ST. LOUIS---St. Louis middle schools have received over $30,000 in cash and equipment for their participation in the NCAA® Middle School Madness™ program, an educational and community outreach initiative conducted by the NCAA, in conjunction with the 2009 NCAA Women’s Final Four® which St. Louis hosted in early April.
In all, 25 St. Louis middle schools received a cash honorarium for school supplies and physical education equipment, Wilson basketballs and a basketball goal. Each of the 283 students that participated and their respective teachers also received a participation gift. Over 250 middle school students from five participating schools attended Women’s Final Four activities April 4.
Participating St. Louis middle schools included AAA Busch, Blewett, Big Picture Des Peres, Carr Lane, Cole, Columbia, Compton-Drew, Cote Brilliante, Fanning, Farragut, Ford, Gateway, Hodgen, Langston, Long, L’Overture, Lyon-Blow, McKinley, Nance, Northwest, Sigel, Shepard, Stowe, Walbridge and Yeatman.
The NCAA Middle School Madness Program teaches middle school students the importance of sports in education and gets them involved within their community. The theme of this year’s program was, “what is the power of a dream?”
The program had two components: a curriculum guide and an essay and poster contests. The winning essay contestants were Omnia Nesbitt, a seventh grade student from Langston and Kenneth D. Johnson, a sixth grader from AAA Busch. Poster contest winners were MiChon Watson, a seventh grader from Carr Lane and Corbin Mason, an eighth grader from Gateway.
Winning entries were showcased throughout St. Louis during the Women’s Final Four. The winning entries are again being showcased at the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis during the student-athlete art show which is running from May 25 - June 25. The four winners were provided the opportunity to attend many Women’s Final Four events, including the national semifinal games and national championship game.
About the NCAA and Division I Women’s Basketball
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals, members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
NCAA women’s basketball is characterized by strong fundamentals, high quality of play, sportsmanship, role model student-athletes and family oriented entertainment.
For the latest news in regard to the Women’s Final Four, visit www.ncaa.com/finalfour.
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