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The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

Student athletes raise money for Haiti in inaugural jock jams

“Representatives from all 19 of the University of Akron’s athletic programs participated in an inaugural lip-sync performance at James A. Rhodes Arena. The purpose of the event was to raise funds for Kids in Distressed Situations (KIDS), which will directly affect children in Haiti, Chile and other countries.”

Representatives from all 19 of the University of Akron’s athletic programs participated in an inaugural lip-sync performance at James A. Rhodes Arena.

The purpose of the event was to raise funds for Kids in Distressed Situations (KIDS), which will directly affect children in Haiti, Chile and other countries.

We are obviously proud of what our student athletes do, so it was a no-brainer to say let’s do this and let them have some fun with it, UA athletic director Tom Wistrcill said. It was a wonderful night.

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The event was put together by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Each year we meet in January at a MAC convention, UA soccer player and SAAC member C.J. Kaufman said.

Each MAC institution is represented. Ideas for fundraising are generated and this year, a community service project to raise money for Haiti was chosen as the benefit.

A couple of other schools have done jock jams in the past to raise money and we though why not bring that tradition here.

Participants were judged by Tom Wistrcill, Dean Carro, Anne Jorgensen, Kevin Klotz and Allan Hoon, all of the University of Akron’s athletics department.

Acts included the golf team poking fun at Tiger Woods, the football team imitating the Backstreet Boys and the baseball team amusing the crowd with a comedy act about compliance director Kevin Klotz.

I thought the night was great, Wistrcill said. I thought each performance seemed to do better and better and kind of feed off of the energy. Obviously very creative teams and you could tell some of them put a lot of effort into it in using different props.

The fan favorite act of the night featured the men’s basketball team and player Steve Swiech singing his own Akron flavored rendition on the Jay-Z song Empire State of Mind.

The winner in the judges’ eyes were the swimming and diving team.

Their act featured members of the team dressing as other athletic teams.

Their finale had members dressed in their swimsuits.

First-year athletic director Tom Wistrcill hopes that jock jams can be an annual tradition.

I think it will only get bigger and better, Wistrcill said. I think we will get more of the campus involved and some community people and make it a big event.

A great start, a good thing to build on and something I look forward to working with the SAAC on to make it bigger and better next year.

Admission to the event was three dollars with 100 percent of the proceeds going to KIDS.

When kids are unfortunately put into situations like the one in Haiti right now, they send down items such as medical kits, books and anything that can help them out, Kaufman said. The money raised helps to actually ship it. Every $10 raised sends $100 worth of supplies so they will definitely benefit from our event tonight.

The program rose upward of $700 for the foundation as well as providing entertainment for all those who came to watch.

We laid the foundation of future jock jams and hopefully it will continue to grow, Kaufman said.

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