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The guest speaker for this meeting will be Trisha Stafford-Odom, Head Women’s Basketball Coach at NC Central University. The former WNBA player and collegiate hall of fame inductee returns to the Triangle to continue her head coaching career after last coaching three seasons at Concordia University Irvine from 2013-2016. Prior to that, Stafford-Odom was a successful assistant coach for four seasons with both the UNC Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils. She began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant for the UCLA Bruins.

As an assistant coach at UNC from 2011-2013, Stafford-Odom was a valuable recruiter for the No. 1 nationally-ranked recruiting class in 2013. She aided the development of two WNBA players, two ACC Players of the Year and two ACC Freshmen of the Year while working under the leadership of Naismith Hall of Fame coach Sylvia Hatchell.

Stafford-Odom brought her first No. 1 nationally-ranked recruiting class to Durham when she was an assistant at Duke from 2009-2011. The Blue Devils won the ACC Championship both seasons as she mentored WNBA draft picks, an ACC Tournament MVP, a two-time ACC Academic All-American and a ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Trisha is married to DeWayne and the couple has two sons, Amari and Trajen.

Thanks, www.NCCUEaglePride.com!

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Mark Your Calendar

11/15/17 – Donna Papa, Head Women’s Softball Coach, UNC
12/6/17 – Special Guest Speaker
12/20/17 – Durham Sports Club “Christmas Party”, Luke DeCock, guest Speaker

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Mike Krzyzewski, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Duke (as if you didn’t know). In 37 seasons at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski – a Naismith Hall of Fame coach, five-time national champion and 12-time Final Four participant – has built a dynasty that few programs in the history of the game can match.

Krzyzewski will enter the 2017-18 season with a 1,071-330 record in 42 years as a head coach, including a 998-271 mark in 37 seasons at Duke. No coach in Division I men’s basketball history has won more games than Coach K’s 1,071.

He has tutored 57 NBA Draft picks while at Duke, including a total of 35 first-round selections that leads all active coaches. Duke has had at least one player taken in 30 of the 37 NBA Drafts during the Krzyzewski Era.

Under Coach K’s watch, Duke has produced multiple All-ACC Academic selections in 10 consecutive years. The 2015 NCAA championship featured a program-high five All-ACC Academic honorees. Three-time captain Amile Jefferson became the only player in Duke history to earn All-ACC Academic honors four times and departed the university in 2017 with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Thanks, www.GoDuke.com!

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Mark Your Calendar

11/1/17 – Trisha Stafford-Odom, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, North Carolina Central University
11/15/17 – Donna Papa, Head Women’s Softball Coach, UNC
12/6/17 – Special Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for this meeting will be David Shumate, who will be handling the radio play-by-play for Duke football and basketball. Shumate was named the Director of Broadcasting for the Blue Devil IMG Sports Network in June, 2017. In this role, he serves as the play-by-play voice for Duke football and men’s basketball games.

Prior to moving to Durham, Shumate spent the previous five years as IMG’s Director of Audio Operations. His broadcasting experience includes play-by-play duties for the Mid-American Conference championship football game (2010-16), SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament (2011-17) and SEC Baseball Tournament (2013-17). Shumate also handled basketball play-by-play responsibilities for Auburn, Connecticut, Duke, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Washington and West Virginia between 2011-17.

“I am extremely thankful for this incredible opportunity as I’ve admired and respected the Duke brand from afar for many, many years and could not be more excited to join two championship caliber programs,” Shumate said. “I will strive to represent Duke University and IMG in the same manner as the legendary Bob Harris – his legacy as the Voice of the Blue Devils is unrivaled and I’m humbled to follow him. I’m grateful to Pat Streko of IMG and Dr. White, Coach Cutcliffe and Coach Krzyzewski at Duke for their support and I can’t wait to get to work.”

A native North Carolinian, Shumate graduated from Appalachian State University in 2006 with a bachelor of science degree in communication with a concentration in electric media and broadcasting.

Thanks, GoDuke.com!

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Mark Your Calendar

10/18/17 – Mike Krzyzewski, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Duke University  (11:30 Start Time)
11/1/17 – Trisha Stafford-Odom, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, North Carolina Central University
11/15/17 – Special Guest Speaker!

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Jim Dodson, acclaimed author and Editor of award-winning PineStraw Magazine in Southern Pines, the arts and culture magazine of the Carolina Sandhills. He is also Founding Editor of O.Henry Magazine, the arts and culture sister publication in Greensboro, Dodson’s hometown, and Salt Magazine in Wilmington. Upon the acquisition of Business North Carolina Magazine in early 2015 by Old North State Magazines, Dodson was named Editorial Director.

A Distinguished Alumni of East Carolina University, his weekly Sunday essay for The Pilot has won numerous awards from the North Carolina Press Association. Over the course of a 40-year journalism career, his work has earned more than a dozen major awards from the Golf Writers of America and other industry organizations. For two decades he was a Contributing Editor and regular columnist for Golf Magazine, and Golf and Travel Correspondent for Departures Magazine of American Express.

His critically-acclaimed and bestselling books include Final Rounds, Faithful Travelers, The Dewsweepers, Beautiful Madness, The Road to Somewhere, A Golfer’s Life (with Arnold Palmer), Ben Hogan – An American Life, which won the Herbert Warren Wind/USGA International Book Award for 2004. A Son of the Game, published in 2009 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, was named “Top Golf Book of the Year” by the International Network of Golf, the same award Final Rounds won in 1997. American Triumvirate: Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and the Age of Modern Golf, published by Knopf in early 2012, won the USGA Herbert Warren Wind Award for 2012, his second USGA Book of he Year award (Ben Hogan, An American Life won in 2005.

Dodson and his wife Wendy reside in Greensboro, North Carolina. His current book, titled The Range Bucket List, is published by Simon & Schuster.

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Mark Your Calendar

10/4/17 – David Schumate, New Play-By-Play Radio Announcer for Duke
10/18/17 – Mike Krzyzewski, Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Duke University  (11:30 Start Time)
11/1/17 – Trisha Stafford-Odom, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, North Carolina Central University

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Amy Yakola, the ACC’s Executive Associate Commissioner and Chief of External Affairs. Yakola takes the lead for marketing campaigns and communications that shape how the conference is viewed outside of its headquarters.

As Yakola has risen through the ranks during her 18-plus years at the ACC, some of her most important duties have kept her behind the scenes, leading the more internal types of communication between the conference office and the 15 member institutions.

The Clemson graduate joined the C-suite at the ACC in July 2014, and as the league’s chief of external affairs, she has become an important link from Greensboro out to Tallahassee, South Bend, Boston and points in between.

“Beyond our highly visible events and championships, I enjoy working on the behind-the-scenes elements, which are constantly evolving,” Yakola said. “In the past year, I’ve focused on expanding our communications with various groups, including having regular conference calls and meetings with the university-side external communications directors, having regular calls and meetings with my communications peers at other conferences, and working to enhance coverage of the ACC Academic Consortium.” The consortium sponsors and supports academic initiatives that work across the ACC’s universities to benefit all students, not just athletes.

Yet even with her growing list of responsibilities, Yakola remains active on the marketing and PR front, working with the schools and host markets on publicity plans for ACC championships. She’s also part of the ACC’s leadership on site visits, something that’s integral in planning for the conference’s biggest annual events.

Thanks to www.SportsBusinessDaily.com for the info!

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Mark Your Calendar

9/20/17 – Jim Dodson, Sports Writer
10/4/17 – David Schumate, New Play-By-Play Radio Announcer for Duke
10/18/17 – Trisha Stafford-Odom, Head Women’s Basketball Coach, North Carolina Central University

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Jerry Mack, the Head Football Coach at North Carolina Central University. Mack has achieved unprecedented success in his first three seasons as head football coach at North Carolina Central University.

Taking over a program that posted a losing record prior to his arrival in Durham, Mack has led the Eagles to three consecutive MEAC championships and an overall record of 24-11, including a 21-3 mark against conference opponents. His 24 victories are more than any NCCU football coach has ever collected in their first three seasons.

Mack joined NCCU after spending two seasons (2012-13) with the University of South Alabama as wide receivers coach. During that time, three of his receivers finished among the top five on South Alabama’s single-season record lists for receptions and receiving yards. He spent the 2011 campaign in his hometown with the University of Memphis, also as wide receivers coach, where he tutored the receiver with the second-highest single-season receptions in school history.

As offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 2010, Mack transformed a unit that ranked 101st in the nation in total offense to 30th nationally and No. 2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), breaking 10 offensive school records in the process. Mack served as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at the University of Central Arkansas during the 2008-09 seasons, helping to lead the 10-2 Bears to the Southland Conference championship and placing 10th in the NCAA Division I-FCS in total offense.

He has been selected for three internships in the NFL with the New York Jets (2009, 2010) and Buffalo Bills (2008), and participated in the NCAA Coaches Academy program.

Mack and his wife Starlett have two sons, Jaden and Jaxon, and one daughter, Skyler.

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Mark Your Calendar

9/6/17 – Amy Yakola, ACC Executive Associate Commissioner & Chief of External Affairs
9/20/17 – Special Guest Speaker!
10/4/17 – David Schumate, New Play-By-Play Radio Announcer for Duke.

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Jeff Gravley, the Sports Anchor for WRAL-TV. Jeff started as a sports intern at WRAL-TV in 1985 and was hired as a full-time news photographer before switching back to the sports department. In addition to shooting sports, he started reporting on sporting events and earned a shot in the anchor chair in 1995. Jeff served as the main sports anchor for the 10 p.m. sportscast until May 2000. From 2000 until 2003, he was the lead sports anchor at WEWS-TV in Cleveland, Ohio. He moved from the chill of Ohio back to WRAL in March 2003, anchoring the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. sportscasts. In 2008, he succeeded legendary sports anchor Tom Suiter as WRAL’s primary sports anchor at 6, 10 and 11 p.m.

Gravley is a seven-time regional Emmy Award winner, and was named the 2014 and 1998 North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. He has earned multiple awards in AP and RTNDAC sports anchoring, reporting and photography. Currently, he has a vote for the Heisman Trophy, Biletnikoff Award and has served as an AP football poll voter. He won the 2004 Russ Catlin national award for motor sports reporting.

Gravley is q1981 graduate of J.F. Webb High School in Oxford, NC. He attended East Carolina University for one year, then graduated from North Carolina State University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication.

He is a 2007 inductee into the J.F. Webb High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mark Your Calendar

8/16/17 – Jerry Mack, Head Football Coach, NC Central University
9/6/17 – Amy Yakola, ACC Executive Associate Commissioner and Chief of External Affairs
9/20/17 – Special Guest Speaker
10/4/17 – David Schumate, Radio Play-by-play Announcer for Duke Football and Basketball

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Ron Morris, author of the book “No Bull: The Real Story of the Durham Bulls and the Rebirth of a Team and a City”. While many baseball fans think the success of the movie “Bull Durham” led to the rise of the Durham Bulls, in fact the opposite is true. The Bulls were a hit from the first time they opened the gates in 1980, and their sustained success led to the rebirth of Durham, N.C., as a city, to the renaissance of minor league baseball as a viable industry, and even the rise of Baseball America as the recognized leader in baseball media.

In “No Bull,” Morris follows the 1980 Durham Bulls through their inaugural season, using that narrative thread to explore all the ripples that the team caused in the city and beyond. Morris covered the team for the Durham Herald-Sun that season, and now he has gone back and interviewed the former players and coaches, as well as residents of Durham, to examine the team’s impact on the city.

Ron Morris is one of the most respected sportswriters in the nation, having recently retired as a longtime columnist for The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C. Reared in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he graduated from UNC Charlotte before embarking on his career as a writer. His sportswriting career included the Durham Herald-Sun, Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat and The State. He was a six-time winner of the South Carolina sportswriter of the year as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He is also the author of the 1987 book “ACC Basketball: An Illustrated History.” He and his wife, Kim, and son, Luke, reside in Lexington, S.C.

Morris was a Founding Member of the Durham Sports Club.

Mark Your Calendar

8/2/17 – Jeff Gravely, WRAL Sports Anchor
8/16/17 – Jerry Mack, Head Football Coach, NC Central University
9/6/17 – Special Guest Speaker!!

The guest speaker for this meeting will be Chuck Amato, Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator for the University of Akron football team.

Amato served as head coach at his alma mater, NC State, from 2000-06 and posted a 49-37 record while guiding State to five bowl appearances (4-1 record in those bowl games). He led the Wolfpack to their first 11-win season in school history in 2002 and highest national ranking (No. 12 in the final AP poll; No. 11 in the final Coaches poll) since 1974, defeating Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. He spent 21 seasons on the staff at Florida State (1982-1999 and 2007-09). In his most recent stint (2007-09) he served as executive head coach to then-head coach Bobby Bowden. From 1982-95 he coached the defensive line, 1996-99 the linebackers and from 1986-99 also served as assistant head coach. He was part of 10 ACC championship teams and two national championship teams (1993 and 1999).

Amato lettered in football (linebacker) and wrestling at NC State, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1969 and master’s degree in education in 1973. The 1965 football team won an ACC co-championship and he was captain of the defense in 1967. He won two ACC titles as a wrestler in 1966 (heavyweight) and 1968 (191-pound weight class).

Chuck and his wife, Peggy, have twin daughters, LuGina and Selena.

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Mark Your Calendar

7/5/17 – NO MEETING!!
7/19/17 – Ron Morris, Author, No Bull
8/2/17 – Special Guest Speaker!

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be fellow Sports Club member Karl Kimball, Director of Golf at Hillandale Golf Course. Karl has been a member of the PGA of America since 1984 and has served on various communities’ Board of Directors throughout his career. He was the North Florida Section PGA Champion and Player of the Year in 1984 and has won many satellite tour events spanning the United States. He has won four Carolinas Section PGA major championships including two North Carolina Open titles. Karl has also competed in two PGA Championships played at Sahalee Country Club and Valhalla Country Club.

Karl will talk to us about the PGA Tour and some of the specific tour events.

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Mark Your Calendar

6/7/17 – Scholar-Athlete Awards Night
6/21/17 – Chuck Amato, Associate Head Football Coach, University of Akron
7/5/17 – NO MEETING!!