The United Negro College Fund Hosted the 4th Annual UNCF Celebrity Tennis Pro-Am and Golf Tournament

The College Fund (UNCF)
Tuesday, 16 May 2000

Professional Athletes, Celebrities and Corporations Join Forces To Raise $400,000 for Higher Education

Fairfax, VA - The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) hosted its 4th Annual Celebrity Tennis Pro-Am and Golf Tournament at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Palm Springs, Ca., from Thursday, April 27th through Sunday, April 30th. The tournament was co-hosted by tennis greats Zina Garrison and MaliVai Washington, with proceeds benefiting the 39 UNCF member institutions.

During the tournament, students representing tennis and golf teams from various UNCF colleges and universities had the opportunity to pair up with corporate leaders and professional athletes in golf and tennis competition. Tournament participants also took part in a tennis clinic lead by pros such as Pam Shriver, Lori McNeil, Brian Shelton, Roger Smith, Katrina Adams, Mary Carello and others.

Celebrity guests attending the event included: actors Suzzanne Douglas, and Tim and Daphne Reid; recording artist Regina Belle, comedian A J Jamal and retired sports figures such as Clyde Drexler, George Gervin, Sam Jones, and Maurice Lucas. Other participants include former New York City Mayor, David Dinkins and Mayor Sharpe James of Newark, New Jersey.

"Our annual tournament provides an excellent opportunity for individuals to have fun while helping UNCF to raise funds for its member institutions, and to provide financial assistance to deserving young men and women who want to go college," said William H. Gray, III, president and CEO, UNCF.

Sponsors and supporting organizations for the event included: Pontiac-GMC, MBNA, BET, The Coca-Cola Company, American Airlines, Chase, Miller Brewing Company, MONY, Los Angeles Dodgers, Nestle, USA, Aetna US Healthcare, desert post WEEKLY, and KJJZ-102 FM.

"All of us at MBNA are committed to making sure that young people who work hard are given a chance to obtain a college degree, and we are pleased to support UNCF in its efforts to help students overcome financial challenges," said Charlie Moloney, Sr. Executive Vice President.

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is the nation's oldest and most successful African American higher education assistance organization. UNCF is a fundraising consortium of 39 private, fully accredited, four-year historically black colleges and universities. As an educational assistance organization, UNCF provides research and publications on higher education and has raised over $1.5 billion to administer over 450 programs annually, assist the colleges in obtaining grants for special projects, coordinate student and faculty enrichment programs, and facilitate access to state-of-the-art technology for students and faculty. Since 1944, UNCF has promoted higher education achievement in the African American community and has helped more than 300,000 men and women earn undergraduate and graduate degrees.

For more information, or to contact The College Fund (UNCF), see their website at: www.uncf.org