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Chaminade Announces The Start Of Its First-ever Endowed Athletic-based Scholarship  For Immediate ReleaseContact: Kapono Ryan< (808) 735-4797 or cell 429-2972 ENDOWED ATHLETIC-BASED SCHOLARSHIP HONOLULUÑNov. 20, 2006--Chaminade University of Honolulu announced today at the 2006 Maui Invitational Basketball Tournament the seeding of its first-ever endowed athletic-based scholarship: The Will Pounds Memorial Scholarship for Student Athletes.  Yvette Pounds, wife of the late Chaminade basketball star Will Pounds, initiated the scholarship to help support student athletes at Chaminade. In a half-time ceremony at the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Chaminade vs. UCLA game, Pounds' Silversword jersey number 50 was retired, officially launching the scholarship and opening the door to more scholarships in honor of student athletes. Pounds had been affectionately known and remembered as "Mr. Chaminade," "Big Will" and "Hawaii 5-0" for his leadership, compassion, generosity of spirit and athletic skill. "We are grateful for Mrs. Pounds' generous lead gift in her husband's honor," said Kaia Hedlund, Chaminade University's athletics director. "Our goal now is to endow the fund to provide ongoing support for student athletes and perpetuate the Chaminade spirit that Will Pounds so greatly embodied." This fall, Silversword athletes are participating in three new NCAA team sports: women's basketball and men's and women's soccer. To support the new programs, five additional positions were added. The University recruited a new athletics director and hired three new coaches and a trainer. In partnership with Saint Louis School, Chaminade Athletics has access to campus sports facilities. "Chaminade is committed to the success of its sports programs and highly motivated to reach new horizons in support of its student athletes," Hedlund said. For more information, please contact Gary Cordova, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, at (808) 735-4772 or gcordova@chaminade.edu. Celebrating more than 50 years of educating students for life, service and successful careers, Chaminade University offers programs of study grounded in the liberal arts with day, evening, online and accelerated courses. The main campus is located in Kaimuki at 3140 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816, with 10 satellite locations around Oahu military bases and Catholic parishes and schools. For more information, visit the Chaminade University Web site at www.chaminade.edu or call (808) 735-4711. WHO IS WILL POUNDS AND WHY IS HE SO SPECIAL? : o Played and coached CUH men's basketball o Affectionately known and remembered as "Mr. Chaminade," "Big Will" and "Hawaii 5-0" for his leadership, compassion, generosity of spirit and athletic skill o Recruited off the playgrounds of Pasadena, Calif., to play for CUH o Weighed 250 pounds and was 6-foot-7 when he arrived on campus and played in the mid-70s o Played Center position on the Silversword team coached by Merv Lopes from 1975 to 1979 o In his 1978-'79 season, Pounds averaged 23.6 points and 10 rebounds, went 24-5 Ñall the way to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals o First collegian in Hawai'i to score 2,000 points o Drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1979 o In 1982, Pounds was CUH's assistant coach for men's basketball, helping head coach Merv Lopes lead the Swords dream team to victory against No. 1-ranked Virginia. The upset put the school on the map. o The beloved coach and player died in Albuquerque, N.M., of a heart attack at age 49 in March 2006, a week after Chaminade appeared in its first NCAA Division II championship. RECENT CHAMINADE BASKETBALL SUCCESSES: o The Swords clinched the PacWest Championship 2005-06 Ð Chaminade's first championship o Matt Mahar, head basketball coach, was selected as 2005-06 PacWest Coach of the Year o Recent graduate and senior guard last year Chris Reaves took PacWest Player of the Year 2005-06 o Zack Whiting, in 2005-06 was selected to the All-PacWest First Team for the second consecutive year and was also named All West Region. The Chaminade's senior guard is also a candidate for the 2007 Bob Cousy Award. Given out by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on an annual basis, the award recognizes the best college point guard, regardless of division level. (Other nominees include, but is not limited to, A.J. Price of UCONN, Mustafa Shakur, University of Arizona, Greg Paulus, Duke University, Darren Collison of UCLA, Taurean Green, University of Florida and Dominic James of Marquette.) BULLET POINTS REGARDING HALF-TIME CEREMONY EVENT HELD MONDAY, NOV. 20: o Chaminade formally unveils its Will Pounds Memorial Scholarship for Student Athletes, the first-ever scholarship to support student athletes at half-time during its first Maui Invitational Tournament game Monday, Nov. 20 against UCLA. o The scholarship is named in honor of the late alumni, former outstanding Silversword basketball center (1975 to 1979), and Dream Team assistant coach, William Pounds. (The Dream Team against all odds beat No. 1-ranked Virginia in 1982.) o The school also officially retires the jersey number "50" in his honor o During the ceremony, banners overhead herald the announcements and boast recent successes for the Swords. The banners will continue to hang above throughout this tournament in honor of the tournament's host team. BULLET POINTS REGARDING CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY AND ITS ATHLETICS PROGRAM o Chaminade's athletics program competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II level as a member of the Pacific West Conference. The University fields teams in basketball, cross country, golf, and soccer for men, and basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball for women. o The mission of the Chaminade University Intercollegiate Athletics Department is to provide an opportunity for all qualified students to participate in competitive sports while developing leadership and team skills. Chaminade University offers programs of study grounded in the liberal arts with day, evening, online and accelerated courses. The main campus is located in Kaimuki at 3140 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816, with 10 satellite locations around Oahu military bases and Catholic parishes and schools. Back | Current News | FYI |
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