Alumni & Friends:
I want to thank you for your patience the past two weeks regarding news of our NCAA Division II application. For over one year Georgetown College trustees have been examining the role athletics will play in our future. On April 28, 2012, the Trustees determined that NCAA Division II best fit our future plans for the college and they were aware that the next application opening for NCAA DII was June 1, 2012. The Trusteed wanted to meet that deadline because of impending NCAA DII rule changes that might extend the probationary period for new members beyond three years. We had a one month window to get this achieved. We have since discovered that many institutions hire consultants to guide them in this process and it usually takes 75-90 days to create and submit an application with merit.
On July 13th we were notified that our application had been denied stating that “we were not prepared for membership. “ Since that time we have learned more about the process and understand our attempt to meet a deadline in short order worked against us. Here is one example: Item number 3.1.d. in the applications reads as follows: We are required to have a student-athlete advisory committee.
What is a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee? (SAAC)
A Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is a committee made up of student- athletes assembled to provide insight on the student-athlete experience and to offer input on the rules, regulations and policies that affect student-athletes’ lives on NCAA member institution campuses. Presently, there are separate national SAACs for NCAA Divisions I, II, and III member institutions. NCAA legislation mandates that all member institutions have SAACs on their respective campuses and many NCAA conferences also have established SAACs. The information that follows will assist you in understanding how that network of SAACs, from individual campuses committees to the national committees, interact and support one another to shape intercollegiate athletics policy.
Purpose
The purpose of the student-athlete advisory committee may vary across conferences and institutions. However, the following five points reflect the primary purposes of SAACs and should serve as a guideline when developing the SAAC’s strategic plan:

• Generate a student-athlete voice within the institution;
• Solicit student-athlete response to proposed NCAA legislation;
• Suggest potential NCAA legislation
• Organize community service efforts
• Create a vehicle for student-athlete representation on campus-wide or conference-wide committees.

Since classes ended on May 8th we did not have the time to select the students and have our first meeting. We indicated this to be the case, our application showed we were planning to assemble such a group in September and meet all the NCAA expectations for the group. We now believe that the requirement was to have already met with the student advisory committee before submitting our application.
For this and other similar reasons the NCAA D II membership committee determined we needed more time to prepare our application. The good news for us is that the NCAA DII did not vote to extend the waiting period for new members.
Now, our Trustees are determining whether to appeal the decision in the next 30 days or reapply in February for reconsideration. If we do reapply, we will have the time to meet all the NCAA DII expectations. We will keep you informed about their decisions. Thank you for your interest in all that is important to Georgetown College.
Sincerely,
William H. Crouch Jr.

Georgetown, KY – Georgetown College is hosting a once-in-a-lifetime 40^th Anniversary Reunion of the USA Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, Aug. 23-25, and Kentucky high school students – especially AP History classes – have a special invitation to attend a day of seminars at our Thomas & King Conference Center.

On Friday, Aug. 24, all 12 Olympians will participate in one of four seminars that will be dedicated to discussing the historical, political, and ethical ramifications of the 1972 Gold Medal game in Munich, Germany. In parts of the world friendly to the former Soviet Union, the players are regarded as “Ugly Americans” who refused to take their medicine. But in the U.S. and other parts of the world, they are regarded as heroes who refused to have their gold medals stolen. One seminar will also delve into the horrific slaughter of the Israeli Olympic team by Palestinian terrorists and the media coverage of that first overt act of terrorism on the international scene.

Former Georgetown College All-American Kenny Davis, captain of that U.S. team, is the reason this international event will be held in Georgetown on Aug. 24 and at Lexington’s Marriott Griffin Gate on Aug. 23 (for a golf event) and Aug. 25 (for the reunion banquet featuring speaker Doug Collins, who was the star of that squad and now coaches the NBA Philadelphia 76ers).

Esteemed sports columnist Billy Reed, the College’s Executive Scholar-in-Residence, jumped at the opportunity to collaborate on this historic occasion, which they have dubbed Courage in Munich. For a thrilling, heart-breaking account of “the most controversial basketball game ever played,” read Billy’s story on the ’72 Olympians.

Below are the seminars with an exciting collection of panelists including sports journalists, college professors, business leaders and former Olympians.

To pre-register for the free seminars, call Georgetown College Admissions at 1-800-788-9985 and ask for Madison Osborne.

The ’72 Olympics-Courage in Munich Seminars (Friday, Aug. 24)

9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. — History of Olympic Basketball

• Moderator: Bob Hammel, former sports editor of Bloomington Herald-Tribune, Member of Basketball Writers Hall of Fame
• Panelists: Denny Crum and Joe B. Hall; Jim Klotter, PhD, Professor of History, Georgetown College; John Bach, assistant on the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team; Olympic team members Tom Burleson, Jim Forbes, and Tom Henderson

10:45 a.m. – Noon — How the ’72 gold-medal game changed international basketball (USA Basketball)

• Moderator: C.M. Newton, former chair, USA Basketball
• Panelists: Jim Host, CEO, iHigh.com; David “Taps” Gallagher, basketball historian and author of Stolen Glory; Susan Johnson, retired Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Georgetown College; Olympic team members Doug Collins, Mike Bantom, and Jim Brewer.

Noon-Lunch1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. — The ethical debate about not accepting the silver medals

• Moderator: Dave Kindred, Hall of Fame sports columnist for The Louisville Courier-Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; the Sporting News; and Golf Digest
• Panelists: Rufus Friday, publisher of Lexington Herald-Leader; Tim Sullivan, Louisville C-J columnist; Roger Ward, PhD, Professor and  Chair,  Department of Philosophy, Georgetown College; Jack Kelly, former CEO, Turner International Sports, both the Seattle and St. Petersburg, Russia, Goodwill Games and 1st CEO Alltech/FEI World Games; Olympic team members Kenny Davis, Ed Ratleff and Kevin Joyce.

2:45 p.m. – 4 p.m. — Discussion of terrorism and TV coverage

• Moderator: Tom Preston, former director of Kentucky Homeland Security
• Panelists: Gen. Edward Tonini, Kentucky National Guard; Guilherme Silva, PhD, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Georgetown College; Alan Stein, SteinGroup, LLC; Dick Gabriel, talk-show host; Olympic team members Bobby Jones, Tom McMillen, and Dwight Jones.

Undergraduate online program of studies, tailored for Veterans and offered exclusively to Veterans, taught by full-time faculty with superb qualifications, and combined with education and career mentoring

Georgetown, KY – Georgetown College announced this unique new program for military veterans today. There will be a limited number of spots in the first two charter courses, so potential GC VetScholars are encouraged to check out the website immediately to  register. Below is a quick look at what makes this online program special.

When Will GC VetScholars Launch?

Students are currently being enrolled in the first two charter courses, which will begin on August 20.  The second Fall Term will begin on October 15. Economics and Civic Leadership Studies Online Degree launch is scheduled for January 2013.

What is the GC VetScholars Program?

The VetScholars Program is a unique opportunity to serve our veterans, as a community of learners, by offering real education for the real world and combined with professional and education mentoring.

The first program focus is Economics and Civic Leadership Studies, based on the Oxford model of Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Georgetown will offer these studies as a Bachelor’s Degree course of study which has been tailored to meet the learning characteristics and personal attributes of Veteran, adult learners.  Economics and Civic Leadership Studies will serve Veterans seeking civic leadership knowledge and competencies, business preparation, civil service, and other professional careers. The program will also help to prepare students pursuing a law degree with development of analytical reasoning and the knowledge of government and philosophy.  This curricular focus may also serve as an effective basis for students who are preparing to enter a religious seminary.

How Will GC VetScholars Meet the Needs of Veterans?

GC VetScholars will be linked to Education and Career Mentors.  The Education Mentor will guide them through admissions processes, academic advising, and all other Georgetown College services and education experiences. The Career Mentor will help facilitate and access services that are available to Veterans, based on the Veterans qualifications, personal and individual needs.  The Career Mentors ARE Veterans and have a thorough understanding of the transitioning challenges Veterans face and are prepared to help them identify services and navigate through complex systems.

The Georgetown College Faculty that will be instructing these courses have been enrolled in online facilitation and course development classes over the summer.  They have been learning about the distinguishing characteristics of adult Veteran learners, and integrating this knowledge and understanding into their overall course design.

Jessica Casebolt was crowned Miss Kentucky 2012 by Ann Blair Thornton, Miss Kentucky 2011. Phillips Mitchell Photography.

Jessica Casebolt was shocked and elated when her name was called Saturday night – Miss Kentucky 2012!

A short time later at the University of Kentucky’s Singletary Center for the Arts, as the realization her life was changed forever, she experienced a bit of a downer. She thought of the things she won’t be able to do next school year as she postpones her sophomore year at Georgetown College. Sigma Kappa events. Applying for Oxford.

“It’s bittersweet,” said the Pikeville native, who acknowledged she can still pick up where she left off as a Georgetown student who packed SO much into her freshman year. An Oxford Honors student, Jessica did some theatre with Maskrafters and she was the intern for Executive Scholar-in Residence Billy Reed and his Academy for Character in Sport.

Although she’s a Political Science major who’s thinking about law school, she is also interested in Sports Broadcast Journalism and looking at a double minor in English and Communications.

Unfortunately, her new duties as Miss Kentucky will prevent her from being a media assistant at the professional USTA Fifth Third Bank Tennis Championships at UK next week. She played high school tennis at Pikeville High and was looking forward to being the international event’s liaison to Lexington TV stations.

“But, there will be at time for all that…and I am really excited about the amazing year to come,” said Jessica, who will represent her state at the Miss America Scholarship Pageant in Las Vegas this January.

For the record, Jessica sang what she thought ended up “the perfect choice for me” – The Carpenters version of “Superstar.”

Her on-stage question was: Who is your fashion icon and why? She answered, “Audrey Hepburn, because she was the epitome of class.” If you have seen Jessica at various campus events – especially the receptions for Mr. Reed’s “Conversations with Champions” series – you can tell she knows what she’s talking about.

In addition to all the gifts detailed in the Lexington Herald-Leader story Sunday, Jessica won a $12,000 scholarship and a new Lexus to drive for a year.

Jessica is the daughter of Dean and Carol Casebolt of Pikeville. Her father is the owner-operator of SDC Trucking; her mother is a PR specialist with Pikeville Medical Center.

Former GC All-American Kenny Davis, captain of the '72 USA Olympic Basketball squad, threw out the First Pitch at the July 3 Lexington Legends game at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. Another teammate will do the honors at the August 23 Legends game and the Olympians will be recognized on the field.

The buzz is building on perhaps the most exciting event Georgetown College has ever been involved in – the 40^th Anniversary Reunion of the USA Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, Aug. 23-25.

(Perhaps you’ve seen the ads/commercials courtesy of our media partners, the Lexington Herald-Leader and WKYT-27. Did you witness former GC All-American Kenny Davis throwing out the First Pitch at a recent Lexington Legends game? And, here’s a nice hit on CBSSports.com you probably haven’t seen.)

We’re hosting this once-in-a-lifetime gathering of the star-crossed ’72 American Olympians because Davis was captain of the team that still hasn’t accepted the Gold Medal loss to the Russians – “the most controversial game ever played.” Esteemed sports columnist Billy Reed, the College’s Executive Scholar-in-Residence, jumped at the opportunity to collaborate on this historic occasion, which they have dubbed Courage in Munich.

The latest news: Davis – who had to announce to the world in ’72 that the American players would forever reject the silver medals – has persuaded Olympic teammate Doug Collins to be the keynote speaker at the August 25 banquet. That’s a Double Slam because:

ONE – Collins is big recent NEWS… as just recently he, as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, led his team into the 2^nd round of the NBA playoffs, and

TWO – he’s big old NEWS…as the Olympian who hit what everyone thought were the winning free throws in that 1972 Gold Medal game, before time was inexplicably put back on the clock and the Russians given two more chances to win.

So, how can YOU be involved in this unique weekend? Many ways over the three days – including as a participant and/or sponsor in a golf scramble (9 of the 12 Olympians have committed to playing it so far, too!); four seminars that explore all aspects of that Olympiad, including the horrific slaughter of the Israeli contingent by Palestinian terrorists; and the reunion banquet.

NOTE that sponsors for any of the three days of events will get exposure at ALL 3 venues. And, any PROCEEDS from the reunion weekend will go toward scholarships in the College’s First Tee Scholars Program.

Breaking it down, then:

Thursday, Aug. 23 – an afternoon of golf at Lexington’s Marriott Griffin Gate, preceded by lunch and followed by a reception.

Participation is $1,000 per individual, but that includes two seats at the basketball reunion dinner, as well as chances to be in the Million Dollar Shoot-out and a Putting Contest (for a car!).

We’re still looking for sponsors for these two hole-in-one side events as well as a company to put their logo on the Caddy Bibs our First Tee Scholars will wear as they carry the golf bags. For sponsorship package information, contact Jim Durham @ 502-863-8174 or email jim_durham@georgetowncollege.edu

To register for the golf event, call Judy Rush @ 859-699-4837, or email her at jrush1114@gmail.com

Friday, August 24 – Four fascinating seminars dealing with various aspects of the historic ’72 Olympics (two morning, two afternoon) will be held at our Thomas & King Conference Center. Each will have a name moderator, plus a panel that includes a GC professor and three of the Olympic basketball players from that ’72 squad.

Saturday, August 25 – For a seat at this special tribute dinner for these courageous dozen Olympians it’s $125 a plate, or $1,000 for Table-for-10. To reserve your place, call Miranda Harvey @ 859-231-7711 ext. 241 or email her at mharvey@preston-osborne.com

Dinner attendees can expect to see many great names from the basketball world such as former UK Wildcat Larry Conley (emcee), New York Daily News sports columnist Dick “Hoops” Weiss and USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo.

And, Sponsor CEOs will each (individually) be in a Team Photo taken with the ’72 Olympic squad at a private reception prior to the dinner. Interested in becoming a sponsor (which means exposure for the entire three days of events)? Contact Harvey at mharvey@preston-osborne.com or jim_durham@georgetowncollege.edu