WALLACE THE GAME CHANGER Eric Wallace has only been back in Australia for two days, and he knows he’s got a limited amount of time to impress in order to stay there. The former American college basketballer has fallen in love with the AFL and wants to make a career out of it. He was one of 10 international athletes to attend and test at October’s NAB AFL Draft Combine. “I’d watched a game earlier in the year and my agent told me about the US combine in LA. I was going to try out for American Football but didn’t get out there. After I finished my college basketball, I wanted to continue to play sport professionally and this came up,” Wallace told kangaroos.com.au. “They liked the way I handed myself and I tested pretty well, so I came out to the AFL Combine in Australia and now here I am with a chance to work out with North Melbourne. “It’s different, but the players and all the coaches have been welcoming. There’s a really great atmosphere here.” After the Combine in October, Wallace headed home unsure if he’d get the chance to play Aussie Rules. “There might have been 30 minutes of discouragement. I’m an optimistic person…I always kept my head up… “I had a call on Wednesday asking if I could come back out. I got on the plane on Friday morning and got to Australia on Sunday. It’s a two-day travel but it’s worth it when you look at the opportunity.” He’s been an avid follower of the game for much of the year and admits to Tweeting regularly with other AFL fans. The soon to be 24-year old has had two training sessions with North and says he enjoys the contact more than anything else. On Tuesday, he spent much of the day battling with ruckman Daniel Currie with the pair competing in contested marking and ruck duels. “That felt like home…I felt like I caught on to that really quickly,” he said. CLICK HERE to read the entire story.
US GIANT TRIALS WITH ROOS AMERICAN Eric Wallace has started a 10-day trial at North Melbourne as the club weighs up whether to sign the former basketballer as an international rookie. Wallace, who turns 24 on Thursday, started training on Monday with the Kangaroos after being one of 10 international athletes to attend and test at October’s NAB AFL Draft Combine. There he caught the eye of the Kangaroos with his athletic ability. The 196cm and 102kg product recorded an 80cm standing vertical jump (in the top 3 per cent of results) and ran 2.90 seconds in the 20m sprint. The club will use the next week-and-a-half to assess Wallace’s character before making a final decision before its Christmas break. “Eric’s got some terrific athletic potential with his size, power, speed and agility, all those things are fantastic,” North coach Brad Scott told AFL. com.au on Monday. “The primary thing we are looking for is we really just want to see Eric as a person. “We saw Eric at the Combine and we’re right across his athletic testing, but really we just want to get to know him personally so we can make an assessment as to whether he’s going to fit the mould of our group and the culture of our club. “He can have all the athletic potential in the world but we’ve got to make sure he’s a rock solid person. From all our background checks, and the way he’s conducted himself so far, he appears first class in that area.” Scott said Wallace had moved well in drills on Monday, but admitted he had some way to go on his foot disposal. The club will also nominally find a possible position for Wallace before making its call. “We’re really looking to find a position that really suits him, and we haven’t come to that conclusion as yet,” Scott said. “We’ve got to make some more assessments on his endurance and how he sees the game. It’s generally accepted most guys who haven’t played a lot of footy learn better playing in the back half of the ground. “But he has terrific hand-eye coordination from what I saw today, so I think he looks to me to has potential to play forward.” There is no deadline for clubs to recruit international rookies. Richmond signed its first international rookie in October, with Papua New Guinea’s Gideon Simon joining the club. CLICK HERE to read the entire story.
SOCCER ALUMNAE ERIN WALTER FEATURED How important is marketing in the world of entrepreneurship? Erin Walter is the co-founder and CEO of the Illinoisbased marketing agency, Nuphoriq, and has a few thoughts on the subject. She launched her company in 2011 after a six-year stint with Tasty Catering, where she held the position of director of marketing. But it hasn’t all been about marketing for Walter who also spent two seasons playing professional soccer for the St. Louis Athletica in the Women’s Professional Soccer league after leaving Tasty Catering. During her two seasons, she earned her MBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing Planning and Strategy from DePaul University. Once finished with school she decided to take the entrepreneurial step of starting her own business. From her experience at the multi-million-dollar company, Tasty Catering, and her time at DePaul earning her bachelor’s and master’s, she answered a few questions about marketing and entrepreneurship. Q: How important is it for someone going into marketing to gain some experience in the field before pursuing an MBA in Marketing? And how did it help you? Walter: “You can still learn quite a bit without having job experience. However, with that being said, I don’t think you will get the most out of your classes and professors. Having experience allows you to relate the concepts and ideas to real situations of which you’ve been a part. CLICK HERE to read the entire story.
NAME: Jen Bruno SPORT: Softball (1991-1994), Women’s Basketball (1991) YEARS PARTICIPATED: 1991-1994 What does being a DePaul Letterwinner mean to you? I feel a sense of intense pride in being a DePaul letterwinner. As a native Chicagoan, DePaul has always carried the torch as far as being THE school to attend if you want to stay close to home. The winning history and legacy of men’s basketball is something that people around the country know about and the consistent success of the softball program has also made DePaul even more well-known around the country as I learn when I travel. Why did you choose DePaul? Eugene Lenti had a heavy influence on that and my parents wanted to be able to attend home softball games. My mom always had an affinity for DePaul and I believe she had planned on attending DePaul, as well, but went right to work instead, so I wanted to live out that dream for her and my family. What was your favorite memory while at DePaul? Sitting in the Blue Demon Room back in the day (1994) and waiting, agonizingly, for our name to be called as an at-large entry into the NCAA softball tournament. It came near the end of the show, but anticipating that call with knots in our stomachs was well worth it. I’ll never forget that sense of teamwork, camaraderie, and accomplishment that I shared with my teammates and coaches. We were the first softball team to make the tournament and now they make it every year, so it feels great to be a part of that line of success. What did receiving a scholarship from DePaul mean to you? It meant everything. I owe Eug and Jeanne more than can ever be repaid for the opportunities they provided to me and the doors that opened for me during my time there and every day since. What was your funniest memory at DePaul? I’m probably a glutton for punishment, but it has to be the time I was a freshman and the juniors and seniors tied my wrists and ankles up with athletic tape and used eye black on my forehead to draw an Eddie Munster widow’s peak. Brief Summary of your life from graduation till now: I began work at a health care consulting firm, ABSi, where I still currently work. I raced in triathlons and half-Ironman races competitively for 5 years and now I’m a personal trainer with some
DePaul Athletic Development Staff
Thad Dohrn Lemone Lampley Marge Mazik Mario Stula Molly Creek
tdohrn@depaul.edu llampley1@depaul.edu mmazik@depaul.edu mstula1@depaul.edu mcreek@depaul.edu
Phone: 773-325-7240
MAKE A GIFT CLICK HERE
fitness modeling photo shoots under my belt and a soon to be released workout video almost wrapped. Is there a recent highlight that you would like to share with Alumni and friends of DePaul Athletics? I’m in the process of filming my first workout video that will be available through a website and a smartphone app sometime in the spring. What advice would you give to a current or future student-athlete? Take advantage of every opportunity, have fun, study hard and take academics seriously, build strong friendships, network whenever possible, live in the moment, and try to find balance in all areas of your life.
Favorites: Travel Destination: Italy Author: Willa Cather Movie: The Station Agent Sports movie: The Blind Side Quote: “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” Robert Brault
DE PAUL ON-LINE AUCTION RANKS IN THE TOP 10 In February, 2012, DePaul Athletic Development kicked-off an on-line auction to support scholarship donations. The auction is a partnership between DePaul Athletics and its website provider: cbssports.com. After finishing last year ranked No. 21 in sales in less than half of a year of operations, the on-line auction site ranks No. 7 in items sold in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012-13. Each week seven-to-eight new “Blue Demon Treasures” are posted for the auction. In all, more than $12,000 has been distributed to DePaul Athletics Scholarship funds. Bid on a “Blue Demon Treasure” collection now. CLICK HERE to start bidding. In Year Two (Week 12) of BIDS On-Line Auctions we once again raised money, which benefited our scholarship funds. The auction site is a partnership between DePaul University Athletics and its website provider cbssports.com. Year Two (Week 13) features “Holiday Sale” items including different types of men’s basketball game-worn jerseys, shorts and game-worn warm-up tops. BIDS Item of the Day
To participate in B.I.D.S., bidders will have to register prior to submitting bids. All proceeds from the on-line auctions will benefit DePaul athletic scholarships.
“HOLIDAY SALE” ITEM OF THE DAY
Start bidding now on a game-worn jersey by DePaul legend Stephen Howard. Stephen Howard (1988-1992) was DePaul’s first-ever Academic All-American as selected by CoSIDA, earning first team honors in 1990-91 and 1991-92. He was also a first team All-District selection as a sophomore, junior and senior. The 6-10 forward played six years in the NBA prior to a productive basketball career playing around the globe. Howard played in more DePaul games than any player in the history of the program (126), and is the school’s all-time leader in free-throws made. Howard had a career-high 31 points in a win over Notre Dame in 1992, including a freethrow with under a second remaining in the game to give DePaul the victory.
Item Details: White, Size XXL, +2 Extra Length
MANY DREAMS. ONE MISSION. - THE CAMPAIGN FOR DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
The Many Dreams, One Mission Campaign for DePaul University is an historic initiative undertaken in support of one of America’s great universities. It will ensure that DePaul continues to deliver on our founding promise: an excellent education for any talented student who seeks it. The Campaign supports dreams. Students come to DePaul from across the country and around the world. Their dreams are manycand varied, individual to each, as our students come from all stations in life. Many are the first in their family to attend college. The realization of their dreams gives rise to new dreams and strong communities.The Campaign supports DePaul’s mission, a mission which blends opportunity and excellence, inquiry and discovery, service to the individual and benefit to the larger community. It is manifested in the work that goes on here every day, in libraries, classrooms, laboratories, practice rooms and on the stage in hours of solitude and moments of connection
ATHLETICS CAPITAL CAMPAIGN NEARS $10 MILLION MARK
WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE
PHONE You can make your gift by phone to Development Associate Marge Mazik at 773-325-7240. We accept MasterCard, American Express, VISA and Discover. MAIL Make your check payable to DePaul University, and send your gift to: DePaul University Office of Development 1 East Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604-2287
Athletics provides an avenue of opportunity for students at DePaul. Athletics also helps build community and enhance DePaul’s reputation locally and nationally. As part of DePaul’s Many Dreams. One Mission. Campaign, Athletics is charged with raising $14 million. Strategically, goals have been set to raise the gifts to support scholarship endowment, facility improvements and programmatic support. As of November 29, DePaul Athletics had raised $9.7 million dollars.
ONLINE Use our secure online form to make a credit card gift or pledge. CLICK HERE
INSURE OPPORTUNITY FOR TOMORROW, TODAY THROUGH SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENTS
ADDITIONAL WAYS TO GIVE DePaul University offers other ways to give, including: electronic funds transfers, recurring credit card charges and stock transfers. For more information, call Mark Burns, 312-362-5651.
DePaul Athletics fundraising efforts have focused on endowing scholarship and programming needs. Annually athletics spends nearly $5 million on scholarship expenses for its more than 200 studentathletes. By endowing scholarships, DePaul Athletics has the opportunity to enhance scholarships in some sports and redistribute available funding to maximize the department’s resources. A named scholarship requires a gift of $50,000. All gifts can be made in pledges over five years. Planned giving opportunities are also available. For more information, call Thad Dohrn at 773-3257240.
GET YOUR DAILY DOSE OF THE BLUE DEMONS WITH THE DAILY DEMON
DePaul fans can get their compilation of Blue Demon news every morning at 8:30 through The Daily Demon. Get your updates with your morning cup of coffee. The Daily Demon features Today in Blue Demon History, sports updates from the previous day, Letterwinners Links and more. To subscribe, email development graduate assistant Molly Creek at mcreek@depaul.edu or on FACEBOOK at The Daily Demon.
DECEMBER 12, 2012 Today In Blue Demon History: On December 12th, 2008, the DePaul basketball team outscored Northwestern 33-21 in the second half to win its 34th consecutive game against an opponent from the state of Illinois. The Blue Demons won the local rival game 60-51. Click Here for the full story. Click Here for the full story. Sports Updates: Men’s Basketball: DePaul hits the road for the third time in four games with its longest trip of the stretch at Arizona State. The Blue Demons and Sun Devils play Wednesday night in Tempe with a 7 p.m. MT start at Wells Fargo Arena. DePaul enters the game with a four-game winning streak that includes road wins at Auburn and Chicago State. Click Here for the full story. Women’s Basketball: Anna Martin exploded for a season-high 30 points, putting on a show for a packed house as the DePaul women’s basketball team defeated Milwaukee, 94-83, on Tuesday’s Field Trip Day at McGrath-Phillips Arena. Click Here for the full story. Save the date: Women’s Basketball Alumnae Day- January 5th, Click Here to register Downtown Demon Lunches: January 17th and February 15th at Maggianos, Click Here to register
CHAMPIONS CLUB ROOM MENU MEN’S BASKETBALL
CHAMPIONS CLUB ROOM SCHEDULE
PRESIDENT’S CLUB ROOM SCHEDULE
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Date Opponent Dec. 15 vs. Northern Illinois 2314 N Sheffield Ave Dec. 21 vs. Princeton 2314 N Sheffield Ave Dec. 28 vs. Oral Roberts 2314 N Sheffield Ave Jan. 5 vs. Louisville * Student Center - 2nd Floor Jan. 12 vs. USF * Student Center - 2nd Floor Jan. 19 vs. Providence * Student Center - 2nd Floor Jan. 29 vs. Pittsburgh * Student Center - 2nd Floor Feb. 6 vs. Seton Hall Student Center - 2nd Floor Feb. 12 vs. Rutgers Student Center - 2nd Floor Feb. 24 vs. Notre Dame Student Center - 2nd Floor Feb. 26 vs. Georgetown Student Center - 2nd Floor
President’s Club Room Details
Champions Club Room Details
Champions Club Room Details
Eligibility: Must be current President’s Club member.
Eligibility: Must be current Champions Club member or D-Club member. Alumni may attend special Alumni Association Dates
Eligibility: Must be current Champions Club member or D-Club member. Alumni may attend special Alumni Association Dates
All Meals: Complimentary snacks and beverages will be available to President’s Club member and their significant other. Additional guests are available for $20.
All Meals: $10 for adults - $5 for Children 14 and under. Cash bar is available. Complimentary snacks will be provided.
Reservations: All reservations need to be made at least 48 hours in advance by calling 773-325-7240.
Reservations: All reservations are suggested at least 48 hours in advance by calling 312-362-8573.
Date Opponent Menu Dec. 16 Northern Illinois chicken fajitas Dec. 22 UMBC buiild your own hot dog Dec. 29 Loyola Chicago build your own chicken sandwich Jan. 2 Seton Hall* pizza, BLT salad Jan. 15 Cincinnati* build your own burger Jan. 19 St. John’s * brunch Feb. 2 Notre Dame* build your own burger Feb. 5 Villanova* pizza, BLT salad Feb. 16 Rutgers vegeterian penne pasta Feb. 23 Connecticut* build your own hot dog Feb. 27 Loiusville* chiicken fajitas March 9 Pittsburgh* build your own chicken sandwich
Doors Open: Doors opens 75 minutes before tip-off
Doors Open: Doors opens 60 minutes before tip-off
Reservations: All reservations need to be made at least 48 hours in advance by registering on-line, or by calling Marge Mazik at 773-325-7240.
MEN’S BASKETBALL Date Opponent Jan. 2 Seton Hall Jan. 15 Cincinnati Jan. 19 St. John’s Feb. 2 Notre Dame Feb. 5 Villanova Feb. 16 Rutgers Feb. 23 Connecticut Feb.27 Louisville March 9 Pittsburgh
Doors Open: Doors opens 60 minutes before tip-off when doors open.
Directions: President’s Club Room is in the Southeast Party Room on South Concourse of Allstate Arena.
Directions: Champions Club Room is in Skyline Room North of Allstate Arena. Entrance is adjacent to ticket office on Lunt Ave.
Upcoming Events
Alumni Center Hours: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Address & Phone Number: 2400 N. Sheffield Ave., Ste. 150
Chicago, IL 60614 Ph: (773) 325-8390 Toll-free: (800) 437-1898
January 9 Career Conference Call: A Sneak Peek of Career Week Time Noon Link: http://alumni.depaul.edu/events/EventDetail.aspx?event_id=1529
January 19 Hall of Fame Reception & Men’s Basketball vs. St. John’s Time 9:30 a.m. Link: http://alumni.depaul.edu/events/EventDetail.aspx?event_id=1615
January 12 Women’s Basketball vs. USF: Pregame Reception & Game Time 6 p.m. Link: http://alumni.depaul.edu/events/EventDetail.aspx?event_id=1630
January 23 Alumni & Friends Reception in New York City Time 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Link: http://alumni.depaul.edu/events/EventDetail.aspx?event_id=1611
January 15 Ravenswood Community Kitchen & Food Pantry Project Time 5 p.m. Link:http://alumni.depaul.edu/events/EventDetail.aspx?event_id=1595
January 24 Reception with President Holtschneider in Boca Raton, Fla. Time 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Link: http://alumni.depaul.edu/events/EventDetail.aspx?event_id=1638
HOLIDAY TWO GAME PACK
GREAT STOCKING STUFFER FOR YOUR SPORTS FAN! Select your two favorite DePaul Men’s Basketball home games at Allstate Arena this season! Milwaukee Sun. Dec. 9 4PM Northern Illinois Sun. Dec 16 4PM UMBC Sat. Dec. 22 1PM Loyola-Chicago Sat. Dec. 29 1PM
Game Choice 1 ______________ Game Choice 2 ______________
Seton Hall Wed. Jan. 2 8PM Cincinnati Tues. Jan 15 7:30PM St. John’s Sat. Jan. 19 11AM Notre Dame Sat. Feb. 2 1PM Villanova Tues. Feb. 5 6PM
Rutgers Sat. Feb. 16 NOON Connecticut Sat. Feb. 23 7PM Louisville Wed. Feb. 27 8PM Pittsburgh Sat. Mar. 9 1PM
Check One: Preferred Section ______ $45 100-Level Baselines Number of Seats ____ x $____ = ____ (Green Seating) $35 200-Level Baselines (Blue Seating)
$6 P&H Total _______
3
Northwestern Sun. Dec. 2 4PM Milwaukee Tue. Dec. 11 Noon Northern Illinois Sat. Dec.15 7PM Princeton Fri. Dec. 21 7PM
Game Choice 2 ______________
Oral Roberts Fri. Dec. 28 7PM Louisville Sat. Jan. 5 5PM USF Sat. Jan. 12 7PM Providence Sat. Jan. 19 7PM
Pittsburgh Tues. Jan. 29 7PM Seton Hall Wed. Feb. 6 7PM Rutgers Tues. Feb. 12 8PM Georgetown Tue. Feb. 26 8PM