Durham Sports Club

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!!

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Art Chansky, noted author of books about UNC basketball. His latest book, Game Changers, chronicles Dean Smith and Charlie Scott, the first African-American scholarship athlete at UNC-Chapel Hill. Chansky has authored or co-authored nine books from over the last 35 years — from the inside story of Dean Smith’s first national championship in 1982, through a never-before-told story of Smith’s power at UNC, through two rivalry books on Carolina-Duke, through the fascinating and entangled relationships between UNC’s three Hall of Fame coaches, Frank McGuire, Smith and Roy Williams, through this revealing look at the struggles between Smith and Charlie Scott.

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Mark Your Calendar

5/17/17 – Karl Kimball, Golfer
6/7/17 – Scholar-Athlete Awards Night
6/21/17 – Special Guest Speaker

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Dr. Greg Dale, Director of Sport Psychology and Leadership Programs at Duke University. In his sport psychology role, Dale provides consultations for individual athletes, coaches and staff members. In addition, Dale provides team building services for athletic teams and other units within the athletic department. In his leadership role, Dale provides leadership training for athletes, coaches and administrators within the department through various educational programs. He is also a professor of sport psychology and sport ethics in the Department of Health, Wellness and Physical Education.

Dale received his BS degree from Stephen F. Austin State University (85), MS Degree from Columbia University (87) and PhD from The University of Tennessee (93). Dale has written four books on leadership, coaching, parenting and performance and serves as a consultant to numerous athletic and corporate organizations around the world.

Dale is a native of Troy, Texas and lives with his wife Cammie and their children in Durham.

Thanks for the info, www.GoDuke.com

Mark Your Calendar

4/30/17 – “Night Out With the Bulls”
5/3/17 – Art Chansky, Author, Game Changers
5/17/17 – Special Guest Speaker!

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Johnny Moore, Senior National Associate for Blue Devil IMG Sports Marketing, a company he joined in 2008.

Prior to joining IMG, Moore served as President of Moore Productions from 1990-08. A veteran of the college athletics landscape for over four decades, he also worked in both sports information and marketing at Duke University from 1977-90.

Moore has written two books, 100 Things Duke Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and The Blue Divide: Duke, North Carolina, and the Battle on Tobacco Road, which he co-authored with Art Chansky.

A native of Garner, N.C., Moore attended Guilford College where he served as the school’s Sports Information Director before graduating in 1977 with a degree in history. In addition, he was enshrined into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

Johnny and his wife, Robin, have two daughters, Beth and Sarah.

Thanks for the info, www.GoDuke.com

Mark Your Calendar

4/19/17 – Greg Dale, Director of Sport Psychology, Duke University
4/30/17 – “Night Out With the Bulls”
5/3/17 – Art Chansky, Author, Game Changers

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Dave Odom,

In his 12 seasons(1989–2001) as head coach at Wake Forest, Odom compiled a record of 240-132, making him the second-highest winning coach in Wake Forest history, as well as the second highest winning percentage in school history. During this time, Wake Forest earned 7 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship.  Odom was named ACC coach of the year in 1991, 1994 and 1995, and he led his team to consecutive ACC Championships in 1995 and 1996.

During his tenure at South Carolina, his team earned one NCAA tournament bid, and made three appearances in the NIT, winning the championship in 2005 and 2006. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 2004. On January 2, 2008, Odom coached his 400th collegiate victory as a head coach. Later that month, on January 18, he announced that he would retire at the end of the 2007-2008 basketball season, his seventh at South Carolina. He coached his final game for USC on March 14, 2008, in the SEC tournament.

With the 2017 NCAA tournament coming up, this promises to be a very timely and informative meeting.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

4/5/17 – Johnny Moore, Duke IMG Sports
4/19/17 – Greg Dale, Director of Sport Psychology, Duke University
4/30/17 – Durham Sports Club’s “Night Out With the Bulls”

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be David Cutcliffe, Head Football Coach at Duke University. Cutcliffe came to Duke in 2008 after serving the previous two seasons as Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator at the University of Tennessee. His head coaching experience includes a six-year stint at the University of Mississippi from 1999-04 where he compiled a 44-29 (.603) ledger with five winning seasons, five bowl game appearances and a share of the SEC Western Division championship in 2003. Cutcliffe was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2003 after leading the Rebels to a 10-3 record including a 31-28 victory over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl.

Duke’s rise into the national college football landscape has been spearheaded by Cutcliffe, who took over the program prior to the 2008 campaign after the Blue Devils had won just 10 total games in the previous eight seasons. Cutcliffe’s vision has come together in the last four years with 33 victories, four bowl appearances and the 2013 ACC Coastal Division championship.

Cutcliffe’s coaching tenure as both an assistant and head coach features five quarterbacks that have surpassed the 3,000-yard barrier in a single season: Peyton Manning (Tennessee, 1996 & 1997), Eli Manning (Ole Miss, 2002 & 2003), Erik Ainge (Tennessee, 2007), Thad Lewis (Duke, 2009) and Sean Renfree (Duke, 2010). In addition, 10 of Cutcliffe’s signal-calling pupils have either earned all-conference honors or led their respective team to a bowl game victory.

Thanks, www.GoDuke.com

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Mark Your Calendars!

3/15/17 – Dave Odom, NCAA Basketball Guru
4/5/17 – Johnny Moore, Blue Devil IMG and Duke Sports Authority
4/19/17 – Greg Dale, Director of Sport Psychology, Duke University
4/30/17 – Durham Sports Club “Night Out With the Bulls”

The guest speaker for our upcoming meeting will be Bill Mallon, former professional golfer and a leading authority on the history of the Olympic Games, a subject on which he has written 24 books. He was a co-founder and later president of the International Society of Olympic Historians and was historical consultant to the organizing committees of both the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics. Mallon has also been a consultant statistician to the IOC and was awarded the Olympic Order in silver in 2001 for services to the Olympic movement.

Mallon studied at Duke University and graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in math and physics. While at Duke he played collegiate golf and was a two-time All-American, twice voted to the Outstanding College Athletes of America and was a two-time participant in the NCAA tournament. He won over 40 amateur tournaments including two victories in both the Massachusetts and New England Amateur Championship and one Mid-Atlantic title.

Mallon turned professional in 1975 and joined the PGA Tour after qualifying at Q-school in the fall of 1975. He played four seasons, 1976–79, posting three top-10 finishes with a best finish of tied for 5th at the 1977 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open. He played in the 1977 U.S. Open and was twice in the top 100 on the money list.

Mallon is an orthopedic surgeon in Durham and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Duke Regional Hospital and Duke University Hospital. He received his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years.

Mark Your Calendars!

3/1/17 – David Cutcliffe, Head Football Coach, Duke University
3/15/17 – Dave Odom, NCAA Basketball Guru
4/5/17 – Johnny Moore, Blue Devil IMG and Duke Sports Authority