CLARION – Thanksgiving is right around the corner and the Clarion University Athletic Department, led by its Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and including all 16 varsity intercollegiate athletic programs, donated approximately 5,100 non-perishable food items to the Food Bank of the Clarion office of Community Action, Inc. on Friday, November 13.

"I'm very proud of the effort of our SAAC Committee, all of our student-athletes, coaches and administrators, who stepped up to make this food drive a big success again this year," said Clarion University Athletic Director Dave Katis.
 
"At this time of the year, and at the start of the holiday season, its important that we all understand that giving back is an important part of the season and defines who we are as people, a department and the university," said Katis. "For our student athletes hopefully this is something they can take with them once they leave Clarion and become leaders in their communities."

Members of the SAAC Committee, intercollegiate athletes, coaches and administrators all helped in collecting the items and then loading a big delivery truck to take the items to the food bank where they were unloaded for general use. The items donated (5,100) were up from 4,000 items donated last year.

As part of the effort to collect as many non-perishable food items as possible, the 16 teams and the athletic training department competed to see who would collect the most items. Those teams included on the women's side – basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. The men's teams included baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming and diving and wrestling, along with the athletic training staff.
 
The athletic training staff won competition with an average of 39.7 per person, with women's golf second at 29, women's basketball third at 24 and women's volleyball fourth at 23.3
 
CLARION NOTES: the photo at the Food Bank – L-R – has Eddie Kurtz (football), Tim Gill (Men's Basketball), Sarah Zerfoss (Women's diving) and Christina Tressler (softball).