The 7 Year Milestone: Celebrating the Anniversary of the

ScholarBaller® Patch

Contributors: Lindsey Mauro and the SB Team

September 1, 2011

September1,2011willmarkthe7thyearanniversaryfortheintroductionoftheScholar

Baller®(SB)PatchinaDivisionIathleticcontesttoacknowledgestudent‐athletessuccessinthe

classroom.WhiletheVIPlistofinviteesandsupportersofSBincludedDr.MylesBrand,Dr.Bernard

Franklin(wasactuallypresent),andculturalentrepreneurRussellSimmons,allcontributedwith

writtenlettersandotherstampsofapproval.Whatmadethisnightsounique?Thiswasthefirstteam

tohaveitsathleticuniforminthehistoryofintercollegiateathleticstohavetheThinkMan®patch

wornbyArizonaStateUniversity(ASU)student‐athletesinafootballgameversusUniversityofTexas

atElPaso(UTEP).Atthisinauguralgame,29student‐athletesdonnedthelogosignifyingtheir

academicachievementsofreceivinga3.0orhigherthepreviousacademicyear.ASUbeatUTEP41‐9,

butthescoreboarddidnotdepicttherealvictorythatday.Bythe2004‐2005academicyearASUhad

analltimehighof41student‐athletestoearnthisScholarBaller®recognition.

Since2004,ScholarBaller®hasworkedwithover50NCAAinstitutions,40community

colleges,and15highschoolstohelpbringeducationtotheforefrontofsportsandentertainment.

JeanBoyd,Sr.AssociateAthleticDirectorandCo‐FounderofScholarBaller®,describeshisearly

experiencewiththeorganization.“WhenweintroducedtheconceptoftheScholarBaller®Paradigm

totheASUFootballstudent‐athletesin2001,therewasanimmediateenergyassociatedwith“ballin”

outinschool.From2001forwardwesaweverymeasurableacademicstatisticimprovewithour

footballprogramculminatinginover50ScholarBallers®afterthe2005‐06academicyear.The

highlightthoughwasfirsthavingCoachDirkKoetteragreetoallowustoputthepatchonthejersey,

andthenseeinghistorymadewhen29playersworethemincompetitioninthe2004ASUversus

UTEPgame.”ThisdayalsomarkedahugemilestoneforScholarBaller®Co‐Founder,Dr.C.Keith

Harrison.“Tocollaboratewithmycolleague,menteeandbestfriendJeanBoydinmakinghistoryin

termsofbecomingthefirsteveracademicrecognitionpatchwornonNCAAathleticteamappareland

duringanathleticcontest,isadreamcometrue.Thefactthatwebridgedtheoryandpracticewiththe

culturalidentitychallengesoftoday’sstudent‐athletetooksomemuchresilienceandcourage.”Dr.

Harrison,PresidentandC.E.O.ScholarBaller®hasseentheorganization’smovementevolveoverthe

past7years.TheSBteamlooksforwardtofutureyearsinwhichtheywillcontinuetoinspire

student‐athletesbyredefiningwhatiscoolinthesports,entertainmentandsociety.Tostay

connectedwithScholarBaller®followusonTwitter@ScholarBallerandonFacebookat

ScholarBaller.Visitourwebsiteatscholarballer.comformoreinformationonhowtopartnerwithSB.