As part of the nationwide “Are you a Champs Sports Champion?” scholarship program, participants must write a 300-word essay on how they make a difference on their team — the team could consist of a sports team, family, school, community, etc. The program is open to applicants ages 14 and older and submissions to www.champssports.com/scholarship will be judged on content, originality, and creativity. The deadline for submission is November 29, 2009.

“We are always looking for new and innovative ways to provide our customers with unique experiences to show our gratitude for their loyalty and patronage,” said Rob Brodersen, vice president of marketing at Champs Sports. “We are proud to give these young winners money towards their future education, and hope to continue our efforts of enriching the lives of customers within the communities we serve.”

In its sixth year of sponsorship, the Champs Sports Bowl is a match up of the ACC and Big Ten – Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 8:00 pm.

Source: Champs Sports

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

SIRIUS XM’s holiday sports schedule includes college football and basketball, NFL post-season games, NBA, NHL and World Cup skiing

SIRIUS XM Radio announced  that it will offer listeners nationwide extensive coverage of college football’s post-season, with live play-by-play of 25 bowl games including the Bowl Championship Series, the Rose Bowl and the FedEx BCS National Championship game.

SIRIUS XM’s coverage will begin Saturday, December 20, when Navy plays Wake Forest in the EagleBank Bowl (11:00am ET on SIRIUS channel 122 and XM channel 144) and continues through Thursday, January 8, when the nation’s #1 team, the Oklahoma Sooners led by Heisman Trophy-winner Sam Bradford, face off against the #2 Florida Gators and 2007 Heisman-winner Tim Tebow in the FedEx BCS National Championship Game in Miami, FL (8:00pm ET on SIRIUS channel 120 and XM channel 140). A complete schedule of games and channels appears below.

Leading up to the national title game, SIRIUS XM personality Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo will host his daily show, Mad Dog Unleashed, live from Miami on Wednesday, January 7 (2:00-7:00pm ET) and Thursday, January 8 (2:00-7:00pm ET) on SIRIUS channel 123 and XM channel 144.

Additionally, every weekday morning (7:00-10:00am ET) throughout the college post-season, SIRIUS XM’s college sports talk show, Rivals Radio, hosted by Bill King, will air live on SIRIUS channel 122 and XM channel 144, covering all the latest news and results and previewing every bowl match-up.

Every Wednesday (10:00am-12:00pm ET) on SIRIUS channel 122 and XM channel 144, Jack Arute and Gary Danielson host The SIRIUS XM College Football Coaches Show, covering the world of college football and interviewing head coaches and players from around the nation.

SIRIUS XM’s College Bowl Game schedule: (All times ET)

EagleBank Bowl, Washington, DC – Navy vs. Wake Forest
December 20, 11:00 am, SIRIUS channel 122 / XM channel 144 (Navy feed)

New Mexico Bowl, Albuquerque, NM – Colorado St. vs. Fresno St.
December 20, 2:30pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

St. Petersburg Bowl, St. Petersburg, FL – South Florida vs. Memphis
December 20, 4:30pm, SIRIUS channel 122 / XM channel 144 (ESPN Radio feed)

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, LA – Troy vs. Southern Mississippi

December 21, 8:15pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, San Diego, CA – Boise St. vs. TCU

December 23, 8:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 144 (ESPN Radio feed)

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, Honolulu, HI – Notre Dame vs. Hawaii
December 24, 8:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Motor City Bowl, Detroit, MI – Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
December 26, 7:30pm, SIRIUS channel 122 / XM channel 144 (TBC Sports feed)

Meineke Car Care Bowl, Charlotte, NC – North Carolina vs. West Virginia
December 27, 1:00pm, SIRIUS channel 122 / XM channel 144 (ISP feed)

Champs Sports Bowl, Orlando, FL – Wisconsin vs. Florida St.
December 27, 4:30pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Emerald Bowl, San Francisco, CA – California vs. Miami
December 27, 8:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

PapaJohns.com Bowl, Birmingham, AL – Rutgers vs. NC State
December 29, 3:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio, TX – Missouri vs. Northwestern
December 29, 8:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, San Diego, CA – Oklahoma St. vs. Oregon
December 30, 8:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, TX – Air Force vs. Houston

December 31, 12:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Chick-fil-A Bowl, Atlanta, GA – LSU vs. Georgia Tech
December 31, 7:30pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Outback Bowl, Tampa, FL – Iowa vs. South Carolina
January 1, 11:00am, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, FL – Clemson vs. Nebraska

January 1, 1:00pm, SIRIUS channel 122 / XM channel 144 (TD Radio/Sports Byline feed)

Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA – Penn State vs. USC
January 1, 4:30pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

FedEx Orange Bowl, Miami, FL – Virginia Tech. vs. Cincinnati
January 1, 8:30pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

AT&T Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX – Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss
January 2, 2:00pm, SIRIUS channel 122 / XM channel 144 (Texas tech feed)

AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TN – Kentucky vs. E. Carolina
January 2, 5:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

Allstate Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, LA – Utah vs. Alabama
January 2, 8:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

International Bowl, Toronto, Canada – Buffalo vs. Connecticut
January 3, 12:00pm, SIRIUS channel 122 / XM channel 144 (TBC Sports feed)

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, AZ – Texas vs. Ohio St.
January 5, 8:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

FedEx BCS National Championship Game, Miami, FL – Oklahoma vs. Florida
January 8, 8:00pm, SIRIUS channel 120 / XM channel 140 (ESPN Radio feed)

XM acquired the rights to broadcast the FedEx BCS National Championship Game, the FedEx Orange Bowl, the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in a multi-year agreement with FOX Sports.

Throughout the holiday season, SIRIUS XM offers sports fans more coverage than any other radio outlet. SIRIUS XM listeners can tune in to every live NFL post-season game, plus NBA and NHL games, college football and basketball games and World Cup alpine skiing events from around the globe. In addition to play-by-play, listeners can hear engaging sports talk on several exclusive channels including SIRIUS NFL Radio, MLB Home Plate, SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, NHL Home Ice, Mad Dog Radio, The PGA Tour Network and more.

For game schedules and channel listings, please visit www.sirius.com or www.xmradio.com.

WHAT: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and the 75th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic

WHERE: Louisiana Superdome

WHEN: December 21, 2008 (R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl) and January 2, 2009 (Allstate Sugar Bowl)

DETAILS: Football fans will continue to fill the city as New Orleans welcomes thousands of guests to two annual football favorites, the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and the Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic. After successfully hosting thousands of guests over the Thanksgiving weekend for the annual State Farm Bayou Classic, the Louisiana Superdome is gearing up again to host two exciting events on its turf.

“Despite rumors to the contrary, there are a number of fine quality hotel rooms remaining in New Orleans over Sugar Bowl and the New Orleans Bowl,” said Stephen Perry, President and CEO of the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We are expecting great crowds from the fans of Troy University, the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Alabama and the University of Utah, and their rooms are waiting for them. The two bowl games are a great opportunity for attendees to experience the holiday season and the authentic, amazing nightlife, music, restaurants, and hospitality of New Orleans and all of the buzz and excitement of actually being in the Crescent City near the Louisiana Superdome.”

• R + L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: December 21, 2008, the Troy University Trojans and the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles will battle it out on the field for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The annual football game matches up the best of the Sunbelt Conference and Conference USA. Last year’s game estimated 25,146 attendees. Other festivities include the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Fan Fest at Fulton Street on Saturday, December 20.

• 75th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic: Celebrating its 75th anniversary, this year’s Sugar Bowl game on January 2, 2009, features the University of Alabama Crimson Tide from the Southeastern Conference and the University of Utah Utes from the Mountain West Conference. Last year approximately 74,383 people attended the game, with thousands more visiting the city and an estimated economic impact of $164 million. Sugar Bowl festivities include the Allstate Sugar Bowl Fan Fest to be held near Jax Brewery on Decatur Street in the French Quarter on Wednesday, December 31 and Thursday, January 1. Sugar Bowl visitors also can ring in 2009 with a number of New Year’s Eve festivities planned in New Orleans.

With over 18,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the Superdome, 33,000 hotel rooms city-wide and more restaurants open than ever, New Orleans’ hospitality industry is ready to greet football fans from around the country.

For assistance booking your trip to New Orleans, please call 1-800-672-6124 or visit www.neworleanscvb.com.

Source: New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau

CollegeFanz.com (http://www.collegefanz.com/) is the brainchild of the legendary entrepreneur who brought us ESPN, Bill Rasmussen. Rasmussen’s expansive web site boasts more than 20,000 individual college team sports web pages and provides current information and news about college sports not just concerning NCAA Division I schools, but also from Division II and III schools. Additionally, many NAIA schools are given the opportunity to highlight their own athletics programs on the net.

Not Just College Football, Basketball, and Baseball

The website covers the traditionally best-known collegiate sports of football, basketball, and baseball, and it also highlights less visible college sports like: golf, gymnastics, water polo, wrestling, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, track, cross country, rowing, bowling, field hockey, skiing, skating, and swimming. The site also features a blog by the 76 year old Bill Rasmussen.

“Instead of covering perhaps 200 of the most well-known college athletics programs, we are committed to helping the millions of college athletes and fans at thousands of American schools interact with each other and to create online resources to keep them informed about their schools,” said Rasmussen during a recent interview.

He is quick to highlight one of the powerful constants in achieving success in college athletics and business: enthusiasm. “College sports still seems the same to me as it did back in 1979. Sure, performance and training has improved, but the spirit in these young, dedicated athletes is the same,” Rasmussen opined.

The Future for www.CollegeFanz.com

Despite the current financial and economic crises confronting the United States, Rasmussen is optimistic that the passion of college sports fans around the world will help his venture succeed. “People look to college sports to escape for a while,” he said. “We want to be one of the top 500 websites in the entire world, and the members of our online community are going to be the engine to help us achieve our goal.”

High school athletes who drink milk to stay fit have the chance to score some extra cash from got milk?(R) for college. Today, the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” Campaign, in partnership with USA TODAY, launched the 12th annual Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award program. The SAMMY Awards reward 25 high school senior student athletes who demonstrate excellence in academics, athletics, community service, leadership and include milk as part of their healthy lifestyles, with $7,500 college scholarships and an experience to remember.

The SAMMY scholarship rewards exceptional student athletes by helping to offset some of the costs associated with college tuition. The unique scholarship educates teens on the importance of making smart choices — like drinking lowfat milk, eating right and staying active. Twenty-five winning teens will earn the $7,500 scholarship, attend an awards ceremony with celebrity guests at The Milk House at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, and appear in their own milk mustache ad in USA TODAY. To date, the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” Campaign has awarded more than 275 talented teens with more than $2 million in scholarships.

High school seniors who excel both in and out of the classroom are encouraged to visit sammy.bodybymilk.com to fill out an application. A celebrity panel of milk mustache athletes, including Andy Roddick, Steve Nash, Mia Hamm, Michelle Kwan and Tony Hawk will serve as judges and help select this year’s winners. Returning SAMMY judge and decorated figure skater, Michelle Kwan says, “The SAMMY Awards program is an amazing scholarship that recognizes exceptional student athletes and promotes nutrition and good health. I am so excited to be a judge again this year.”

“It’s an honor for the ‘got milk?’ campaign to have the opportunity each year to reward exceptional student athletes who succeed in the classroom and on the court or field while setting a fine example by drinking milk to stay healthy and fit,” said Kurt Graetzer, chief executive officer of the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” Campaign. “Smart teens know that milk has the nine essential nutrients they need to help stay at the top of their game.”

Get Fit With Milk

Milk is a natural nutrient powerhouse that provides an array of essential nutrients that teens need to stay lean and fit. Chocolate milk is a great choice after exercise with protein to help build muscle, a unique mix of key nutrients to refuel and fluids to rehydrate. By drinking three eight-ounce servings of lowfat or fat-free milk each day in place of sugary soft drinks with little or no nutritional value, along with regular exercise and eating smart, teens can help keep their bodies toned and healthy.

Apply Today

High school seniors interested in applying for the 2009 SAMMY Awards program should visit sammy.bodybymilk.com. All applicants are required to describe in 75 words or less how they incorporate milk into their everyday life and training regimen.

Entries must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM ET Friday, March 6, 2009. Finalists will be named by June 2009. For complete contest rules and applications, log onto sammy.bodybymilk.com.

Source: Milk Processor Education Program