The United Negro College Fund To Host the 6th Annual UNCF/MBNA Celebrity Golf and Tennis Pro-Am Tournament

The College Fund (UNCF)
Thursday, 28 March 2002

Professional Athletes, Celebrities and Corporations Join Forces To Raise Money for Higher Education

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) will host the 6th Annual UNCF/MBNA Celebrity Golf and Tennis Pro-Am Tournament at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas in Irving, TX April 4 - 7. Proceeds from the tournament will go to benefit UNCF's 39 member colleges and universities and the 450 scholarship and internship programs administered by UNCF.

The activity-filled weekend will feature a two-day golf and tennis tournament that will pair celebrities, sponsors, and professional athletes with students representing the tennis and golf teams from UNCF colleges and universities. In addition, there will be a silent auction, tennis and golf clinics, a golf pairing party and welcome reception, and a Celebrity Dinner & Dance with comedian, Billy D. Washington, and the legendary Four-Tops.

"This tournament provides an excellent opportunity for our supporters to have fun while helping UNCF raise money for our member colleges and universities and for the hard-working young men and women that we support," said William H. Gray, III, president and CEO, UNCF. "It also gives our talented students an opportunity to showcase their skills in areas outside of the classroom," he continued.

The tennis clinic, which will take place on Saturday (4/6/02) at 8:00am, will involve approximately 50 low-income students selected by the Dallas Tennis Association. These students will have the opportunity to receive personal instruction from various tennis pros, such as Roger Smith, Rodney Harmon, and Katrina Adams.

Celebrity guests attending the tournament will include sports figures such as Emmitt Smith, Edward McDaniel, as well as retired professional athletes including George Gervin, Maurice Lucas, Sam Jones, Connie Hawkins, Lucius Allen, Kellen Winslow, and Harry Carson. Other notable guests include actors, Malik Yoba, actress Dawnn Lewis, and actor/comedian Chris Spencer; former New York City Mayor, David Dinkins; and ESPN sports anchor, Stuart Scott and many more.

Every year, the most talented golf and tennis players at UNCF member colleges and universities are invited to compete in the tournament and interact with professional athletes.

Students from the following schools will participate in this year's tournament: Bethune-Cookman College, Stillman College, Clark Atlanta University, Johnson C. Smith University, Virginia Union University, Dillard University, Xavier University, and Rust College.

Corporate sponsors for the tournament include: MBNA, JPMorganChase, The Coca-Cola Company, American Airlines, The MONY Group, Nestle, Ford Motor Company, Prudential Financial, Wyndham International, AT&T, Michelob Light and Guinness UDV. The official media sponsors are The Dallas Weekly, K104, KKDA, 105.7 KRNB, and TXCN Cable.

"We are committed to making sure that deserving young people have the opportunity to pursue higher education, and are pleased to be this year's Title Sponsor, " said David Resurreccion, regional executive vice president of MBNA.

MBNA is the world's largest independent credit card issuer with more than $97.5 billion of loans under management and 27,000 employees worldwide. The company also provides retail deposit, consumer loans, and insurance products. MBNA is committed to equal opportunities, a diverse workforce, and recognizes that education is a powerful tool to strengthen the character and capability of America's young people. MBNA has been a partner of UNCF for more than 5 years.

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 $1.8 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