Planning an event on your campus

A game-day celebration not only builds camaraderie among your student-athletes by bringing them together in a positive setting, but it also lets your fans know of your student-athletes’ successes on and off the field and in the community. How can you make this happen?

• Choose a Game Day and invite those student-athletes who are being honored for National STUDENT-Athlete Day to take part in a half-time ceremony.
• Announce the meaning of National STUDENT-Athlete Day and the criteria for recognition.
• Honorees should be announced by name and have a few of their accomplishments mentioned. Student-athletes should be encouraged to wear their team shirt when they come out onto the floor to receive their National STUDENT-Athlete Day award certificate (available upon request at no charge).
• Award certificates can be presented to your student-athletes by your athletic director, a local sports hero, sportscaster or coach.

 

Bring all of your outstanding student-athletes together for a lunch celebrating their achievements. Here are some ideas on how to make this a successful event.

• Choose one student-athlete from each of your school's athletics teams who meet the criteria of National STUDENT-Athlete Day to be honored at the luncheon.
• Offer each of those student-athletes an opportunity to invite a teacher, counselor, coach or administrator who has been a positive mentor in their life to also be honored. This will give them a great opportunity to honor those who really support student-athletes and enable them to succeed.
• Make sure key school, community and sports personnel are invited to also participate in the celebration.
• Present each student with a National STUDENT-Athlete Day award certificate (available upon request at no charge).
• When each student-athlete accepts their award certificate, allow them to talk briefly about their mentor.
• Contact a local restaurant for support of this program. Many will donate food in exchange for their logo appearing in the luncheon program book or on a small table tent during the event. Many may also want to get involved by helping to present the award certificates.

 

Since National STUDENT-Athlete Day honorees are individuals who excel on the field, in the classroom and in the community, celebrating the day with outreach can be fun for all involved.

• Invite local elementary or middle school students for an afternoon sports clinic.
• Have student-athlete representatives from your teams set up in different areas of your gym or outdoor field.
• Participants can choose the sport they want to learn about or they can rotate from team to team.
• Each clinic can last for 30 to 45 minutes and can be followed by a short presentation of award certificates (available upon request at no charge) to your student-athletes and the students who attend, as well as a motivational speech about making positive decisions.

 

What should we request?

That your city mayor/state governor recognizes April 6, 2009 as National STUDENT-Athlete Day.

Who should send the request?

The letter can be sent by any in-state resident. For your information, your governor will have already received an out-of-state proclamation request from the NCAS, but most states require that requests come from in-state.

Sample request letter:

On behalf of myself and (name of school), this letter is to formally request that (name of governor) proclaim April 6, 2009 as National STUDENT-Athlete Day.

Established 22 years ago by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS), National STUDENT-Athlete Day is designed to recognize those student-athletes who have successfully found the balance between academics and sports and those people who have helped them in their efforts. Student-athletes who are honored must have excelled in academics (3.0 GPA or better) and athletics while having been involved in outreach and community service.

Currently, National STUDENT-Athlete Day is co-sponsored with The NCAA, National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society.

The day's message to our state is clear: the future of our student-athletes depends on their education both in the classroom and on the field. The events celebrating National STUDENT-Athlete Day, supported by your proclamation, will go far in recognizing the achievements of student-athletes.

Sincerely,
_________________
(Title and Institution)

Mailing date:

Your personalized version of the above letter needs to be mailed no later than February 28.

Enclosures:

It is easier for your governor's office to work from a sample proclamation. Click here to download a sample proclamation.

“Signing” event:

The best part of requesting a proclamation signed by your governor is that many state houses will allow you to attend the signing so that you can have pictures taken of your student-athletes with the governor.