First & Goal: Issue 4

HOST TO

THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE STADIUM EVENTS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

|

ISSUE 4 • SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

A HIGHER EDUCATION GOAL

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown helps kick off Extra Yard For Teachers by challenging students at his old elementary school to begin thinking about college

BY JAIME ARON

PHOTOS BY IIAN HALPERIN

A

s the elementary students walked through a tunnel made of middle school and high school cheerleaders, as the drum line thumped and clanged their joyful sounds throughout the auditorium, as the principal spoke and then gave way to the former Heisman Trophy winner who’d once walked these same halls … through it all … something was missing.

The banner. The one that read “University of Notre Dame” across the top, “Fighting Irish” across the bottom, with the fists-cocked leprechaun logo smack in the center.

The setting was Mount Auburn Elementary in East Dallas, one of the 500 elementary schools in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties taking part in a program that uses college banners to inspire youngsters to consider where they might attend. The theory is that by targeting a specific school, rather than the abstract notion of going to college, it becomes more tangible.

This banner project is part of the Extra Yard For Teachers program

HOMECOMING: Heisman winner and Dallas-native Tim Brown returned to Mount Auburn Elementary to help celebrate the launch of the CFP’s Extra Yard for Teachers initiative.

football and the first-ever title game to AT&T Stadium on Jan. 12.

Local organizers — known as the Stadium Events Organizing Committee — invited Tim Brown back to his old stomping grounds to kick off the banner project.

Walking into the building for the first time in about 20 years, he was greeted by newly hung, colorful banners representing SMU and UNT; TCU and Baylor; Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M; Austin College and Texas State; Harvard and Yale; and on and on.

Notably absent was a banner for

“You guys are in an incredible position — you have your whole life in front of you. I’m just here to encourage you.” supported by the College Football Playoff Foundation, the charitable arm of the organization that’s bringing a playoff system to college

www.stadiumeoc.com | www.collegefootballplayoff.com

Notre Dame, the school he attended after matriculating through the DISD system, from Mount Auburn to J.L. Long Middle School to Woodrow Wilson High School.

Of course, this was all part of the plan.

After Brown’s rousing speech to about 250 children, Mount Auburn principal Maria Luz Martinez asked Brown, “Would you please do us the honor and hang the Notre Dame banner in our school?” When a student handed the banner to Brown, he gazed at it lovingly.

“Isn’t this so pretty? See all the nice colors?” he said with a smile.

Brown took it into the CONTINUED →

ISSUE 4

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

A HIGHER EDUCATION GOAL, CONT.

A LASTING EFFECT

main hallway, and everyone followed. Folks packed in tight and everyone cheered as he climbed a ladder and hung the banner. He smoothed it out, turned back to the crowd and offered two thumbs up. After climbing down, he turned back to the banner to sign it, adding “Heisman Trophy 1987” after his name — offering yet another reminder of the world of potential that awaits each and every kid who sees it.

“You guys are in an incredible position — you have your whole life in front of you. I’m just here to encourage you,” Brown said during his presentation. “Start thinking about what you want to be in life. Start thinking about what school you want to go to, what colors you want. Tell your mom and dad you want to put on those school colors. Get some friends who are talking and thinking the same thing you’re thinking. Then you’ve got to believe it.”

Brown told the kids that since they already know their ABCs, he wanted them to learn about CBA — the concept of “conceive it, believe it, achieve it,” a proven formula for turning dreams into a reality.

“For me, that started right here at Mount Auburn Elementary,” he said. “So don’t think it’s too early to start thinking about a college.”

He also emphasized that the main ingredient in achieving anything is hard work. He told the children that throughout his 17-year NFL career, he wrote “Hard” on the toe of his left shoe and “Work” on the toe of his right shoe.

“So every time I looked down I saw ‘Hard Work,’” he said. “No matter what profession you go in, CONTINUED →

The CFP looks to make a lasting impact on the North Texas community BY MERRILL WALL

A

National Football Foundation that will benefit its scholarship program; Taste of the Championship, an event featuring top chefs that will support food banks and other hunger relief efforts; and a sustainability program aimed at making the game environmentally friendly.

“We take it very seriously that our national championship is something that happens with the community and not to it,” said Michael Kelly, Chief Operating Officer of the College Football Playoff. “Our previous format, the BCS, was a collection of events and contracts with bowls. Now, with the College Football Playoff organization being an actual entity, it gave our leadership a chance to identify ways we could give back.

As you can imagine, the focus of our mission is education.”

They’re doing so in very real ways, too, such as a program that puts college banners in 1,900 area classrooms (see main story).

Another direct connection involves DonorsChoose.org, CONTINUED →

PHOTO BY MELISSA MACATEE

fun, memorable, historic sporting event is a wonderful thing.

A legacy of good deeds is even better, and it’s a vital part of the plans for the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship.

Having already unveiled a slate of great events to entertain fans in the days leading up to the Jan. 12 game at AT&T Stadium, organizers recently rolled out a list of ways they plan on giving back to the community where each championship game is played.

The anchor is Extra Yard For Teachers, which will be funded in part by every piece of game-related merchandise that’s sold. This means every T-shirt, hat or pennant will help provide necessary resources in classrooms, recognition for standout teachers, professional development and leadership training opportunities and providing vision to carry students to the halls of higher education.

Other philanthropic ties include the Extra Yard 5K; a dinner for the

COOKING UP SOMETHING GOOD: CFP COO Michael Kelly (left) is joined by Taste founder Wayne Kostroski (center) and Max Kittel at a Sept. 12 news conference at AT&T Stadium.

www.stadiumeoc.com | www.collegefootballplayoff.com

ISSUE 4

SEPTEMBER 24, 2014

A HIGHER EDUCATION GOAL, CONT.

A LASTING EFFECT, CONT.

it’s going to take hard work to be successful at it.”

Brown’s parents dropped out of high school as freshmen.

While his mom eventually got her degree and his dad made a solid living in construction, they encouraged their kids to get a solid education. College always was on his radar, which meant the push he received from teachers at Mount Auburn reinforced what he was hearing at home.

Many of his peers could’ve used a banner program during their formative years. As an example, Brown told the story of a “tough, bad guy” he caught up with at a 15-year high school reunion.

“He was literally crying,” Brown said. “He was saying, `Why didn’t you make me do what you did?’ … He ended up in this menial job that he knows is not going to be able to take care of his family. At 33 years old, how do you change that? … So certainly I think if this emphasis would’ve been going on back then, maybe a young man like him would’ve seen the light a lot earlier.”

Surrounded by the banners, Brown said he believes their visibility will be like planting a seed in the minds of youngsters. The program will reach an estimated 300,000 students in roughly 19,000 classrooms.

“They’re going to see it and they’re going to know that, `Hey, we’re in elementary school now, but that’s my goal, to go to college,’” he said. “A lot of people think, `We can’t afford it, or we can’t this or we can’t that.’ But you can go to some college and get a great education. That’s what this is all about.”

a website that allows people to directly contribute to exactly what teachers need.

“Our platform is a way for teachers to request materials — everything from books and paper to microscopes and violins, even a class trip,” said Dan Blum, Director of DonorsChoose.org.

“Fortunately, the College Football Playoff Foundation agrees that teachers know what’s best for their classrooms and is going to be supporting a whole lot of teachers in North Texas.”

The sustainability program is “one way to show respect

for the community,” said Jack Groh of Groh Associates, an environmental consultant for Super Bowls since 1993. He added that colleges and college students are leaders in being green, making this tie-in especially significant.

“Part of this is just to show our audience that we get it, that we care about the same things they care about,” Groh said.

“Football does a lot of great things,” said Steve Hatchell, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Football Foundation.

MARK IT DOWN As you plan your schedule for championship weekend, be sure to consider taking part in the following: + NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION DINNER, THURSDAY, JAN. 8, OMNI DALLAS HOTEL – the keepers of the game’s history will kick off the weekend with an event that raises money to help former college football players continue their education at a post-graduate level. The next day, the NFF will announce its 2015 Hall of Fame class; honorees will be celebrated on the field during the coin toss on game day. + EXTRA YARD 5K, SATURDAY, JAN. 10, FAIR PARK – this run and walk comes with a sweet finish: the end zone of the Cotton Bowl Stadium, site of the last national championship decided in North Texas, back on Jan. 2, 1978. + TASTE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP, SUNDAY, JAN. 11, IRVING CONVENTION CENTER – modeled after the wildly successful and popular Taste of the NFL held in conjunction with the Super Bowl, this “party with a purpose” will be overseen by the same duo that created and organized the pro version. Chefs from North Texas will whip up their favorite dishes, as will chefs from other cities in the national championship rotation, with attendees getting to savor it all. When the Taste of the NFL was held in North Texas in conjunction with the Super Bowl, an event-record of more than $1 million was raised.

www.stadiumeoc.com | www.collegefootballplayoff.com