Horizon League's Annual 'National Day of Service' Focuses on Special Olympics

April 1, 2003

Indianapolis, IN - The nine member schools of the Horizon League (www.horizonleague.org) have chosen Special Olympics as partners for the League's annual "National Day of Service." On each Horizon League campus, student-athletes will be managing and participating in various events, clinics and competitions to benefit local Special Olympic athletes.

"Our annual `National Day of Service' is a very visible extension of one of the Horizon League's founding tenets that our student-athletes are role models and have an opportunity in that role to give back to the community," said Stephanie Jarvis, Assistant Commissioner of Compliance & Legal Affairs for the Horizon League and coordinator of the "National Day of Service."

"Certainly, our student-athletes are involved in community events throughout the entire year, but our "National Day of Service" is a great opportunity for the League to come together to support one very worth cause."

Campus activities with Special Olympics have been scheduled at each Horizon League location and will take place over the next several weeks.

"For many years, Special Olympics has enjoyed the support from many of the NCAA member schools and its Leagues. The Horizon League's `Day of Service' will assist many of our Midwest Programs as they make their final preparation for the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Ireland this June," said Timothy Shriver, President & CEO, Special Olympics. "Special Olympics is a volunteer-driven organization and with the involvement of these student-athletes, we can be positive our Special Olympics Programs and athletes will benefit from their participation. Youth are the future of the Special Olympics movement and we look to these student-athletes as our future coaches and leadership."

According to Horizon League Commissioner Jon LeCrone, Special Olympics is a cause warmly embraced by all nine Horizon League members.

"We considered several worthy organizations for this effort, but our student-athletes feel a strong bond with the Special Olympic athletes in that competition and sportsmanship are something that they share in common," he said.

Plans and completed activities for the Horizon League's "National Day of Service" at each campus are as follows:

Butler University: Assisted with Special Olympics Indiana State Basketball Championships (March 21)
Cleveland State University: Bowling Championship (April 6)
University of Detroit Mercy: Plans TBD
University of Illinois at Chicago & Loyola University Chicago: Combined "Sports Extravaganza" at UIC campus (April 12)
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay: Horizon League student-athletes helping to manage already-scheduled Special Olympics soccer and track in Green Bay (May 3)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: "Sports Extravaganza" on campus (April 12)
Wright State University: "Sports Extravaganza" on campus (April 13)
Youngstown State University: Special track and field clinics and competition (March 19)


Special Olympics is an international year-round program of sports training and competition for individuals with mental retardation. More than one million athletes in over 150 countries train and compete in 26 Olympic-type summer and winter sports.