CLEVELAND---Four Cleveland area middle school students have won the NCAA’s 2007 Women’s Final Four Middle School Madness Contest.

NCAA Middle School Madness was initiated at the 1999 NCAA Women’s Final Four. Since then, the program has continued to provide a link between classroom learning and the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships.

As Cleveland prepared to host the 2007 Women’s Final Four, the NCAA and the Cleveland Local Organizing Committee (CLOC) worked with the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) to offer the NCAA Middle School Madness program.

As part of the program, CMSD students in grades 6-8 had the opportunity to enter an essay or poster contest about sportsmanship. Four overall winners (two boys and two girls) were selected.

Winners of the poster contest are:

Winners of the essay contest are:

Winners of the contests receive tickets to the 2007 Women’s Final Four games; tickets to Hoop City (an interactive fan festival where the winning entries will be on display); and an invitation to the NCAA Salute Dinner where the Final Four teams and coaches are honored. Additionally, contest winners receive basketball equipment for their home use.

Winners will also receive mini guitars that are replicas of the 10-foot guitar designed especially for the Women’s Final Four in Cleveland as part of the GuitarMania, and will be recognized during the Basketball Bounce and Rockin’ Rally.

The NCAA Middle School Madness program has two components – the curriculum and the essay/poster contest. The curriculum, developed by the NCAA, includes lesson plans in the subjects of language arts, math, social studies, physical education, health, art and science. Included in the curriculum are basketball trivia and sportsmanship exercises that make teaching and learning fun. Teachers can use all or part of the curriculum as best fits their classroom needs.

The contest component of the Middle School Madness program provides CMSD students in grades 6-8 the opportunity to enter an essay or poster contest about sportsmanship. All participants who timely entered the contest are eligible to receive prizes from the NCAA. All CMSD schools that submit timely entries in the contest will receive basketball equipment for their physical education programs as well as a monetary donation from the NCAA.

“Middle School Madness is a great way for the NCAA to give something back to the community that hosts us during the Women’s Final Four,” said Sue Donohoe, NCAA President of Division I Women’s Basketball. “It is important to the women’s basketball community to leave a legacy in our host city after the games have concluded. Not only does the program provide a unique opportunity to learn in a variety of subjects, it also teaches sportsmanship and provides fun activities for students.  It is the hope of the NCAA that this program leaves a footprint in the Cleveland community that will remain and be prevalent long after the Women’s Final Four events have concluded.  The long-lasting legacy of this program is a primary focus of the NCAA and its engagement with the Cleveland community.”