Big 12 a Big Success

It was the perfect scenario…the Big 12 Conference’s finest soccer teams in San Antonio. Perfect weather! Perfect crowds! Great games and youth soccer clinic! A perfect time to demonstrate to the Big 12 Conference what a first class staging job our team can deliver and how much we love amateur sports in this community.

Thanks to all the soccer youth organizations, volunteers, and staff that made the Big 12 Soccer Championship possible. Your dedication and loyal commitment to the Sports Foundation and these events make it all possible. We are very appreciative of the North East ISD folks who make the Blossom Soccer Stadium and staff available to deliver such a quality venue year after year.

A special note of gratitude to the Big 12 Conference administrators and members who have confidence in San Antonio and have given us the responsibility of staging one of their premier televised events for seven years. We look forward to the 2005 and 2006 Championship with the same enthusiasm. Congrats to the NCAA tournament qualifiers. The Sports Foundation…building a city of champions!

Dr. Susan Blackwood
Executive Director

 Texas A&M Takes Big 12 Soccer Title

It was a classic Aggies vs. Longhorns battle for the title of the Big 12 Soccer Championship on Sunday, November 7 at San Antonio’s Blossom Soccer Stadium. The Texas A&M women prevailed with a score of 3-0 over UT Austin. Texas A&M won an automatic bid to represent the Big 12 conference in the NCAA Championship Tournament, but lost to Illinois on Sunday, November 14. Texas, which also qualified for the NCAA tournament, advances to the third round and will face Portland on Friday, November 19.

Congratulations to all of the Big 12 teams who qualified for this year’s championship tournmament. We hope to see you back in San Antonio in November 2005.

SASF SBC Golf Classic Rescheduled

Monday’s rainy, stormy weather forced a rescheduling of the San Antonio Sports Foundation SBC Golf Classic. The new date is Monday, December 13 at the Dominion Country Club. The event has been changed to a 12:30 start time. There are still some team and individual player slots remaining. Contact Mary Japhet at 210-820-2123 or mjaphet@sanantoniosports.org to sign up. An update with complete details will be sent to all registered golfers via e-mail later this week.

US Open Swimming Championship Tickets on Sale

See many of the international swimming world’s current and rising stars at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships, December 2-4 at the Palo Alto College Natatorium.

National and Olympic level athletes from the USA and other countries will compete for the Open title in their events. Click here to get your tickets today and be there to cheer on your favorite swimmers as they go for gold.

It’s especially important to fill the stands with cheering fans at every US Open preliminary heat and final competition. As many of you know, San Antonio is on the short list of cities bidding to host the 2008 USA Olympic Swimming Trials, and the US Open is our chance to prove to USA Swimming that San Antonio is the place to be in 2008! Get your tickets today!

Grab your 2005 NCAA® Women’s Volleyball Championship Packages

Contributor packages are now on sale through the San Antonio Local Organizing Committee (SALOC) for the 2005 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship coming to the Alamodome, December 15 & 17, 2005.

A SALOC contributor package will ensure you tickets to three matches of the best college volleyball has to offer, plus passes to the hottest pre-game party in town and an opportunity to send local youth to the game as well.

Don’t miss this early opportunity to secure your seats before tickets go on sale to the general public in December! Call Jenny Carnes today at (210) 820-2104 to secure your package or click here to download a brochure and order form.

T.J. Maxx Tour of Gymnastics Champions - Golden Opportunity

See Carly Patterson, the Women's GOLD medal winner at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and other great Olympic gymnasts perform breathtaking routines to music and special effects!

Watch them go beyond the competition, beyond the rules and laws of gravity. Don't miss them up close right here in San Antonio at the SBC Center. Special discount available for San Antonio Sports Foundation supporters...get your tickets today to the T.J. Maxx Tour of Gymnastics Champions and be a part of the excitement!

Don't miss the action at the SBC Center on November 19th at 7:30 p.m. Sports Foundation members and friends may take advantage of a special discount. Click here and use the password FLIP to save money and buy great seats (under Promotions and Special Offers).

Alamo Bowl Party for SASF Members & Friends

We may not yet know which two college football teams will be selected to do battle in the 2004 MasterCard Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome on December 29, but it will undoubtedly be a great event. Join the rest of your Sports Foundation friends by booking your tickets to the Sports Foundation’s Alamo Bowl Top of the Dome party, underwritten by ChampmanSchewe Benefits. For just $50, you receive a ticket to the game and an invitation to our Top of the Dome party, including a meal and drinks. Click here for a flyer and order form.

Sports Foundation and Alamo Bowl board member, Rick Smith is to thank for making this party available to Sports Foundation members and friends. Call Rick at 210-349-9981 for details. Please note: all payments must be received by Nov. 30.

Lone Star Invitational Lures Top HS Basketball to Town

On December 2-4, 2004, San Antonio will witness some of the best boys’ and girls’ high school basketball in the country. The 3rd Annual Lone Star Invitational, a nationally recognized high school basketball tournament, will host 32 boys’ and 32 girls’ teams from around the U.S., State of Texas and City of San Antonio. On the game rosters of many elite schools around the country, this tournament will be the first opportunity for college coaches to get out and see some of the top recruits in the country and the response received thus far as been tremendous.

Coaches from many Division I schools such as Duke, UT Austin, Standford, Oregon State, UCLA, Louisiana State University, University of North Carolina, University of Tennessee, Notre Dame, Texas Tech and Texas A&M will attend to get the first look at this talent pool. At least nine of the players, both boys and girls, participating in the tournament have already signed with Division I schools.

Tickets range in price for students from $3-10 and $6-20 for adults. Session, day or tournament passes can be purchased. Tickets are available online at through Sunday, November 28. They are also available at the Sports Foundation office in the Alamodome at 100 Montana St. and at the gate on the days of competition. Call 210-820-2100 for information or visit www.lonestarinvitational.com to learn more about the tournament.

Get Ready to Rumble!

If you think the Spurs can make the SBC Center rumble, wait and see what adding a few hundred Harley Davidson motorcycles will do to the mix! Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 6, 2005 when the San Antonio Spurs take on the Utah Jazz in a fundraiser for Dreams for Youth and its charity partners of "For the Love of Kids & Harleys". Reserve your seats today! Tickets may be purchased for $25.35 or $37.35 and include a FREE hot dog, soda and ice cream! Proceeds from each ticket sold will be distributed equally to the Kids & Harleys charities. Call the Sports Foundation at (210) 820-2100 to order.

Go!Kids Closing in on Marathon Distance

Thousands of elementary students participating in the Sports Foundation’s Diamond Shamrock Go!Kids Challenge™ are walking ½ mile every day as they close in on their goal of completing a marathon – 26.2 miles by Sunday, December 5. That’s the day of the Subway Victory Lap Celebration when the children who complete the Diamond Shamrock Go!Kids Challenge and are invited walk around the floor of the Alamodome and claim their finisher’s medal and t-shirt.

All Go!Kids families are invited to attend. There will be lots of fun and excitement, plus a few surprise guests! To learn more about the Diamond Shamrock Go!Kids Challenge and he Subway Victory Lap Celebration, visit www.gokidschallenge.org. If you know a Go!Kid, take a walk with him or her today. That’s the best way to show you support their efforts to be active and healthy.

CODP Fencer Targets Notre Dame

Congratulations to Sports Foundation CODP fencer Mark Kubik, a senior at Regan High School, who has signed his national letter of intent to attend Notre Dame University next fall. Mark has been fencing since he was five and is coached by his father, Wendell Kubik. He has been fencing in the San Antonio Sports Foundation’s Community Olympic Development Program, a partnership with the United States Olympic Committee, since moving to San Antonio from Germany in 1997.

CODP fencer Mark Kubik signs with Notre Dame as his father, Wendell Kubik, and the Sports Foundation’s Alma Striker look on.

"I'm really grateful for the Sports Foundation's help...both financial and facilities. I could never have gotten this far without it," said Mark.

Mark chose Notre Dame because he likes its emphasis on athletics and academics. No slouch academically, he has a 100 grade point average at Regan and is ranked first in his class. He plans to major in chemical engineering at Notre Dame and go on to graduate school. Mark’s fencing goals include making the 2008 Olympic team, but says an NCAA championship would be nice too.

He loves fencing, and admits to looking forward to practice in the evening. “It’s my break…as much work as it is.” Mark also loves to travel and has competed internationally.

Mark is an A rated fencer and is currently ranked 10th in the nation in junior men’s foil and 24th in senior men’s foil His fencing achievements include:
13th in the Under 17 World Championships in Bulgaria (April); 3rd at the Junior Olympics (Feb.); 31st at the Under 20 World Cup in Como, Italy (Feb.); and 6th at the Under-17 World Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia (Feb.).

Charles Cheever; Nancy Christensen; Michael Coffey; Mike Dennis; Rene Diaz; James Doyle; Norman Dugas; Larry Franklin; Tom Frost; Jamie Garza; Claud Gilmer; Larry Goldman; Gayle Haley; Scott Helbing; Ron Johnston; Thomas Kingman; Gretchen Kragh; Leonard Lawrence; James Littleton; General William McBride; George & Maureen Merkle; Tim & Lori Mueller; Dan Naranjo; Jeff Nowicki; T. Michael Payne; Jim & Katie Reed; Paul Richards; Steve Richards; Al Richter; Christa Scannell; Jim Shelley; Bruce Smith; Steve Souter; Randall Stephenson; Walter Strub; Steve Richards; Neill Walsdorf; Judi Weers; Dale Wood; Sasha Zucker

Corporate Champions

Presenting Champions

City of San Antonio; SBC Communications Inc.

$50,000

Creative Link; IKON Office Solutions; San Antonio Express-News, Valero Energy Corporation

$20,000

Advantage Rent-A-Car; H-E-B Grocery Company; San Antonio Coca-Cola Bottling Co; San Antonio Spurs; Whataburger, Inc.

$10,000

Budget Car & Truck Rental; Cingular Wireless; Langley & Banack; Maverick Video Production; NuMedia: Oak Farms Dairy; Paladin IT Services; Methodist Children's Hospital; Spectrum Health Clubs; Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio, The Dominion Country Club

$5,000

George Becknell; Bender & Associates; BudCo., Inc.; The CE Group - Communication & Events; ChapmanSchewe/CDP; Comet Neon Advertising; Frost Bank; Humana; JP Morgan Chase; KPMG; Michael Imbimbo, Inc.; Miner Corporation; The Plaza Club; Nathaniel Sanderson, M.D.; Security Service Federal Credit Union; Soccer Sports Complex; Jon Turner; Zachry Hospitality, Inc.

$2,500

Bank of America; Broadway Bank; Carneiro, Chummney & Co.; C.C. Creations; Cox Smith Matthews Incorporated; Ernst & Young; Host/Chelsea Joint Venture of San Antonio; IntelliSolve Group, Inc.; Dr. Susan Marenda-King; Catering by Don Strange; Dublin & Associates; Fintan Technologies; Flowers Bakeries; Fulbright & Jaworski; GLI Distributing.; Initial Security; Marriott Plaza San Antonio; Marriott Rivercenter/Riverwalk; Pape-Dawson Consulting Engineers, Inc.; SpawGlass Contractors, Inc.; Sterling Bank; Sterling Foods, Inc.; Walton Signage; Yantis Company;

Grants/Foundations

Bexar County Health & Human Services CDBG; Bexar County Women's Bar Foundation; Brown Foundation; Charity Ball Foundation; Coleman Foundation; Criminal Justice Division JJDP Grant; Criminal Justice Division Safe and Drug Free Schools Grant; Light Foundation; David & Betty Sachs Foundation; Smith Barney; Women’s Sports Foundation

Founding Sponsors

City of San Antonio; H-E-B; USAA Foundation, A Charitable Trust; Valero Energy Corporation