Beach State St. Louis 1 p.m.
tueS., dec. 4 at Boston College Chestnut Hill, Mass. 6 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 8 Sam houston State St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 15 Southern Illinois St. Louis 6:30 p.m.
WeD., Dec. 19 Loyola (Chicago) St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 29 IUPUI St. Louis 7 p.m.
thur., jaN. 10 at George Washington* Washington, D.C. 7 p.m.
Sat., jan. 12 Dayton* St. Louis 7 p.m.
tHur., jan. 17 Rhode Island* St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sun., jan. 20 Temple* St. Louis 1 p.m.
Sat., jaN. 26 at La Salle* Philadelphia 1 p.m.
Wed., jaN. 30 at Dayton* Dayton, Ohio 6 p.m.
Sat., FeB. 2 Massachusetts* St. Louis Noon
tHur., FeB. 7 xavier* St. Louis 8 p.m.
SuN., Feb. 10 at Richmond* Richmond, Va. 1 p.m.
WeD., FeB. 13 George Washington* St. Louis 7 p.m.
SuN., Feb. 17 at Massachusetts* Amherst, Mass. 1 p.m.
WeD., FeB. 20 Fordham* St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 23 at Charlotte* Charlotte, N.C. 6 p.m.
thur., Feb. 28 at Saint Joseph’s* Philadelphia 6 p.m.
Sat., mar. 1 St. Bonaventure* St. Louis 1 p.m.
Sat. mar. 8 at Duquesne* Pittsburgh 6 p.m.
mar. 12-15 at A-10 Championship* Atlantic City, N.J. TBA
Date OppOnent Site time
Fri., nOv. 2 UMSL (exh at Scottrade) St. Louis 5 p.m.
WeD., nOv. 7 Missouri-Baptist (exh) St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sun., nOv. 11 hampton University St. Louis 2 p.m.
Wed., Nov. 14 at Akron Akron, Ohio 6 p.m.
Sun., nOv. 18 Wyoming St. Louis 2 p.m.
tueS., Nov. 20 at Tennessee State Nashville, Tenn. 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 24 Morehead State St. Louis 2 p.m.
tueS., nOv. 27 at Tennessee – Martin Martin, Tenn. 6 p.m.
tHurS., nOv. 29 at UMKC Kansas City, Mo. 7 p.m.
SuN., dec. 2 at Kansas Lawrence, Kan. 4 p.m.
Fri., dec. 7 at Missouri State Springfield, Mo. 7 p.m.
Sat., dec. 15 at Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 2 p.m.
WeD., Dec. 19 Canisius College St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sat., dec. 22 at Florida Gainesville, Fla. Noon
Battle at tHe BOrDer tOurnament - univ. OF tX-pan american
Fri., dec. 28 Lafayette vs. UTPA edinburg, Texas 6 p.m.
Saint Louis vs. Lamar 8 p.m.
Sat., dec. 29 Consolation Game 5 p.m.
Championship Game 7 p.m.
Wed., jaN. 2 at Chicago State Chicago 7 p.m.
Sat., jaN. 12 at Fordham* Bronx, N.Y. Noon
WeD., jan. 16 Duquesne* St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sat., jaN. 19 at Charlotte* Charlotte, N.C. 6 p.m.
WeD., jan. 23 Rhode Island* St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sat., jan. 26 Richmond* St. Louis 2 p.m.
jaN., jaN. 30 at Xavier Cincinnati 11 a.m.
Sat., FeB. 2 Charlotte* St. Louis 7 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 6 at Saint Joseph’s* Philadelphia 6 p.m.
Sun., FeB. 10 La Salle* St. Louis 2 p.m.
Sat., FeB. 16 Massachusetts* St. Louis 2 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 20 at George Washington* Washington, D.C. 6 p.m.
SuN., Feb. 24 at St. Bonaventure* Olean, N.Y. Noon
WeD., FeB. 27 Temple* St. Louis 7 p.m.
Sat., mar. 1 at Dayton* Dayton, Ohio TBA
mar. 7-10 at A-10 Championship* Philadelphia TBA
Who are the student callers?
it’s important to know that the students making
the calls are current Saint Louis University
students. We have 26 calling stations and hire
approximately 80 federal work-study students to
fill those spots. We have a diverse range of years,
majors and states represented by our student
callers. They work on campus for the convenience,
but as they quickly find out, calling alumni to ask
for support is not always easy. They have to want
to work here. We’ve had many former callers tell
us that their job as a student caller was a great
résumé builder and that many potential employers
focused on that experience during the interview
process.
Why do students make the best phoners?
There is a natural relationship between current
SLU students and our alumni. On any given
night, i can walk around the call center and hear
conversations with a 1947 School of Law alumnus
or a 2006 graduate of the psychology department.
Who knows the SLU experience better than the
students currently living it? Sure, the campus and
faculty may have changed, but the mission of SLU
— to educate women and men for others — has
remained constant since 1818. Our student callers
also seem to possess an important quality that is
you’ve probably received a phone call from a Saint Louis University student eager to
talk to you and to encourage you to make a gift to SLU. David Nolda (A&S ’95),
director of annual giving programs, sheds some light on those callers and on the
importance of giving.
essential to this job: They have no fear. They are
not afraid to have a genuine conversation, make
the ask or face rejection. if 25 percent of their
calls each night result in a gift, they are masters
of their craft.
does your office solicit anyone besides alumni?
Obviously, alumni are our most natural prospective
donors. We also contact parents of current
and former students as well as faculty, staff
and friends of the University. We even have a
Student Class gift Program aimed at current SLU
students, which educates our students about the
importance of giving back. Without the generosity
of our donors, our students would not be able to
enjoy the SLU experience offered today.
alumni received an e-mail solicitation from slu
this summer. Is that something you’ll be doing
more of?
e-mail communication saves the University a
great deal of money. it’s not only the easiest
and most cost-effective way to ask for support,
it also provides the easiest method for donors
to make gifts. Those gifts go to work benefiting
our students right away. in the past year,
we’ve used more graphics and technology in
our e-mails than ever before. We were able to
convey a lot more in a 45-second video e-mail
last December than any direct-mail piece. The
commencement-themed video e-mail we sent
in May elicited the most emotional responses
that i’ve seen in my 13 years at Saint Louis
University. Obviously we hope that those e-mails
result in gifts for our students and programs,
but they’re also a way for us to keep our alumni
connected to their alma mater. For so many
of our alumni who do not live in St. Louis, it’s
a great way for them to “see” the growth and
changes to the campus.
alumnus richard Chaifetz just gave slu $12
million. how does a gift of $50 compare?
Think about this: Last year, SLU received 15,608
gifts of $100 or less totaling $760,125. Three
quarters of a million dollars — that’s a huge
sum of money from many people who probably
asked themselves, “Does my $10, $25 or $50
really make a difference?” To our students, it
makes a world of difference. As for gifts such
as Dr. Chaifetz’s, those donors didn’t just make
million-dollar gifts out of the blue one day. Many
of the five-, six- or seven-figure donors began with
modest gifts of $25 or $100 in support of their
school or team 25 or 30 years ago.
Why is participation important?
Participation at all levels is vital to the SLU
experience. U.S.News & World Report measures
alumni giving for national rankings, and
corporations also evaluate alumni participation
before deciding to make gifts to SLU. We need to
be able to show that more of our alumni support
SLU each year. not only is the funding necessary,
but alumni giving helps boost SLU’s reputation in
national rankings and, ultimately, enhances the
value of our degrees.
To make a gift online, visit
giftform.slu.edu. Make a gift by
phone by calling (314) 977-3781, or use
the envelope enclosed in this issue of
Universitas to make a gift via mail.
6 UNIVERSITAS www.slu.edu UNIVERSITAS FALL 2007 7