Sept. 29, 2008

Columbia, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is the governing body for athletics programs at its nearly 300 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada.  The NAIA strengthens its commitment to student-athletes and strives to enrich their college experience by supporting academic achievement and character development. NAIA Champions of Character is the association’s innovative flagship program designed to instill character values in student-athletes, coaches and youth in the communities it serves.

This year the Columbia College athletic department has decided to take the Champions of Character initiative head on.  Each Cougar team has picked one of the five core values that the initiative embodies; respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship.  This week marks the first of five weeks throughout the school year that the Cougars will involve themselves in activities to represent that core value. 

The men’s basketball team hosted ‘responsibility’ week this week and kicked it off on Monday with an unforgettable presentation.  Sarah Panzau is a part of the Anheuser-Busch Beeresponsbile campaign.  Panzau was a top athlete before she began heading down a destructive path. In 2003 Sarah decided to drive home drunk, missed a highway exit and rolled her car four times. Without a seat belt, she was ejected through the rear window of her car, her left arm was torn from her body and she was thrown onto the roadway.

Sarah talked with the Cougars about peer pressure, the “wrong crowd” and the meaning of “real” friends. She pleads with students to spot the telltale warning signs in others and underscores the need to seek help.

Wednesday night saw speaker Bob Hall talk to the Cougars about Nonviolent Sexuality.  Nonviolent Sexuality for Student Athletes is a no-nonsense look at sex, conflict, alcohol and intimacy and the challenges that these life issues pose to athletes in translating the skill sets they rely upon in sports to the arena of personal life and relationships.

Finally, Columbia wrapped up the week answering phones for the Y107 Miracles For Kids Radiothon.  Members of the men’s basketball team as well as the women’s basketball team spent the afternoon taking donations over the phone to help out the children’s hospital.

Columbia will continue to host activities throughout the year to actively involve all student-athletes in the five core values and to celebrate the NAIA’s Champions of Character initiative.