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SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY SEAHAWKS
Posted: Apr 07, 2014

Salve Regina celebrates Division III Week

Salve Regina celebrates Division III Week

NEWPORT, R.I. - The 11th annual Megs Doubles Clinic served up tennis skills to over 30 participants as Salve Regina University athletics kicked off its celebration of NCAA Division III Week.

NCAA Division III Week is set for April 7-13 across the country. The event is a celebration by member institutions and conferences of the division’s unique philosophy that equally values academics, athletics and student-athletes’ involvement in a full and rich campus life. This year's celebration takes on more meaning as member schools and conferences also are celebrating Division III's 40th anniversary year.

Rhode Island Special Olympics For a Division III Week "Facts & Figures" document please click HERE.

In addition to the annual clinic in honor of one of Salve Regina's former tennis players (Meghan E. Strathman '03), the Seahawks also have a full schedule of home games, community service activities, and a second installment of the RWU-SRU athletic staff basketball challenge. The week is highlighted by the annual East Bay Area Games for the Rhode Island Special Olympics at Gaudet Field in Middletown on Saturday, April 12.

The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) will kick off its celebration of Division III Week on National Student-Athlete Day, Sunday, April 6, as the conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will host their spring meeting. The group will be meeting in the morning to discuss conference business and in the afternoon they will participate in a presentation given by Hudson Taylor, the Founder & Executive Director of Athlete Ally. For more information on Athlete Ally, please visit http://www.athleteally.org/about/.

The conference SAAC is also currently holding its "Annual Giving Event" which began in March and will run through DIII Week. The giving event is an initiative that requires each campus SAAC to select a specific item(s) to collect on campus and then make a donation to a local charity. A few different items that are being collected include shoes, backpacks, slightly used athletic gear, old uniforms, and personal hygiene items.

CCC member institutions will also take part in activities on or around their campuses throughout DIII Week.  

Activities include:

  • Working with local Special Olympics organizations
  • Volunteering at a community centers
  • Working with local elementary students to promote what it is like to be in college
  • "Play for the Cause" fundraising efforts
  • Hosting National Student-Athlete Day ceremonies
  • Honoring Dean's List student-athletes at home contests
  • Team captains sharing a meal with college/university administrators
  • Inviting faculty members to attend athletic contests and recognizing faculty/staff members that have participated in a college sports or who currently support teams
  • Athlete-for-Athlete days to spread school spirit and increase attendance for all spring sports
  • Highlighting student-athletes by creating a video of activities throughout the week
  • Bringing speakers onto campus
  • Wearing athletics gear during the week to show awareness around campus
  • Putting up informational fliers and showing DIII informational videos

More information on Division III Week:

For resources regarding NCAA Division III Week click HERE.

Division III Week is an opportunity to publicly celebrate and promote the ways in which Division III members have provided a well-rounded collegiate experience not only for approximately 180,000 student-athletes currently playing sports in the NCAA's largest division, but for the hundreds of thousands of their predecessors who have competed since Division III was formed and hosted its first championships during 1973-74.

During NCAA Division III Week, every member institution and conference is encouraged to schedule at least one activity, which celebrates an aspect of the Division III student-athlete experience, from these three categories:

•Academic accomplishment, including activities such as taking time during a game to acknowledge student-athlete academic achievement, or asking teams to select a faculty member to serve as a guest coach for a practice or competition.

•Athletics activity, including conducting events such as a youth sports clinic or competition, or scheduling recognition of school teams’ or individuals’ athletics accomplishments during a game.

•Community or campus outreach, such as scheduling a community-service activity during the week, or participating in an event involving a local chapter of Special Olympics as part of Division III’s partnership with that organization.

Follow all of the DIII Week stories being told across the country by checking out the Twitter hashtag #d3week and if you want to tell a Division III story of your own, use the Twitter hashtag #whyd3!