Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Indiana State football program, under the direction of second-year head coach Mike Sanford, wrapped up a productive spring with several well-attended events as part of Sycamore Football Alumni Weekend on April 25-26.
The weekend began with several hundred fans attending the final spring practice of the year on the afternoon of April 25. The two-hour workout, which including a controlled scrimmage, displayed all the hardwork and improvement that the Sycamore offense, defense and special teams have enjoyed during the offseason. A recap of coach Sanford's comments about the spring can be found here.
Following the final spring practice, the Sycamore Banquet Facility was full of supporters for the first-ever Sycamore Football Career & Networking Banquet made possible by Mel Burks and the Hamilton Center. The evening was headlined by Indiana State Alums Chris Sapp, and Quintin Mikell to name a few. ISU alums & Sycamore supporters spoke to current football players about putting themselves in a position to succeed by creating opportunities for internships, professional growth, networking, and employment opportunities after graduation.
Sycamore linebacker Jess Harris shared his thoughts about the evening; “It helped me reach contacts to set up internships and start developing relationships through members of the Sycamore family. It also helped me create a network of people that had a burning desire to help me succeed in my chosen field.”
The night proved very impactful for the development of the Sycamore football family.
The Sycamore Football Alumni Weekend continued as hundreds enjoyed beautiful weather and optimal course conditions as Hulman Links Golf Course was the site of the eighth annual Sycamore Football Golf Outing Fundraiser and silent auction. Indiana State alums, administrators, fans, coaches, and student-athletes converged on the east side of Terre Haute for a day of fun, golf, fellowship and an opportunity to raise money for the program. Both the morning and afternoon flights were packed with competitive golfers, and excited members of the Sycamore football community as thousands of dollars were raised in support of the program.
Coach Sanford weighed in on the success of the event; “We had high hopes for the event, but the support shown through monetary donations, various sponsorships, and the sheer volume of Sycamore supporters that showed up to the event was unbelievable. The turnout surpassed even my expectations.”
Compliments poured in throughout the day about the course conditions, and hospitality present from registration to the final scorecard submitted. David Kennedy, Ken Wooden, and the Hulman Links staff had the course in pristine playing condition for the event.
Coach Sanford, a golfer, was especially happy about the situation on Saturday commenting, “You couldn't ask for a better day to golf. High 70's to low 80's, and Dave really did a great job getting the course into mid-summer shape!” The easy-going and enjoyable atmosphere was in large part attributed to the coaches' wives, and Sycamore football support staff who served a pivotal part in the success of the day.
Looking back at the day Coach Sanford shared his thoughts, “We have great people around our football program. I've got to give a lot of credit to the 12th Man group, our quality-control coaches, and the coaches-wives for really making this thing go! Between our wives, players, and the people that work hard behind the scenes like Joe Gallo, they really stole the show this weekend!"
The golf outing championship remained a tight race all the way until the final score card was submitted. The championship was captured by Sycamore Blue, a team comprised of Matt Roman, Keaton Sumner, Brandon Dorsett and Luke Stewart. The second place team, Long & Straight, was comprised of Tom Jones, Bobby Jones, Clayton Dever and Vaso Michaels who carded the same score as Sycamore Blue but fell to runner-up after the tiebreaker rules were enforced. The Bears team of Doug Dreher, Steve Ackman, Tristan Ireland and Don Ireland finished one stroke behind the aforementioned teams thus coming in third place in the tournament.
The Sycamore football team also debuted their new game uniforms for 2014 through social media over the weekend. In case you missed it, here is the Sycamores' new look for the upcoming season.
A special thanks goes to each of the hole sponsors and participants for making the event such a success. Support for the Sycamore football program could be felt as an air of excitement ruled the day and was bolstered by the amount of supporters who participated in the event and those who donated to the program financially.
The Sycamore football program will begin practice for the 2014 campaign in late summer with the season opener set for August 30 at Indiana. The complete schedule for the fall can be found here.
