June 17, 2004

WASHINGTON - Maryland's Gary Williams joined former Houston Comets standout Cynthia Cooper and a host of others in representing the NikeGO program at the HealthierUS Fitness Festival in downtown Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The Terps' head coach and the former WNBA star hosted an interactive demonstration geared at making physical activity a fun, lifelong habit for America's youth.

Williams, Cooper and Nike joined SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids) and 50 other organizations at the fitness fair on the national mall, organized by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the Congressional Fitness Caucus. The fair was intended to showcase activities and resources available to encourage Americans toward healty lifestyles, and Williams and Cooper's participation in the "new P.E." demonstration was targeted at elementary school children.

Nike's program, named "PE2GO," began in 2002 with the implementation of after-school activities in 32 Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2003, PE2GO programs designed by Nike and Spark launched in six U.S. cities, reaching more than 6,400 fourth and fifth graders in 43 elementary schools.

"Many people in the fitness community are concerned about our youth," said Williams. "They understand the need for better physical fitness programs."

Since returning to the College Park campus in 1989, Williams has led his alma mater's basketball program to 11 straight NCAA tournament berths, seven Sweet Sixteen appearances, a pair of consecutive Final Four showings and the 2002 national championship.

In 2004, Williams led his Terrapins - who statistically comprised one of the nation's most youthful squads - to the program's record eighth consecutive 20-win season and the 2004 ACC title. Williams' squad became only the third team in ACC Tournament history to down the Top 3 seeds in the tournament, and set the all-time record for tournament comebacks in overcoming a 21-point deficit against NC State in the semifinal round.

Williams owns more than 500 victories in his 26 seasons as a head coach, with over 300 coming at the University of Maryland. He is the 16th-winningest active coach in America, and is one of only 10 coaches ever to lead his alma mater to the national title.

Williams has become the sixth-winningest coach in ACC history after transforming the Maryland program into one of the nation's most formidable, and building a Baltimore-D.C. area following that has consistently resulted in packed arenas. For the second-straight season Maryland set a new home attendance record in 2004, as 287,200 fans came out to support the Terps at Comcast Center during their ACC championship season.