Dec. 9, 2016
Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet and Minta Spears have been selected as nominees for the 2017 Allstate WBCA and NABC Good Works Teams.
The pair of Vanderbilt standouts, who are among the 278 nominees for the prestigious honor, have shown dedication to helping and serving the Nashville community — and beyond — throughout their playing careers.
Spears, a point guard for the Vanderbilt women’s team, has volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club of Nashville and helped plan a Nashville-wide FCA at Vanderbilt, served meals at Luke 14:12, served as the women’s basketball representative on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, orchestrated a project in which she and her teammates helped buy new school shoes for a family in Nashville through Soles 4 Souls, and volunteered as a social media intern for the YWCA of Middle Tennessee MEND program.
Kornet, likewise, has shown an impressive level of community commitment. He has served as the SAAC representative, helped organize the annual Christmas party and field day for a local elementary program, volunteered at Stallworth Rehab Hospital, and also volunteered at Vanderbilt’s Children Hospital.
Full Release from the NCAA
INDIANAPOLIS — The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Allstate Insurance Company today announced an all-time high 278 nominees for the 2017 Allstate WBCA and NABC Good Works Teams. This esteemed award honors an outstanding group of student-athletes who represent the sport’s finest in the areas of community service and leadership among their peers.
The Allstate WBCA and NABC Good Works Teams recognizes players at all levels of college basketball whose charitable involvement and altruistic acts stand out amongst all other student-athletes participating in the sport. From leading an initiative to help end the water crisis in Flint, Mich., to co-founding a non-profit with the mission to improve literacy rates across the country, the players nominated embody the true spirit of teamwork and giving back.
“The positive impact that student-athletes are making on college campuses and communities around the world can sometimes go unnoticed,” said Thomas Clarkson, president of the west territory for Allstate Insurance Company and a member of the 2017 WBCA and NABC Good Works Teams selection panels. “Allstate is a proud supporter of NCAA college basketball and takes immense pride in working with the NABC and WBCA to recognize players who continue to make giving back a priority and inspire future generations of athletes.”
Athletic departments and sports information directors across the country nominated the 97 WBCA and 181 NABC student-athletes for the prestigious honor. Two special voting panels, headlined by former Duke University basketball athlete, two-time NCAA champion and seven-time NBA All-Star Grant Hill, and former Notre Dame basketball star, two-time Nancy Lieberman Award winner and current WNBA player Skylar Diggins, will select 10-member teams from both the WBCA and NABC, comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA Division I level and five student-athletes from Divisions II, III and the NAIA. The final roster of 20 award recipients will be unveiled in February.
“It is a joy each year to partner with Allstate in recognizing the many college women’s and men’s basketball players who are performing good works in their respective communities,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle M. Donehew. “This year’s WBCA group of 97 nominees is no exception. They are truly the heroes of our sport and deserve our gratitude. Congratulations to them all.”
Members of the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team will be recognized during the 2017 WBCA Convention and at the 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four in Dallas, and will also participate in a volunteer project in the local community. Members of the Allstate NABC Good Works Team will be invited by Allstate, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, to the 2017 NABC Convention and 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four in Phoenix, where they will participate in a community service project benefitting the city. Allstate is an official corporate partner of the WBCA, NABC and NCAA.
“The growth of the Allstate NABC Good Works Team program in five years has been remarkable with a record-setting number again for 2017,” said NABC Executive Director Jim Haney. “We are very grateful to Allstate for shining a bright light on these men and women in college basketball whose compassion and commitment continue to help so many.”
In addition to Clarkson, Hill and Diggins, the 2017 Allstate WBCA and NABC Good Works Teams selection panel members include: former college basketball student-athletes Clark Kellogg (Ohio State University / CBS Sports), Len Elmore (University of Maryland / CBS Sports / ESPN) and Alana Beard (Duke University); media members Seth Davis (Sports Illustrated / CBS), Dana O’Neil (ESPN), LaChina Robinson (ESPN / FOX) and Brenda VanLengen (ESPN / FOX Sports); former head coaches Bobby Cremins (Georgia Tech / College of Charleston), Seth Greenberg (Virginia Tech University), Marsha Sharp (Texas Tech University) and Nell Fortner (Auburn University); and current coach Coquese Washington (Penn State University).
Since 2008, Allstate has partnered with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) as a sponsor of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, which recognizes the off-the-field impact college football student-athletes have on their communities.
More information about the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team and the Allstate NABC Good Works Team is available at www.wbca.org and www.nabc.org.