Greek News
Theta Chi’s Steven Spielberg is on the Cover of Entertainment Weekly
One of Hollywood's top filmmakers, Steven Spielberg, a member of Theta Chi at Cal State-Long Beach, is on the cover of the December 9th issue of Entertainment Weekly. The creator of such epic films as E.T., Jaws, Jurassic Park, andRaiders of the Lost Ark, is profiled in a 10-page interview which touches on two new films The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse and other highlights of his 27-year career.
Ron Santo of Lambda Chi Alpha is chosen for Baseball’s Hall of Fame
Longtime Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo, who was initiated into Lambda Chi Alpha at Illinois State, has been selected by the Golden Era Committee for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. A nine-time All-Star who hit 342 home runs and won five Gold Gloves, he will become the 12th third baseman to go into the HOF. Santo, who passed away December 3rd of 2010, will be posthumously inducted in Cooperstown, NY next July 22nd.
Sigma Chi’s Valentine Back as a Big League Manager
Bobby Valentine, a member of Sigma Chi at the University of Southern California, will be back in the dugout this spring as manager of the Boston Red Sox. A former manager of the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, he has since spent seven seasons managing in Japan and the last two years as an ESPN analyst.
2011 Greeks in Pro Football
An updated list of players and head coaches in the National Football League and Canadian Football League has been compiled, as we have done for a number of years. To see the current list, please click here. If you are aware of active players left off the list, please send them and their NIC fraternity affiliation to Jay Langhammer at Jlangha132@aol.com. As new names become known, they will be updated in the Greeks in Sports link on this website.
Two Sigma Chis Named to PFRA’s Hall of Very Good
The Professional Football Researchers Association, in its publication The Coffin Corner, has announced its Hall of Very Good class of 2011. Among nine former pro football greats selected are two members of Sigma Chi fraternity: longtime Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Andy Russell, who went to the University of Missouri, and Lou Saban, who went to Indiana University before four years as player for the Cleveland Browns. His greatest fame came in the American Football League as head coach of the Boston Patriots (1960-61), Buffalo Bills (1962-65, 1972-76) and Denver Broncos (1967-71). During his first stint with the Bills, his teams won two AFL championships. Each year, members of the PFRA vote on leading pro players who had great careers but have not been chosen for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Two Greeks Win CMA Awards
Two members of NIC fraternities were big winners at the Country Music Awards show and several other Greeks were award nominees. Receiving the Vocal Group of the Year award was Lady Antebellum, featuring co-lead singer Charles Kelley, a Lambda Chi Alpha from Georgia. Also nominated in the same category was the Zac Brown Band, led byZac Brown, member of Kappa Alpha Order at West Georgia. Brown's group also received nominations for best single and song ("Cold Weather") and Album of the Year ("You Get What You Give").
The other major Greek winner was Kenny Chesney, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha from East Tennessee State, who, along with singer Grace Potter, won Music Video of the Year for "You and Tequila". Chesney also was a nominee for Male Vocalist of the Year. One of the five nominees for Best New Artist of the year was Luke Bryan, a member of Sigma Chi at Georgia Southern.
Alpha Delta Phi Football Star’s Story Featured in Sports Illustrated
The nine page feature story in the November 7th issue of Sports Illustrated is on the brief life of one of Williams College's football greats, Mike Reily, whose number 50 jersey will be retired at the school's November 12th Homecoming game. Reily was a three-year starter at center and a third team small college All-American who was popular on campus and president of the Alpha Delta Phi chapter. He was struck by Hodgkin's disease after his junior football season but fought back to co-captain his team as a senior. After graduating in June of 1964, he lived just 41 days after his graduation from Williams. After his final football game, his coach and the team equipment manager decided to pack his three game jerseys in a box. Over the next 47 football seasons, five more head coaches and six more equipment managers quietly honored the fact that there was no number 50 on the squad.
In October of 2010, several of Mike Reily's teammates wondered why his name was not included on a list of the school's all-time greats on Williams' football website. Several athletic department people got involved and an assistant coach, along with the current equipment manager, spotted an old cardboard box on a shelf in the equipment room and checked it out. The torn box, which was taped up, had writing on the box, in two places, saying FOOTBALL #50 DO NOT ISSUE. It was determined that Williams had never retired a football jersey number and the contents revealed that the jerseys had been worn by Reily. With the contents of the box resolved, the athletic department decided to honor Reily's memory this fall by retiring their first jersey and establishing the Michael Meredith Reily '64 Award for the football player who, in the estimation of his teammates and the equipment manager, best exemplifies the qualities of performance, leadership and character.
Phi Psi, Robert J. Garagiola, to run for Congress
Maryland Senate Majority Leader, Robert J. Garagiola, member of Phi Kappa Psi, will run for Maryland's 6th Congressional District. Garagiola served as chapter president and as a District Archon, one of six undergraduate national Phi Psi board members, during his time at Rutgers University. He will run against incumbent Roscoe Bartlett, the second oldest serving member of the House of Representatives.
Sigma Chi’s Bo Van Pelt Wins Asia Pacific Classic
Bo Van Pelt, a member of Sigma Chi at Oklahoma State University, won his first golf tournament since 2009 by birdying five of the last eight holes for a 7-under 64 to earn $1,300,000. His four-round total of 261 was 23 under par and included two 64's in the hot and humid conditions of Selangor, Malaysia. The second-year Asia Pacific event was sanctioned by both the PGA Tour and Asian Tour.
Sigma Chi Luke Donald Passes Six Million in Earnings
The PGA Tour's top golfer of the year, Luke Donald of Sigma Chi at Northwestern, ran off six consecutive birdies on the back nine Sunday and shot 64 to win the Children's Miracle Network Classic in Lake Buena, Florida. His winner's share of $846,000 bumped him up to $6,683,214 as the PGA Tour's top winner and he hopes to become the first player to lead the money list on the PGA and European tours in the same year. Donald also has won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average and is the first player since 1996 to win the PGA money title on the final day of the season.
