Deloitte Announces Sponsorship of U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams
Official Professional Services Sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the 2010 and 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams
Deloitte announced its sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the 2010 and 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, as well as the 2011 U.S. Pan American Team and the 2010 U.S. Team for the Youth Olympic Games. As a result of its commitment to provide the strengths of its organization for maximum social impact, Deloitte and its subsidiaries will provide support to help the USOC and U.S. Teams operate efficiently and successfully throughout their journey to the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan Am and Youth Olympic Games.
As the Official Professional Services Sponsor of audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services, Deloitte’s subsidiaries will contribute by offering a variety of in-kind professional services to the USOC.
“We believe the business community has a powerful role to play in answering the call to service to help nonprofit organizations deliver results,” said Barry Salzberg, CEO, Deloitte LLP. “There is no better opportunity to put the intellectual capital and business knowledge of our people to work than through the delivery of our exceptional professional services capabilities for the strategic, operational, and financial benefit of the USOC and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls.”
“We are proud to welcome Deloitte to our family of sponsors and appreciate the expertise and support they bring in preparing America’s athletes for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Stephanie Streeter, USOC Acting Chief Executive Officer. “This contribution and the breadth of capabilities they bring will be instrumental in our mission to enable America’s athletes to realize their Olympic and Paralympic dreams.”
Deloitte’s core values – integrity, strength from cultural diversity, and commitment to each other – are reflected in the Olympic Movement. In addition to Deloitte, other member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu have committed to the international Olympic Movement. Deloitte Canada is the Official Professional Services Supplier to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and Deloitte UK is the Official Professional Services Provider of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Separately, subsidiaries of Deloitte have been engaged to provide pro bono services to Chicago 2016 which is bidding for the right to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
USOC
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the sole entity in the United States whose mission involves training, entering and underwriting the full expenses for the U.S. teams in the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games. In addition to being the steward of the U.S. Olympic Movement, the USOC is the moving force for support of sports in the United States that are on the program of the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games.
Source: Deloitte
College Basketball Fever Strikes Guitar Hero Metallica With Bob Knight, Coach K, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams
Activision Pays Tribute to Four of the Most Successful College Basketball Coaches Who Star in New Television Ad Campaign
Activision Publishing, Inc.’s Guitar Hero(R) makes a slam dunk with the latest installment of the “Risky Business”- inspired advertising campaign featuring four of the best-known national collegiate basketball coaches of all time and their surprise encounter with world-famous rock band Metallica. The ad is an extension of the “Risky Business”- inspired Guitar Hero campaign that pays tribute to the famous lip- and guitar-syncing scene that appeared in the popular film “Risky Business.” The ad will highlight the coaches jamming on instruments from Guitar Hero(R) Metallica(R) to the song “Old Time Rock and Roll,” performed by Bob Seger.
The commercial, airing now and throughout the men’s college basketball playoffs and championship game, features the all-time leader in college basketball coaching wins Bob Knight gripping the mic, arch rivals Duke University Coach Mike Krzyzewski (“Coach K”) and University of North Carolina Coach Roy Williams sharing duties on the guitar, and former NBA coach and current University of Louisville Coach Rick Pitino dominating the drums. During their performance, the men are confronted by legendary rock band, Metallica, who are unimpressed by the coaches’ rock and roll fantasy.
The new spot joins the popular “Risky Business” advertising series directed by Brett Ratner. New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and supermodel Heidi Klum are just a few of the celebrities that have starred in “Risky Business” Guitar Hero spots inviting and inspiring others to unleash their inner rock star. The series of ads have been viewed more than 5 million times on You Tube.
The commercials were created and produced by advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky and H.S.I. Productions, through a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products.
“The last few ‘Risky Business’ ads were such a hit with Guitar Hero fans as it showed that even celebrities have rock and roll fantasies,” said Brett Ratner. “This time around, we thought we’d turn the tables and put the spotlight on some atypical Guitar Hero fans, four of the most well-known collegiate basketball coaches. I think fans will be very surprised by their shredding skills off the court.”
“Guitar Hero is more than just a video game, it is a pop culture phenomenon that has truly taken the entertainment industry by storm,” said Brad Jakeman, Chief Creative Officer of Activision Publishing. “The ‘Risky Business’ ads work so well because they bring together pop icons from different worlds – music, films, professional sports, fashion and – now – college basketball. Metallica is one of the most popular bands in history and are known for the intensity of their playing and the passion of their fans. Matching them with these iconic college basketball coaches is both unexpected and perfectly natural. College basketball fans are among the most passionate fans out there and these four coaches are symbols of this season’s intensity and success.”
Beginning March 29, fans can “Ride the Lightning” with musical icons Metallica and more than 20 other rocking acts in an all new Guitar Hero experience – Guitar Hero Metallica. Players will enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time. Shred on guitar, rip on drums and wail on the mic to a set list featuring over 45 explosive hits from Metallica’s illustrious career and a wide variety of other legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Alice In Chains, Foo Fighters and Queen. Fans will be able to rock as Metallica while performing in venues reminiscent of the band’s epic album covers, themes from their music and real world locales.
Guitar Hero is redefining the way we experience music through innovation and creativity that provides new ways for fans to experience their favorite music and introduces new music to millions of fans. In 2009, Guitar Hero is introducing new music genres and new products that will excite existing fans and invite more people to the Guitar Hero franchise.
Guitar Hero Metallica is developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. The Wii(TM) version is being developed by Vicarious Visions. The PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system version is being developed by Budcat. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on Guitar Hero Metallica, please visit http://metallica.guitarhero.com/.
Source: Activision Publishing, Inc.
European Commission Investigation Finds U.S. Laws on Internet Gambling Violate Trade Agreement
U.S. regulation of Internet gambling would resolve trade dispute
As part of a formal investigation, the European Commission has issued a preliminary report that finds U.S. laws on Internet gambling are legally not justified and discriminatory. The report found that the treatment of foreign Internet gambling operators by the U.S. under existing domestic law constituted a barrier to market access for European companies and is inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Legislation previously introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) would resolve the trade dispute by regulating Internet gambling and creating a level playing field among domestic and foreign Internet gambling operators.
“The European Commission investigation further highlights the need for the Obama Administration and Congress to regulate Internet gambling not only to protect consumers, but in order to restore integrity to the international trade system,” said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative. “The Obama Administration should seek to forge a new direction on Internet gambling, rather than keeping in place a protectionist trade policy that hypocritically discriminates against foreign online gambling operators.”
E.U. Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton released a statement that encourages the U.S. to regulate Internet gambling as a way to address this issue. “It is for the U.S. to decide how best to regulate Internet gambling in its market, but this must be done in a way that fully respects WTO obligations. I am hopeful that we can find a swift, negotiated solution to this issue,” said Commissioner Ashton.
Rt Hon. David Blunkett MP, former U.K. Home Secretary and current Member of the U.K. Parliament joined in calling for U.S. regulation, saying, “I fully support the call by the E.U. Trade Commissioner, Cathy Ashton, for urgent U.S. action to regularise the trade relationship, respect WTO rules and to regulate online gambling. This would provide not only fair competition, but protection for individuals and families, and a legal basis on which substantial revenue could be raised at a time of considerable pressure on public finances.”
The investigation by the European Commission is the result of a Trade Barrier Regulation complaint filed by the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), which represents the largest remote gambling companies in Europe. In its complaint the RGA claims the United States violates international trade law by threatening and pursuing criminal prosecutions, forfeitures and other enforcement actions against foreign Internet gambling operators, while allowing domestic U.S. online gambling operators, primarily horse betting, to flourish.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the European Commission could pursue discussions with the U.S. to find an appropriate solution to end the discrimination. If the parties cannot settle the matter themselves, the Commission could bring a case against the U.S. to the WTO.
A recent analysis found that the U.S. could receive as much as $51.9 billion in federal revenue over the next decade if Internet gambling is regulated as proposed in legislation previously introduced by Representatives Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.).
Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative
The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative promotes the freedom of individuals to gamble online with the proper safeguards to protect consumers and ensure the integrity of financial transactions. For more information on the Initiative, please visit www.safeandsecureig.org. The Web site provides a means by which individuals can register support for regulated Internet gambling with their elected representatives.
Legendary Prep Basketball Coach Morgan Wootten Announces McDonald’s All American Players of the Year
Derrick Favors and Kelsey Bone Join Elite List of Morgan Wootten’s National High School Basketball Players of the Year Award Winners
Derrick Favors, the 6’9″, 235 lb. prep superstar from South Atlanta High School in Atlanta, Ga., was named the thirteenth-annual Morgan Wootten Award winner today. Previous winners include Greg Oden (2006), Dwight Howard (2004), LeBron James (2003), Jason Williams (1999) and the Award’s first recipient Shane Battier (1997).
Joining Favors in the honor is McDonald’s All American(R) Female Player of the Year, Kelsey Bone, from John Foster Dulles High School in Stafford, Texas. Bone is the eighth female to be added to the impressive list that includes Tina Charles (2006), Abby Waner (2005), Candace Parker (2004) and Ivory Latta (2003).
The Morgan Wootten Award is given to the McDonald’s All American players who exemplify outstanding character, exhibit leadership and embody the values of being a student-athlete in both schoolwork and community service activities. McDonald’s(R) established the Award in Wootten’s name to pay tribute to his unprecedented achievements as a teacher and a coach. The official presentation will take place at the McDonald’s All American Games awards banquet on March 31 in Miami, Fla.
Described as a pure athlete, Favors is also an honor roll student at South Atlanta High School. When he’s not playing basketball, he spends his time reading and participating in the chess club and Kappa League Mentoring Program. On the court, Favors is the No. 1 ranked high school prospect in the class of 2009, according to Scout.com.
“It’s a big honor and privilege to be named the McDonald’s All American Game(R) Player of the Year,” Favors said. “I’m really looking forward to the Game and plan to just go out there, play hard and try to live up to the hype.”
Bone is considered one of the most well-rounded student athletes on the 2009 McDonald’s All American Team. In addition to her basketball achievements, which include winning the gold medal in 2008 as a member of the under-18 USA Basketball Team, Bone is also committed to excellence off the court. Her school-related activities include theatre arts and serving as a fifth grade mentor at a nearby elementary school. Bone is fluent in American Sign Language and also writes a basketball blog for the Houston Chronicle.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by Coach Wootten and the McDonald’s All American Games for all of my hard work on the court,” said Bone. “It means a lot to be named to the McDonald’s All American Team and even more to be selected as the McDonald’s All American Game Player of the Year.”
Favors and Bone are two of only 48 high school seniors selected to play in the 32nd annual McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games, which takes place at the BankUnited Center in Miami, Fla. on Wednesday, April 1. The Boys Game begins at 8:00 p.m. (ET) and airs live on ESPN. The Girls Game precedes the Boys’ at 5:30 p.m. (ET) and will air live on ESPNU.
Favors and Bone will head to top ranked universities after graduation. Favors has committed to Georgia Tech and Bone is deciding between Texas A&M, South Carolina, Texas and Illinois.
The McDonald’s All American Games are about more than just basketball. Each year, proceeds raised from the Games benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities(R) (RMHC(R)) and their local Chapters across the country. Proceeds from the 2009 Games will go to RMHC of South Florida. To date, the McDonald’s All American Games have raised millions of dollars for RMHC and its local Chapters.
For more information on the McDonald’s All American Games, please visit: www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com, www.insidethegames.net, or www.mcdepk.com/2009allamericangames/.
Coach Wootten
During Wootten’s 43-year career as head basketball coach at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., he earned a reputation for being an excellent basketball coach and mentor. During his tenure, DeMatha had five national high school championship titles and 33 conference championships.
Now retired, Wootten was the first basketball coach, at any level, to reach 1,200 wins. He is the author of numerous books and is a famed basketball speaker. Coach Wootten has served as head of the selection committee for the McDonald’s All American Games since its inception in 1977.
Source: McDonald’s
Study of Scholarship Shortfall Numbers Reveal College Athletes Pay to Play
‘Full scholarship’ can leave college athletes with as much as $30,000 in expenses
With the 2009 NCAA men’s basketball tournament heating up, the National College Players Association (NCPA), formerly known as the Collegiate Athletes Coalition (CAC), released results of another significant study revealing the estimated shortfall between college athletes’ full scholarships and the actual cost of attendance at each Division I university.
The NCPA asserts that, by and large, universities have been deceiving recruits, many of whom are under the age of 18 and from disadvantaged backgrounds, into unknowingly being responsible for paying thousands of dollars while on “full” athletic scholarship.
“The fact is, coaches fill high school recruits’ heads with promises of free rides and full scholarships, when in fact no such things exist. The NCAA designs full scholarships to fall short of the advertised price tag of a school, leaving recruits scrambling to make ends meet,” stated United Steelworkers International President Leo W. Gerard.
NCAA rules prohibit universities from providing athletic scholarships that equal the cost of attendance. That means that a full scholarship athlete is expected to pay out of pocket for expenses that are not covered by a full scholarship.
“It’s deceptive to call it a ‘full’ athletics scholarship when it doesn’t fully pay for a university’s estimated price tag. These same universities offer ‘full’ academic scholarships that do cover the price tag of a school. This appears to be a deliberate attempt at misleading young high school student-athletes, their parents, and current college athletes,” stated NCPA President Ramogi Huma.
The NCPA partnered with Ellen J. Staurowsky, a professor of sport management and graduate chair of the department at Ithaca College in New York, to calculate the estimated scholarship shortfall at every Division I university that offers athletic scholarships.
Staurowsky stated, “The mythology that college athletes receive a free education in exchange for their athletic labor is a powerful one, fueled in part, by a public perception that athletes have an easy path to being admitted into college and a privileged path through school once in. The database we’ve compiled begins to debunk this myth and serves as an important public disclosure mechanism to aid athletes as they consider their scholarship offers. Athletes and their families should know that this gap exists and that their expenses will be greater than the promise a free ride suggests.”
The data revealed that NCAA scholarship limitations can leave a full scholarship athlete with expenses ranging from as low as $200 per year up to more than $6,000 per year. That means that, NCAA rules mandate a “full” scholarship athlete to pay up to $30,000 over the course of five years.
The average amount an athlete on “full scholarship” would be required to pay out of pocket amounted to $2,763 per year, or more than $13,800 over the course of five years. Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis had the highest scholarship shortfall, amounting to over $6,000 per year, followed closely by the University of Missouri-Kansas City, East Tennessee State University, Saint Louis University, University of Louisville and Charleston Southern University, all with a greater than $5,000 per year estimated shortfall.
The University of South Carolina Upstate recorded the smallest scholarship shortfall at $200 per year. Other universities with the smallest scholarship shortfalls include: Gardner-Webb University; Colgate University; College of the Holy Cross; Providence College and Tulane University, ranging from a $700 to over $900 per year shortfall.
As a service to high school recruits, their parents, and college athletes, the NCPA made all 336 schools’ estimated scholarship shortfalls available on its web site at www.ncpanow.org.
“Every college athlete, recruit and parent should go to the NCPA web site and look closely at these shortfall numbers. Otherwise, they will find that their ‘full’ scholarship is leaving them buried in unexpected expenses,” said Huma.
With the $6 billion that the NCAA is receiving from CBS alone, there is more than enough new money to eliminate these scholarship shortfalls for the players who generate over $4 billion each year.
NCAA rules mandate a scholarship shortfall at every school that offers athletic scholarships in Divisions I and II. “With hundreds of thousands of athletes participating in NCAA sports, how many athletes have been unfairly burdened with debt in the last few decades due to the misinformation that they have received?” asked Gerard. “How much debt have they put on high interest credit cards that will take many years to pay off?”
Because there is such a wide range of scholarship shortfalls among schools across the nation ($200/yr – $6000/yr), the results from this study give schools with lower scholarship shortfalls an enormous recruiting advantage among recruits who want to avoid higher out-of-pocket expenses.
The NCAA’s position is clear. Although it is supposed to eliminate recruiting advantages, it has fought tooth and nail to subject unsuspecting players to scholarship shortfalls. “If I was a coach or fan of a school with a large scholarship shortfall, I’d be very worried about the future of my athletic program,” Huma stated.
The United Steelworkers have helped back the NCPA since 2001. The NCPA has established itself as the voice for college athletes, and has helped bring forth important reforms including:
- Helped establish a $10 million fund to assist former athletes who wish to complete their undergraduate degree or attend a graduate program
- Elimination of limits on health care for college athletes
- Increase in the NCAA death benefit from $10,000 to $25,000
- Expansion of the NCAA Catastrophic Injury Insurance Policy so that college athletes who suffer permanent, debilitating injuries can receive adequate home health care
- Implementation of key safety guidelines to help prevent deaths during workouts
Complete NCPA study results and additional studies are available on the NCPA web site: www.ncpanow.org
Shortfall estimates are the sum of expenses that cannot be covered in a full grant in aid athletic scholarship per NCAA rules. The data used to calculate shortfall numbers was taken from information published by the schools in the study as well as information made available by the US Department of Education. The NCPA says actual shortfall numbers will vary according to each individual student. The NCPA reached out to all 336 colleges and universities to offer an opportunity to provide any data disputing their school’s scholarship shortfall calculation. Of the 11 athletic programs that contacted the NCPA about their shortfall estimates, four had general inquiries, four had their concerns resolved, two did not respond to NCPA clarifications, and one wrote a letter disagreeing with their school’s estimate without providing any supporting data.
Source: United Steelworkers (USW); National College Players Association