Louisville Baseball Named Nation’s No. 1 Community Service Team for the Fall
January 14, 2016 | Baseball
Cardinals accumulated more than 2,600 hours of service, highlighted by outreach visit to the Dominican Republic
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville baseball team was recognized this week as the No. 1-ranked NCAA program across all sports and divisions in community service hours for the fall of 2015 as part of the NCAA Team Works Competition.
The Cardinals baseball team completed more than 2,600 hours of community service as a team while averaging 62 hours of service per student-athlete. Junior outfielder Colin Lyman was recognized as one of the top 10 most outstanding student-athletes in the fall and was No. 1 among baseball student-athletes nationally. Overall, the University of Louisville ranked sixth nationally for total hours and participation rate for the fall, while the Cardinals men's tennis and women's tennis teams joined the baseball team as the top ranking programs in those respective sports.
The Louisville baseball team's fall was highlighted by the five-day visit to the Dominican Republic, where the Cardinals participated in multiple community service events, including a baseball clinic for more than 70 kids while also visiting and assisting with providing food to a local girls orphanage and two nearby rural villages.
"The Dominican Republic trip only enforced how fortunate we are as Americans and all the opportunities we have to help others. I've always said good kids win, not just on the field but in life. And this just shows we have really good kids on this team," said Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell. "They have won a lot on the field but just as important, they will win off the field for years to come. And that's what makes America strong."
The Cardinals, who enter the 2016 season ranked No. 2 nationally in multiple preseason polls, also participated in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Louisville on Oct. 10 while other service opportunities for Louisville baseball student-athletes included the One Shirt One Body event at a Boys & Girls Club, the Dreams with Wings Jack O' Lantern Stroll, reading and sharing stories with students at a local elementary school, a VIP Game Day experience with kids at a football game and a church activity at Southeast Christian Church.
The NCAA Team Works Competition is a national community service competition for NCAA DI, DII and DIII athletic departments and student-athletes. The NCAA Team Works Award recognize schools for their outstanding commitment to volunteerism and community service. Participation in the 2015 fall semester Competition using the Helper Helper platform is open to all NCAA-affiliated schools.
During the competition period (September 1st-December 15th) University of Louisville student-athletes completed 5,400 hours of community service. The Cardinals baseball, lacrosse and women's tennis teams averaged more than 15 hours per student-athlete with baseball averaging 62 hours per student-athlete, which led the nation. In addition to the service done this past summer, student-athletes have completed 8,100 hours of community service, which has already surpassed last year's record-breaking total of 8,027 hours. The team and individual student-athletes (male & female) with the most service hours are announced at the Louie Awards, hosted annually at the end of April. Hours are tracked from April to April each year and any hours submitted after the annual awards are included in the totals for the following year. Last season, the Louisville field hockey team won the team award while Becca Maddock (field hockey) and Andrew Stewart (men's track & field) earned the individual awards.
More information on the NCAA Team Works Competition is available online at www.ncaa.com/team-works. Information and details on the Helper Helper platform is available at http://www.helperhelper.us/.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
The Cardinals baseball team completed more than 2,600 hours of community service as a team while averaging 62 hours of service per student-athlete. Junior outfielder Colin Lyman was recognized as one of the top 10 most outstanding student-athletes in the fall and was No. 1 among baseball student-athletes nationally. Overall, the University of Louisville ranked sixth nationally for total hours and participation rate for the fall, while the Cardinals men's tennis and women's tennis teams joined the baseball team as the top ranking programs in those respective sports.
The Louisville baseball team's fall was highlighted by the five-day visit to the Dominican Republic, where the Cardinals participated in multiple community service events, including a baseball clinic for more than 70 kids while also visiting and assisting with providing food to a local girls orphanage and two nearby rural villages.
"The Dominican Republic trip only enforced how fortunate we are as Americans and all the opportunities we have to help others. I've always said good kids win, not just on the field but in life. And this just shows we have really good kids on this team," said Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell. "They have won a lot on the field but just as important, they will win off the field for years to come. And that's what makes America strong."
The Cardinals, who enter the 2016 season ranked No. 2 nationally in multiple preseason polls, also participated in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Louisville on Oct. 10 while other service opportunities for Louisville baseball student-athletes included the One Shirt One Body event at a Boys & Girls Club, the Dreams with Wings Jack O' Lantern Stroll, reading and sharing stories with students at a local elementary school, a VIP Game Day experience with kids at a football game and a church activity at Southeast Christian Church.
The NCAA Team Works Competition is a national community service competition for NCAA DI, DII and DIII athletic departments and student-athletes. The NCAA Team Works Award recognize schools for their outstanding commitment to volunteerism and community service. Participation in the 2015 fall semester Competition using the Helper Helper platform is open to all NCAA-affiliated schools.
During the competition period (September 1st-December 15th) University of Louisville student-athletes completed 5,400 hours of community service. The Cardinals baseball, lacrosse and women's tennis teams averaged more than 15 hours per student-athlete with baseball averaging 62 hours per student-athlete, which led the nation. In addition to the service done this past summer, student-athletes have completed 8,100 hours of community service, which has already surpassed last year's record-breaking total of 8,027 hours. The team and individual student-athletes (male & female) with the most service hours are announced at the Louie Awards, hosted annually at the end of April. Hours are tracked from April to April each year and any hours submitted after the annual awards are included in the totals for the following year. Last season, the Louisville field hockey team won the team award while Becca Maddock (field hockey) and Andrew Stewart (men's track & field) earned the individual awards.
More information on the NCAA Team Works Competition is available online at www.ncaa.com/team-works. Information and details on the Helper Helper platform is available at http://www.helperhelper.us/.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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