INDIANAPOLIS--- NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Presidents and Management Councils are challenging their conferences and campuses to match the $100,000 contribution to Haiti relief made by the division earlier this month.

 “The extraordinary scale of the tragedy presents a challenge to all of us and it is apparent that significant humanitarian relief will be needed in Haiti for years to come. We are called to do what we can as individuals, and also as leaders on a national, conference and institutional level,” said Jim Harris, president of Widener University and chair of the Division III Presidents Council. “The leadership of the Division III Presidents Council, Management Council and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee believe that in this moment of tragedy there is opportunity to live out the values of Division III and bring our new Strategic Positioning Platform to life.

“The platform emphasizes the educational opportunities provided to student-athletes in the classroom, on the playing field and in the community,” Harris continued. “One of the key attributes for our division is citizenship and we believe a Division III specific response to the situation in Haiti is warranted.”

The $100,000 already donated by the division was part of a $300,000 gift to UNICEF to help with that organization’s relief efforts. Each NCAA division contributed $100,000.

Contributions made to UNICEF or any other documented relief agency will be credited toward the Division III goal.

The deadline for the division’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committees to raise the additional $100,000 is December 1, 2010.

“It is our hope that Division III leaders will provide information about this challenge to their student-athletes and encourage them to join this nationwide initiative in whatever way is appropriate for their campus or conference,” said Lynn Oberbillig, athletic director at Smith College and chair of the Division III Management Council.

 “There are more than 160,000 student-athletes participating in Division III,” said Isaiah Goodman, former basketball student-athlete from Washington and Lee University and chair of the Division III SAAC. “Calling this group to action to meet the challenge can accomplish critical humanitarian relief and reinforce the educational values that are the essence of the student-athlete experience in our division.”

Following are just a few of the Division III schools that have conducted Haitian relief efforts:

Averett

Baldwin-Wallace

Brooklyn

Eastern

Eastern Mennonite

Emerson (SAAC)

Fitchburg State (SAAC)

Frostburg State

Greenville

Keystone

Lehman (SAAC)

Marymount (Virginia)

MIT

Mount Ida (SAAC)

Mount St. Joseph

Newbury

Pacific (Oregon)

Pittsburgh-Bradford

Redlands

Rose-Hulman (SAAC)

Salisbury

Shenandoah

USA South Athletic Conference (SAAC)

Westminster (Pennsylvania) (SAAC)

Wheaton (Massachusetts)

Whitworth (SAAC)

William Paterson

Wisconsin-Whitewater

Worcester State (SAAC)