Feb. 23, 2018
The latest buzz on the web surrounding the Vanderbilt Commodores:
VUCommodores.com: “VU Black Girl Magic” is an event jointly hosted by Vanderbilt Athletics and the Black Cultural Center, culminating at Sunday’s women’s basketball game against Arkansas (2 p.m. CT SEC Network+). In recognition of Black History Month, the event is part of a national initiative and aims to celebrate and empower African-American female students, faculty and staff. “VU Black Girl Magic” includes several events on campus at Vanderbilt University, including a photo shoot and empowerment workshop hosted by Vanderbilt women’s basketball legend Chantelle Anderson. Vanderbilt Athletics will highlight specific trailblazers who broke barriers within Vanderbilt’s athletic programs, and VUCommodores.com has spotlighted those individuals this week as a lead-in to the weekend.
Vanderbilt University: Perry Eugene Wallace Jr., BE’70, a Vanderbilt Distinguished Alumnus who displayed extraordinary courage, determination and grace while facing resistance and violent threats as the first African-American varsity basketball player in the Southeastern Conference, was remembered during a celebration of life service Feb. 19 at Benton Chapel.
VUCommodores.com: This week Gail Carr Williams, associate director of Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations at Vanderbilt, and David Williams II, Vanderbilt’s athletics director and vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs, made the inaugural charitable contributions for the Perry E. Wallace Jr. Basketball Scholarship, along with their children, Nicholas, Samantha, David III and Erika.
The Undefeated: Andrew Maraniss, author of Strong Inside, a best-selling biography of Perry Wallace and his experience integrating SEC basketball, shared his eulogy from Wallace’s celebration of life service with ESPN’s The Undefeated.
SEC: Jeff Roberson was named the SEC Player of the Week after averaging 24 points, nine rebounds and two assists in wins over Mississippi State and Florida.
Make-A-Wish: Vanderbilt women’s basketball head coach Stephanie White, the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team and Papa John’s are once again teaming up to help grant a child’s wish through Make-A-Wish Middle Tennessee.
SEC: The 2018 SEC Media Days schedule has been set!
We’ll see you in July in Atlanta! #AnchorDown https://t.co/XDkxAOdq5b
 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) February 22, 2018
SEC Network: Breaking the Barrier, a half-hour special celebrating the Southeastern Conference’s integration pioneers, will debut Friday, Feb. 23, at 10:30 p.m. on SEC Network with multiple re-airs. Football pioneers Greg Page, Nate Northington, Houston Hogg and Wilbur Hackett played an essential part in the integration of SEC athletics. In 1966, Northington was the first black athlete to sign with an SEC school with Page soon to follow. As the first black team captain in any sport in SEC history, Hackett, along with Hogg, were the first black athletes to complete their collegiate careers at Kentucky. Vanderbilt’s Godfrey Dillard, who with teammate Perry Wallace was one of the first black basketball players in the SEC, also will be featured.
VUCommodores.com: Vanderbilt opens spring practice under head coach Derek Mason, who enters his fifth season leading the Commodores, with 15 practices scheduled beginning Monday, Feb. 26 and ending Friday, March 30. The Commodores will host the team’s annual Spring Showcase on Saturday, March 24 with the event open to the public from 3-5 p.m. inside Vanderbilt Stadium. The final hour of the Showcase will be shown live on SEC Network.
The Tennessean: Adam Sparks makes the case for Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson as a First Team All-SEC candidate due to his stellar senior season in black and gold.
VUCommodores.com: Candice Lee, deputy athletics director at Vanderbilt, joined the Commodore Insider Podcast to discuss “VU Black Girl Magic” weekend, her role as a woman of color in college athletics, her Vanderbilt career as a student-athlete and much more.