UM Athletes To Reach Out To Hundreds Of At-Risk Youth
4/13/2000 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 13, 2000
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Approximately 200 at-risk youth will be welcomed to campus by University of Maryland athletes on Friday, April 14, for the Eighth Annual National Student Athlete Day at 9:30 a.m. Youth from Baltimore, Charles and Prince George's counties and Baltimore City will team up with student athletes representing a variety of sports, to enjoy a tour of the campus that includes libraries, dorms, dining halls, Cole Field House and other notable spots. Following the tours, the teams will gather in Ritchie Coliseum at 11:30 a.m. for a luncheon program. Sophomores Lonny Baxter and Juan Dixon of the men's basketball team will speak on the importance of having an education. Former Terrapin hoopsters Norman Fields, Rodney Elliott, Duane Simpkins and Laron Profit also are scheduled to attend. LaMont Jordan, tailback for the football team and 2000 Heisman Trophy candidate, also will participate. Simpkins currently is finishing his degree at the university. Profit plays for the Washington Wizards. After lunch, non-contact sports competitions will be held in Ritchie Coliseum followed by an awards ceremony at 2:15 p.m. "We see this program as a great opportunity to reach out and help kids who are struggling in their lives," says Donn Davis, '68, president of the Criminology Alumni Chapter. "They look up to athletes as role models, and many are hoping to play athletics in high school. We're sending the positive message that athletics and education go hand in hand and in fact both add quality to life." The event is sponsored by the Criminology Alumni Chapter, the Department of Athletics and the Returning Athletes Program. During the past six years Student Athlete Day has expanded from hosting 30 at-risk students to 220.
