NCAA Football's Youth Initiative Announces Grant Winners

LEXINGTON, Ky. - NCAA Football, in association with Russell Athletic, Wilson Sporting Goods and Pop Warner, recently awarded each of more than 40 youth football leagues and teams with $3,000 in credits for new uniforms, equipment and more. This inaugural grant program was created to allow the leagues to receive NCAA Football replica jerseys and pants through Russell Athletic, footballs from Wilson, or provide registration fee waivers for financially disadvantaged families.

"Our current game uniforms are about five years old," said grant recipient Bobbie Thiessen, vice president of operations, Eagle Youth Sports, Inc., of Winter Park, Fla. "These new uniforms will help us achieve our goal of making the youth football experience affordable and increase community awareness of our league."

To obtain the grants, leagues and teams filled out applications through Pop Warner citing financial need and how the grant would be used. Some grant winners chose to award participation scholarships to low-income youth, while others chose to outfit young players in jerseys just like those worn by their favorite NCAA Football team.

“NCAA Football is thrilled to be able to assist youth football leagues nationwide welcome new participants and motivate those participants to pursue a college education,” said Bob Vecchione, chair of the Youth Initiatives Committee. “We’re excited to see what these teams will accomplish with their grants, and we’re looking forward to receiving even more applications for next year’s program.”

In addition to the grant program, NCAA Football's Youth Initiative includes Youth Day clinics that were held in three cities in July and several events surrounding the BCS National Championship game in January 2009. The Youth Initiative strives to attract more youth participants to the game, provide them with additional motivation to pursue higher education opportunities, help them develop the necessary skills to be successful on and off the field, and help to establish a new base of lifelong NCAA Football fans.

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About NCAA Football
NCAA Football USA, Inc. is a coalition of the American Football Coaches Association, the Conference Commissioners Association, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the National Collegiate Athletics Association and serves to improve, promote and protect college football for those who play, coach, support and dream of playing the game. IMG College has served as NCAA Football's managing partner since its inception.

About IMG College
IMG College is the leader in developing integrated licensing, marketing, and multi-media opportunities for the nation's top collegiate brands across local, regional, and national platforms. IMG College is a division of IMG, the world's premier Sports, Entertainment and Media Company. IMG is a diversified global business with two major business segments: IMG Sports & Entertainment, and IMG Media. IMG employs more than 3,000 people in 30 countries. For more information on IMG College, visit www.imgcollege.com or www.imgworld.com.

2008 Winners

      Association Name                     Region       College Requested
      Aurora Association**                 Southwest    LSU
      Beacon House Falcons                 Eastern      Texas Tech
      Boston Bengals PW                    New England  Clemson
      Carlsbad PW                          Wescon       TCU
      Children Advancing Towards Success   Eastern      Kansas St.
      Costa Mesa Pop Warner                Wescon       Michigan
      Cowlitz County PW**                  Pacific NW   Washington St.
      Delta Bay Buccaneers                 Pacific NW   Oklahoma St.
      Denver Association**                 Southwest    Arkansas
      Downtown Athletic Assoc.             Mid-South    North Carolina
      Duquesne Youth FB Assoc.             Eastern      Georgia
      Eagle Youth Sports, Inc.             Southeast    Florida
      Fort Bend Longhorns                  Southwest    Texas
      Garner Civitan PW                    Mid-South    N.C. State
      Gary Steelers PW                     Mid-America  Purdue
      Hoffman Estates AA                   Mid-America  Nebraska
      Hyde Park PW                         New England  Boston College
      Klamath County PW                    Pacific NW   Washington St.
      Medford PW                           Pacific NW   Oregon St.
      Minnesota Bulldogs                   Mid-America  Kansas St.
      New York City Pop Warner**           Eastern      N.C. State
      Next Level Sports                    Mid-America  Vanderbilt
      Northampton Indians FB               Eastern      Florida St.
      Oak Cliff Bears                      Southwest    Texas Tech
      Philipstown Hawks                    Eastern      North Carolina
      Pleasant Grove Broncos               Southwest    Florida
      Pride Lions Youth Sports**           Eastern      Kansas
      River Valley PW                      Wescon       Michigan
      Rusk County Oilers PW                Southwest    Baylor
      Secret Society Underdogs**           Eastern      Kentucky
      South Association                    Wescon       Arizona
      Southwest Austin PW                  Southwest    Georgia
      Space Coast Sharx                    Southeast    Kentucky
      Thornton Association**               Southwest    Texas Tech
      Union County PW                      Southeast    LSU
      Village Longhorns                    Eastern      Texas A&M
      Watervliet Pop Warner                Eastern      Washington St.
      Westside Ravens FB                   Eastern      Washington
      Winter Park Pop Warner               Southeast    Florida
      Youth Achieving Project              Eastern      Florida St.

      ** indicate new league/assoc. for 2008