National Student Athlete Day highlights Hoosiers

According to the National Student-Athlete Day’s Web site, National Student-Athlete Day has been celebrated annually on April 6 since 1987. \nThe day is meant to celebrate the commitment to athletics put forth by student athletes while in college, according to information from the Web site. Making significant contributions to world record books, national teams and businesses worldwide, IU athletes have put in numerous hours towards their respective sports and in the classroom to excel and compete for the Cream and Crimson.\nTaking a day to recognize what our Hoosier student athletes accomplish each day is a fitting trade for the substantial number of volunteer hours, community outreach programs and tutoring those student athletes give back. \nThe sporting events themselves thrive on this beautiful Bloomington campus. \nSaturdays in the fall are dedicated to tailgating for the football game, while the winter cold is offset by the March Madness heat.\nSpring is blossoming with outdoor sports like rowing, baseball, tennis and golf, and while students are often seen jogging around campus at this time of year, the weight rooms in Assembly Hall and the football stadium house the same student athletes who train year round to improve themselves and their teams.\nApril 6 is a great way to note the balance between athletics and academics. Mattie White, the CHAMPS/Life Skills Coordinator, who organized the events surrounding the day, recognizes the frenetic nature of college students and offers the unabashed guidance that is taken to heart. \nMeeting with athletic team representatives, Mattie and Korinth Patterson lead the Student Athlete Academic Counsel to discuss policy issues, outreach programs and sports event marketing in a sector where IU teams are heard and plans are implemented.\nNow that April 6 has passed and student athletes have been recognized for their time management and commitment, it’s back to sports as usual and the fight for IU to stay on top.