mark dantonio - MSU Alumni Association - Michigan State University

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Photo by Robert Bao and has overseen much of SAF’s phenomenal growth. “This has been a very rewarding job,” says VandenBerg, who will step down from her role as SAF adviser this year and serve as interim associate director of the MSU Alumni Association. “It’s a 24/7 commitment, but the best part is working with students. Every year, we have a whole new group coming in and they bring new ideas because they want to leave their mark. “That’s very exciting. The students make all the decisions, and that’s what makes the SAF work.” (Left) SAF president Frankie Orlando and marketing VP Cheryl Brodowski take time out during halftime of a recent home basketball game at the Breslin Center. (Above) The 2006-2007 SAF board of directors gathered at the Spartan Spirit Pep Rally at Breslin Center. After VandenBerg leaves, Susie Hamilton, assistant director for student outreach at Iowa State University, will take over as SAF adviser. A native of Chariton, IA, she is a graduate of Northern Iowa University and has worked five years as an adviser for student programs. SAF programs seem to work well and student leaders have thrived within the organization. “A lot of people know our programs, but they don’t necessarily know the SAF is the organization that runs it,” notes SAF marketing vice president Cheryl Brodowski, a senior from Shelby Township. Even fewer people know the SAF operates under the aegis of the alumni association. The SAF president, for example, occupies a seat on the MSUAA’s national alumni board. Here some of the major programs run by the SAF: • Parents Weekend, held during Homecoming Weekend, sells out every year and draws about 1,300 MSU parents and siblings to campus. • Every year, SAF students give campus tours to more than 22,000 visitors—including prospective students, alumni, visitors and special groups. • SAF has pioneered the rising popularity of student spirit groups, with Corner Blitz surpassing 3,200, the Izzone at 2,200, and Slap Shots at 163—a significant increase from last year. Both the Izzone and the Corner Blitz are national trendsetters. • Sparty, which is run by the SAF’s mascot program, has just won its third national championship in the last four years, and remains the only Big Ten mascot to have won a national championship. • Every fall, the SAF and the MSUAA stage Spartan Spirit, the largest Welcome Week event where new students learn the Fight Song from the Spartan Marching Band and the MSU Cheerleaders and where they get to meet coaches and star Spartan athletes. Formerly the event was held in Spartan Stadium, but henceforth it will be at the Breslin Center. • The SAF runs assorted programs, such as Students for State, Dinner for 12 Spartans, Sparty’s Spring Party, and the Winter Formal. It also gets involved with special efforts, such as spearheading the student fundraising for the Sparty Project (see cover story, Winter 2003) To run these programs, the SAF boasts an annual budget well in excess of Page 22 Winter 2007 MSU Alumni Magazine 046957070001_20-25.indd 22 2/2/07 1:44:09 PM
$100,000—most of which it raises via memberships, sales of merchandise, and income generated from the mascot program. “Also, we receive financial support from University Development and the MSU Alumni Association,” says Orlando. “We really appreciate this.” Orlando joined the SAF as a freshman and has played a role in its steady recent growth. SAF recruits members at Academic Orientation Programs and also markets to parents of new students. It costs $15, and the benefits include discounts at 31 stores frequented by students, including area bookstores, restaurants, and the like. “It pays for itself right away,” notes Brodowski. SAF two signature programs are the Izzone and the Sparty mascot program. “Everybody wants Sparty,” notes Orlando. “Sparty does tons of events—weddings, bar mitzvahs, parades, anniversaries, you name it. We are happy to accommodate fans and alums, especially in the summer.” SAF tour guide Ross Ramsey stands by the Library fountain during a recent campus tour for prospective students. The mascot program began in 1989 and became an instant hit. Since then the costume, created by a company in Georgia, has been refined to allow for more movement and animation. As a result, Sparty has been able to project some personality and is now the only Big Ten mascot to have been crowned national champion by the Universal Cheerleading Association. Sparty has won many other awards and is often featured in ESPN Sportscenter commercials. As Kermit the Frog announced on Spartan Stadium’s Diamond Vision during the Homecoming game, “Sparty (is) the No. 1 mascot in the country!” Explains Brodowski, “Some of the mascots we see are nothing more than a person inside a rug. They don’t do much. Sparty is very animated. He interacts with the crowd and you think of him as a living, breathing entity.” A key component of the mascot competition is a videotape presentation. To view the current one, where ESPN sportscaster Lee Corso introduces Sparty, visit www.msusaf..edu. Alumni can request Sparty appearances at the same web site, or call the SAF office at 517- 355-4458. The SAF also runs the spirit sections for football, men’s basketball and hockey. The Izzone has garnered the most national attention, especially during MSU’s three-year Final Four runs, although the Corner Blitz has recently undergone meteoric growth. The Izzone began in 1995 as a small section of about 100 rabid fans, basically “Jud’s Jungle” with a new name. But the section has grown steadily with Tom Izzo’s success—and, according to Tom, helped take MSU basketball’s home court advantage to a new level. Today’s Izzone is a gameimpacting, loud and boisterous bloc of around 2,200 fans, a blinding agglomeration of jumping white t-shirts occupying most courtside seats in the lower bowl and sprouting out into the top rows of Breslin Center’s upper level, the so-called “Ozone.” SAF now requires students who want the coveted courtside Izzone seats to first be members of the Ozone. “Today’s Izzone is a game-impacting, loud and boisterous bloc of . . . jumping white t-shirts.” “The Izzone has led the way in the Big 10,” says Orlando. “Look at the Orange Crush (Illinois), the Hawk’s Nest (Iowa), the Grateful Red (Wisconsin) or the Maize Rage (Michigan)—they were all organized in response to the Izzone.” One thing is sure—students want to get into the Izzone. Every year, they camp out in mid-September at Munn Field for the privilege of signing up. “It’s a lot of fun,” says Orlando. “Last year 1,800 students camped out. We have a live band. This year Tom Izzo camped out with us and all 13 team members came and met Click Right Through for MSU www.msualum.com Page 23 046957070001_20-25.indd 23 1/30/07 10:38:44 AM
Page 1 and 2: MARK DANTONIO MEET MICHIGAN STATE
Page 3 and 4: Michigan State University • Winte
Page 5 and 6: INBASKET FUN, FLOATS AND THE FROG Y
Page 7 and 8: license agreements for new technolo
Page 9 and 10: sor of chemistry, and colleagues Da
Page 11 and 12: The MSU Alumni Association would li
Page 13 and 14: ROBERT GOLDBORT: WRITING FOR SCIENC
Page 15 and 16: president of Raphael-Leritz Consult
Page 17 and 18: The Danube River ~ Vienna to Buchar
Page 19 and 20: MSU needs some $80 million more to
Page 21 and 22: The MSU Office of Planned Giving A
Page 23: THE STUDENT ALUMNI FOUNDATION EMERG
Page 27 and 28: Weekend, a series of events for par
Page 29 and 30: U SING ON ARTS AND HUMANITIES ties.
Page 31 and 32: citement, the pleasure, the improvi
Page 33 and 34: Photo courtesy of MSU Sports Inform
Page 35 and 36: you come here, we can feature you i
Page 37 and 38: A VERTICAL STRETCH FOR WOMEN’S HO
Page 39 and 40: Big Opportunities at the Big Ten Ne
Page 41 and 42: KEDZIE REUNION 2007 MICHIGAN STATE
Page 43 and 44: Photo courtesy of Pat Page Spartans
Page 45 and 46: White House Photo by Paul Morse SPO
Page 47 and 48: Heidi Potter MSU Bike Project, is c
Page 49 and 50: MSUFCU Study Abroad Scholarship rec
Page 51 and 52: she was a project management superv
Page 53 and 54: Ronald Rickens, Sr., ’58, of Alto
Page 55 and 56: 046957070001_Covers.indd 5 1/30/07

mark dantonio - MSU Alumni Association - Michigan State University

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