Environmental Education

GAMEON
EXTRAPOINTS
BY NICHOLAS BROWN
About 20 colleges and universities are
expected to take part in the April 18
Gridiron Bash, a one-day entertainment
event created by MSL Sports and
Entertainment that will bring big-time
music acts to campuses on the eve of spring
football games. Artists such as Fergie,
Maroon 5, Dwight Yoakam, the Goo Goo
Dolls and the Black Crowes (pictured) are
scheduled to perform at football stadiums
at schools including Penn State, Texas
A&M, the University of Colorado and
Kansas State. Combined revenue from
gate, parking, merchandise and concessions
sales is expected to exceed $12 million.
Each stadium will also be host to preconcert
pep rallies, introductions of football
players and speeches from coaches. As part of the USA Today
Bash for Cash Series, participating schools that generate the
highest attendance at the event can win cash contributions of
up to $1 million to their general scholarship funds.
ALSO:
The Climbing Wall Association and the American
Mountain Guides Association have signed a memorandum of
understanding to establish a certification program for climbing
wall instructors. The program will address basic technical skills
necessary to manage instructional programs at climbing facilities…
An innovator in breakaway goals and unbreakable glass
blackboards, Basketball Products International has
re-launched operations after the brand was phased out by Spalding
in 2004… Consultancy DJS Design Inc. has created a new
division, Winning Recruits, which will provide services to college
athletics administrators to assist them in improving the effectiveness
of their recruiting tools… The main basketball court at the 2008
Summer Olympics in Beijing will feature the Rome 25 portable
sports floor, which is made by U.S.-based surfaces manufacturer
Haro Sports Floors… Irrigation systems and infrastructure
provider Lindsay Corp. has completed its acquisition of
Watertronics Inc., a manufacturer of water pumping stations
and controls for the municipal, golf and landscaping markets…
Surfaces manufacturer ECORE International has joined the
Nike Grind program, in which used and donated athletic shoes
are ground up to create crumb rubber materials. ECORE uses the
grind to create underlayment that can be used beneath poured
urethane sports floors… The LeBron James Family Foundation at
the St. Bernard Center in New Orleans’ 7th Ward has chosen surfaces
manufacturer No Fault to supply a poured-in-place
surface for the center’s new playground, which is aimed at helping
children and families recover from the effects of Hurricane
Katrina… A $1 million grant from the National Swimming Pool
Foundation is making possible the creation of the National
Aquatics and Sports Medicine Institute at Washington
26 ATHLETIC BUSINESS APRIL 2008 ATHLETICBUSINESS.COM
PHOTO BY GENE J. PUSKAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOTO BY ROBERT E. KLEIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
State University. The grant will
pay for staff and equipment for
research into the effects of aquatic
exercise on general health and
well-being, as well as specific
medical conditions such as
asthma, hypertension, osteoporosis
and obesity… During the International
Health, Racquet & Sportsclub
Association’s International
Convention and Trade Show in
March, exercise equipment
manufacturer Matrix Fitness
Systems sponsored the raffle of
a Harley-Davidson Fat Bob
motorcycle, with all proceeds
going to Augie’s Quest, a program
led by fitness legend Augie Nieto and the Muscular Dystrophy
Association to raise money for ALS research. The company also
donated $50,000 in cash and equipment as the lead sponsor of
Augie’s Bash, a fund-raising event for the program… Finally,
players and coaches at more than 800 colleges and universities
in mid-February donned pink uniforms or other pink apparel as
part of Think Pink, a national breast-cancer awareness campaign
spearheaded by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Sports apparel manufacturer Russell Athletic provided new
gear to the schools, including pink uniforms for such high-profile
women’s basketball teams as LSU, Pitt, Purdue and Rutgers. The
company donated a portion of its proceeds to the Kay Yow/WBCA
Cancer Fund, named in part to honor the legendary North Carolina
State women’s basketball coach, who is currently battling cancer
for the third time since 1987. The campaign was launched last
year, and participation increased by nearly 700 schools this year.
Because of such support, Russell plans to keep the pink uniforms
in stock year-round, and it plans to unveil a new line of breastcancer
awareness apparel at the WBCA annual convention,
which takes place April 4-8 in Tampa, Fla. Ω