Nov. 22, 2006
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Letterman’s Brunch a Hit
Jeff Ulmer became the Executive Director of our Athletic Development Office in July and not long after that he began to talk about organizing a letterwinners tailgate before a football game. What made this idea different is that Jeff wanted to include all former Commodores, not just sport-specific alumni, and that twist was the spark to what became a big success.
Prior to the Tennessee football game, our first all-letterwinners brunch became a reality. About 500 letterwinners and their guests turned out on a gorgeous November morning to renew acquaintances. We had representatives on hand from 1936 to 2006 and many fly in from all parts of the country. It was great fun.
One former Commodore helped make it happen in a first-class way. Ted Moats, who played football here and has gone on to a successful business career, now owns a number of restaurants. Ted donated the terrific barbecue from one of his newest establishments, the Golden Rule Barbecue in Clarksville.
After a great meal and good conversation, these Commodores walked to the stadium and formed a tunnel on the field for the football team to run through.
Season Ticket Sales Encouraging
With both basketball teams in action, season ticket sales in both cases are strong. Season ticket sales for the women’s schedule have already exceeded last year’s total while season sales for the men’s team are on almost an identical pace as last year, which topped out at about 8,800. We typically sell season tickets well into December.
Wear Pink to “Pink Out” December 3
One of our women’s basketball team’s biggest community service projects involves raising awareness and funds for breast cancer. The team and staff annually works at the “Race for the Cure” event in Nashville and now has a major promotion going for our Clemson game December 3.
It is called “Pink Out” and everyone is encouraged to join Commodore coaches, players and officials in wearing pink to the game to promote breast cancer awareness. The first 1,500 fans at Memorial Gym also will receive pink “rally towels.”
In addition to other fun “Pink Out” elements to the game, Vanderbilt players and coaches will host a post-game clinic for youth basketball players 17 and under.
A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales will be donated to research efforts at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Pink and pink ribbons have become synonymous with raising the awareness of breast cancer, which will impact more than 212,000 women – 4,600 of them in Tennessee – this year, the American Cancer Society estimates.
Single-game tickets are $5 apiece and can ordered by calling 322-GOLD. They also are available as a part of the season-ticket packages which begin at only $25 per person for 16 home games.
Dig into your closet, find something appropriately pink and wear it to the gym. It is for a great cause and it will be a lot of fun at the same time.