BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Five Texas track and field student-athletes have been named to the All-SEC Outdoor Track and Field teams on Tuesday, the conference announced. 

The Longhorns saw Akala Garrett, Nina Ndubuisi and Kendrick Smallwood all earn All-SEC First Team honors after winning an individual SEC title over the weekend. Ndubuisi made Texas history becoming the first-ever Longhorn to win an SEC title in track and field after throwing a personal best mark of 18.91m (62-0.50). The throw also took down a 25-year program record. 

Smallwood later became the first male to win an SEC track title for Texas after winning the 110-meter hurdles in a new personal best time of 13.13. The time broke his previous Texas record he set the day before of 13.25. The junior now holds the five fastest times in school history. 

Garrett claimed the women’s 400-meter hurdles title with a time of 54.84 – the 8^th fastest time in school history. She now has back-to-back conference titles after winning the Big 12 title her freshman season. 

Kody Blackwood earned All-SEC Second Team honors after finishing as the runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles. He broke his previous best time by .01 second (48.78) and is the third fastest to run the 400mH at UT. 

Elizabeth Stockman was the final Longhorn to earn All-SEC honors earning Third Team recognition after winning the bronze medal in the women’s 1500-meter. Stockman used a powerful 200-meter kick to secure third place with her time of 4:20.88. 

First Team

Nina Ndubuisi 

Kendrick Smallwood 

Akala Garrett 

Second Team 

Kody Blackwood 

Third Team

Elizabeth Stockman

GREENWOOD, Ind. (May 20, 2025) – Howard University Department of Athletics was recognized in the 2024–25 CSC (College Sports Communicators) Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest, thanks to articles written by consultant Rob Knox.
 
Knox’s story, “Growing the Game: Alexis Joseph,” was the District 2 winner (Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia & District of Columbia) for Social Justice/Diversity – University Division. The article highlight’s Howard assistant women’s lacrosse coach and former Duke University athlete, Alexis Joseph, who is dedicated to increasing the representation of Black women in lacrosse by not only introducing the sport into underserved communities but also providing the necessary support structures to help them thrive.
 
“I am honored to be recognized in the CSC Fred Stabley Jr. Writing Contest,” Knox stated. “It is a privilege to tell stories that reflect the excellence of Howard University Athletics. I am grateful to the student-athletes and staff for their trust and to Chevonne Mansfield and Kery Davis for the opportunity to share my passion for storytelling. Howard’s legacy is powerful and I am proud to help bring it to life.”
 
Knox was also acknowledged as runner – up in two District 2 University Division categories:

• Coach/Administrator Profile: “Cape Verde in Qatar: Latroya Pina,” a captivating story about former Howard swimmer Latroya Pina, who represented Cape Verde at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships while balancing her role as an academic counselor at Howard and pursuing a doctoral degree in biology.
• Historical Feature: “Forged by Adversity: Howard Men’s Soccer 1974 National Team,” a powerful tribute to the undefeated Howard Men’s Soccer team that claimed redemption and a national championship after the NCAA controversially stripped their 1971 title, highlighting their resilience in the fight for justice and equity in college athletics.

 
Knox is a member of the Lincoln University and Chester High School Athletic Hall of Fames and currently serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Communications at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Knox has been named the 2011 College CoSIDA Rising Star Award winner and previously won four Fred Stabley, Jr. writing awards.
 
The Fred Stabley Sr. Writing Contest recognizes the top writing and storytelling content in seven different categories from current 2024-25 CSC members. CSC members in all eight districts submitted nearly 500 articles in seven categories. District winners advance to the national ballot, with national winners in each of the seven categories to be announced later this month.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.

SEATTLE – Season tickets for the 2025 Washington volleyball season are now on sale.

The Huskies’ debut season in the Big Ten Conference was highlighted by the first sellout in program history, a 3-2 win over No. 10 Oregon at Alaska Airlines Arena, and the team’s 22^nd NCAA appearance in 23 years.

A young core returns for the Dawgs, led by 2024 All-Big Ten Second Team honoree, Kierstyn Barton, and All-Freshman recipient, Julia Hunt. Coach Leslie Gabriel signed a pair of transfers and three freshmen to bolster the roster for the 2025 season.

Fans can look forward to home matches against Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, UCLA and USC. The full schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

Season Tickets

UW Volleyball supporters can now lock in seats for the upcoming season that include the best seats at the best price for all home games! Season ticket holders also receive the following benefits:

• Priority to purchase tickets to postseason UW Volleyball matches
• Exclusive Season Ticket Holder-only events
• Special offers on select single game tickets
• A dedicated account representative to help with ticket-related needs
• Discounts at select Husky Athletics local partners

Reserved season tickets are $250 for lower sideline seats and $220 for lower baseline/upper sideline. General admission seating is available for just $160.

Group Tickets

Interested in group tickets? With a group of 10 or more people, fans receive discounts off single game ticket pricing, group seating and special group benefits and experiences. Group Tickets provide a great way to spend a birthday, business outing, office party, club/team event, or family gathering at a UW Volleyball game! Learn more here or call the Husky Ticket Office at 206-543-2200 ext. 2 to get started.

 

Flex Plans

Customizable Flex Plan packages and single game tickets will go on sale later this summer.

 

For general ticket interest, call the Husky Ticket Office at 206-543-2200 ext. 2 or email tickets@uw.edu to speak with a ticket representative.

 

Want to talk through your options? Fill out the Ticket Interest form and one of our representatives will work with you directly to get the perfect package.

 

For schedule updates and more, follow @UWVolleyball on X/Twitter and Instagram.

 

Related Links

• Fuel UW student-athletes’ success in this new era and support the Go BIG! Fund: Support Husky Athletics
• Montlake Futures empowers student-athletes by leveraging NIL for community impact: Learn more
• Shop at the official online store of Husky Athletics: Shop for Gear

TAMPA, Fla. (May 20, 2025) – Michael Kelly, USF’s vice president for athletics, has enjoyed a Forrest Gump-like career in sports, working with premier events such as the Super Bowl, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four and the College Football Playoff.

Last Thursday at USF’s Muma College of Business, Kelly was reunited with three of the men who helped to shape his lifetime of big-ticket sports experiences.

Kelly moderated an AMP (Academic Meets Practice) panel discussion — “Mega-Events and the Making of a Sports Destination: Leadership, Community, and the Business of Hosting” — that included who he described as “three of the true pioneers and icons of the sports event business.”

 

• Jim Steeg, the former NFL senior vice president of special events who oversaw the Super Bowl for 26 years. Kelly worked as president of the Super Bowl host committees in Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami.
• Bill Hancock, the first full-time director of the Final Four who became executive director of college football’s Bowl Championship Series, then the College Football Playoff. Kelly was executive director of the Tampa Bay organizing committee for the 1999 Final Four at Tropicana Field. Then he became Hancock’s first CFP hire, working as chief operating officer from 2012-18 before joining USF.
• Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission. Kelly was a USF associate athletic director in 2001-02, when Higgins worked in event management. Kelly continues to work closely with Higgins because USF is the host institution for many events the TBSC brings to Tampa Bay, such as the NCAA Women’s Final Four, the NCAA Volleyball Championships and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

“These three gentlemen can give us a true picture of how major sports events began in Tampa Bay, where they are today and how USF has contributed to that growth … and the whole thing is quite a fascinating story,” Kelly said.

Tampa Bay: Ideal For Big Events

Hancock said sports-event organizers generally need excellence in four key areas — airport, stadium/arena, hotels and a convention center — and the Tampa Bay area checks all those boxes.

“There’s a fifth one that’s so important and it’s so hard to gauge,” Hancock said. “It’s the heart and soul of the city willing to put on the event. And the heart and soul is sitting right here (Higgins). But even more, you are a big old small town, where people show up, roll up their sleeves and get things done.”

“It’s about the people, what they bring to it, and how they care,” Steeg said. “You have a lot of people here who have lived here their whole lives and they’re ingrained in the community. It’s important to them to see the community grow. It’s a can-do attitude. Tampa is a place where, if you need to get something done, you can walk in and talk to the mayor or the police chief. And it will get done.”

Booming Business: Sports Tourism

Higgins said when he joined the TBSC some 21 years ago, there were approximately 100 sports commissions. Now there are 650 … and counting.

“Communities everywhere have seen the return on investment when it comes to the impact of sporting events,” Higgins said. “You think about economic impact, hotel visitation, director visitor spending. But it’s also the social impact, how these events galvanize the community as well as the stage that these events put your community on.

“When we evaluate events, we always look at those three buckets — economic impact, social impact, plus marketing and visibility that the community will receive.”

From November through early May, Higgins pointed to the diversity of sporting events hosted in Tampa Bay.

In November, the Red Bull Flugtag attracted nearly 100,000 people (and millions of YouTube views) to the Tampa Convention Center. In February, it was the largest crowd (42,017) to witness a soccer match at Raymond James Stadium, when Lionel Messi appeared. In March, back at Ray-Jay, it was the Savannah Bananas attracting 65,000 fans. In April at Amalie Arena, it was the NCAA Women’s Final Four and more sellout crowds. Most recently, more than 20,000 cheerleaders descended upon downtown Tampa for the Varsity Spirit competition.

“It has been a great run,” Higgins said. “And it all really started with these guys (Steeg and Hancock) believing in our community and giving us this first chance that allowed us to build up the credibility to all these different events.”

Higgins said the TBSC has been affiliated with 99 different events over the last 12 months that created more than 232,000 hotel room nights.

“It means our 60,000 tourism and hospitality employees remain employed and we continue to refuel the engine,” Higgins said. “And it also probably means that we don’t have to pay a state income tax because we’re able to lean on tourism the way that we do to generate revenue for our community.”

Tampa’s First Super Bowl

Super Bowl XVII — Raiders 38, Redskins 9 — was held at Tampa Stadium in 1984. The event has returned four times (including the last three at Ray-Jay).

But the first one?

It actually dates back to 1974, when the NFL awarded a franchise (which became the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) to Tampa.

“Leonard Levy (Tampa’s primary civic activist) had the vision,” Steeg said. “The franchise had literally just been awarded in New York and Leonard said, ‘OK, when do we get a Super Bowl?’ That’s when Don Weiss, executive director of the NFL, told Leonard, ‘As soon as you get a hotel room.’

“So in 1981, they broke ground on the Downtown Hyatt, which was really the city’s first big hotel. That meant a Super Bowl was feasible. But there weren’t many hotels. People stayed on Clearwater Beach, St. Pete Beach, even over in Orlando.

“As I walk around downtown (Tampa), I keep looking around and saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe the things that exist now.’ A lot has changed. The Bucs helped to put Tampa on the map. When the Super Bowl came, the Corporate Hospitality Village and the NFL Experience really started here. Nowadays, you don’t see any event of consequence without those elements. We started doing concerts in Tampa and we had Frank Sinatra (at the USF Sun Dome).

“Tampa’s Host Committee entertained all of the CEOs and put out the red carpet, trying to get their business. Within the next 30 months of Tampa’s first Super Bowl, more than 6,500 hotel rooms were added to Tampa. So it really helped to develop the place.”

Final Four At The Trop

Tropicana Field, the (under-repair) home of the Tampa Bay Rays, hosted the 1999 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four.

It really happened.

“And it was great,” Hancock said. “We had a great event over there. The weather was fantastic and everyone had a good time.”

It became a learning experience for the NCAA.

The 1998 South Regional was also held at the Trop, which was being frantically renovated to accommodate the first-year Rays expansion team, and heavy rains caused flooding in some of the building’s ancillary areas, including the media interview room.

“We had to adjust … but no one got electrocuted,” Hancock said with a laugh.

Nerves were frayed, but the 1999 USF-hosted event went off without a hitch, although it had a non-traditional approach with coaches and media staying in Tampa, then  being transported to St. Petersburg.

Higgins, then at USF, was the practice-court coordinator, making sure the teams didn’t get on the courts even one second too early (at Hancock’s behest) and he remembers the 1999 Final Four as “the event that really got me hooked on this industry.”

It was a big event — in a big venue.

“The big growth of the Final Four was taking it away from a conventional arena and moving it into a stadium (first in 1982 with the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans),” Hancock said. “It’s pretty easy to do in a football stadium, but moving a basketball court and seating for the fans into a baseball stadium was a phenomenal undertaking. But we built seating around the court and it was all fine.

“I also have great memories of all the events we had in the Tampa Bay area around that Final Four. Back when I started in the business, you just unlocked the stadium, people went in and watched the game, then they went home. We were so silly. Now you have fan festivals and concerts. Tampa Bay was right in the middle of all those changes, which are so standard now.”

Birth Of The CFP

Hancock jumped from the Final Four to the BCS, which matched No. 1 vs. No. 2 in college football, but it always seemed to create controversy. Then came a major milestone: College football officials voted to stage an annual four-team championship playoff.

“I was the only employee when it started,” Hancock said. “And my bosses said, ‘Well, you need to get a staff. You need an office. You need a selection committee.’ So the first person we hired to join the staff was a guy named Michael Kelly, who was the best in the business and who I wanted from day one.

“Michael joined me in putting all that together. We hired marketing people to help us select the name of the event. There was all kinds of speculation what the name might be. Maybe the College Super Bowl? Well, they sent me to a news conference in Pasadena so I could announce the name of the event. All these writers and TV people were there. I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the name of the new event is going to be … the College Football Playoff.’ And the reporter from San Antonio tweeted immediately, ‘If Bill Hancock had a dog, its name would be … ‘Dog.”’

Tampa was awarded the third CFP Championship Game, but that was partially due to a relentless pursuit of the first game (which went to heavily favored Dallas). Higgins said the request for proposal was 250 pages. Tampa’s response was 8,000 pages … and it was hand-delivered to CFP headquarters. Higgins said he learned about that level of commitment — and selling your community through relationships — from Levy.

“But when the bids were opened for the second and third game — and everybody was ready to throw their hat in the ring — we already had a head start on paper,” Higgins said. “We made it closer than expected (for the first-game bid, won by Dallas).

“Leonard always taught us that, no matter what, you tell your story. You tell your story, then you tell your story and when you get tired of telling your story, you tell it again. We were fortunate to be blessed with the opportunity (of hosting the 2017 CFP title game). It was the debut of our Riverwalk. It created a fan experience that was linear throughout the parks. It showcased our waterway and how much our community had transformed.”

When Things Go Wrong

Tampa’s 1991 Super Bowl XXV, staged as the Gulf War broke out, had complications and security concerns. But everything played out perfectly, security was tight, and Whitney Houston delivered a National Anthem for the ages.

What almost no one say: One day before the game, the NFL had concerns. At Tampa Stadium, the NFL logo in the middle of the field was coming up in everyone’s cleats because none of the grass seed had properly grown following the Hall of Fame Bowl held on Jan. 1.

George Toma, the NFL’s groundskeeping consultant, told Steeg he had to replace the middle-field turf … about 26 hours before kickoff.

Steeg couldn’t believe it. “How?” he said.

“Don’t worry,” Toma said. “I’ll get it done.”

Sure enough, on game day, the field had been redone. It was perfect. There were no problems.

Steeg had to ask: Where did you get that turf?

Toma just smiled. “Well, if you were the athletic director at the University of Tampa, you probably woke up on Monday morning and wondered where your soccer field went.”

That story reminded Higgins of 2003, when Tampa hosted the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament early rounds in downtown Tampa. The first game — Auburn vs. Saint Joseph’s — was about to go live throughout the nation.

Fifteen minutes out, the sideline reporters started flicking away water. It was raining inside. The roof had sprung a leak and the court was taking on some water.

The facility manager told a panicked Higgins that a lightning rod had likely been struck, causing the leak.

“This has to be fixed right now,” Higgins said with the CBS cameras already poised. “There isn’t an option.”

When CBS went live, the court was dry. The leak had stopped. Everything was fine. He saw the facility manager, gave him a hug and asked what happened.

“Tri-polymer catch basin … look up,” he said.

Higgins looked to the roof. And there, hanging by a rope from the catwalk, was a plastic bucket, catching the dripping leak.

“You can either be part of the problem or part of the solution … and he chose to be part of the solution,” Higgins said. “Sometimes in this business, you’ve got to be creative.”

Epilogue

Afterward, Kelly could only marvel at the experience and pedigree of the panel that visited USF.

“The stories could go on forever,” Kelly said. “At USF, we’re honored to be part of it. It’s a long, distinguished history of hosting big sporting events to benefit this community. That’s part of our legacy and part of our future.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK [May 20, 2025] — The Tunnel to Towers Foundation today announced the expansion of its T2T Student-Athlete Advocate Program, adding two new students to the growing initiative designed to connect current student-athletes to the foundation’s mission and ensure young Americans “Never Forget” the sacrifices made by first responders and military members.

The two students, Caitlin Collins, a freshman lacrosse player at Rutgers University and Jack Holl, a senior water polo player at Pennsylvania State University-Behrend, stand alongside an elite roster of student-athletes from across the country representing the Foundation. 

The program, launched in September 2021, is designed to help current student-athletes expand their personal brands while promoting the organization’s mission to honor first responders, military veterans, and their families. To date, 18 student-athletes and young professionals have collaborated with the foundation to participate in the initiative.

“We are excited to expand the Tunnel to Towers Foundation Student-Athlete Advocate Program and have Jack and Caitlin join the ranks of other incredible student athletes across the nation to raise awareness of the Foundation’s mission to do good,” said Tunnel to Towers CEO and Chairman Frank Siller. “Not only are they champions in their respective sports, but they are becoming champions for America’s military and first responder families. Their commitment inspires hope and ensures the legacy of our fallen heroes lives on.” 

On July 1, 2021, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that all student-athletes would have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image, and likeness. Student-athletes can now engage in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) activities consistent with the state’s law where the school is located. 

Chosen Tunnel to Towers Foundation Student-Athlete Advocates are expected to familiarize themselves with the organization’s mission and talking points, participate in T2T events across the country, and engage with T2T followers through content creation on the Foundation’s website and social media channels.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is dedicated to honoring the sacrifice of FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. For over 20 years, the Foundation has supported our nation’s first responders, veterans, and their families by providing these heroes and the families they leave behind with mortgage-free homes. 

To date, Tunnel to Towers has delivered over 1,500 mortgage-free homes to our nation’s heroes and committed over $1 billion across all of our programs.  

This year, the Foundation is delivering over 200 mortgage-free homes to catastrophically injured veterans and first responders, Gold Star families, and families of first responders who leave behind young children. Tunnel to Towers is also committed to eradicating veteran homelessness, providing over 10,000 of America’s homeless veterans with housing assistance and services to date.

For more information on the student-athletes:

Caitlin Collins is a freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey and a first-year student-athlete on the Women’s Lacrosse team this spring. She hails from Morristown, New Jersey, and comes from a long line of firefighters in her family. She is the daughter of a firefighter captain, granddaughter of a retired firefighter and great granddaughter of a former battalion chief. Caitlin’s personal experience growing up with first responders inspired her to become a T2T Student-Athlete Advocate and demonstrate to young Americans what it means to do good.

“I am very passionate about Tunnel to Towers and how they help the families of fallen military and first responders, especially because I grew up visiting my father’s fire station and have seen firsthand how much of an impact the organization makes on families and their communities. I am honored to represent the Tunnel to Towers Foundation as a member of its Student-Athlete Advocate Program, and I am thrilled by the opportunity to continue spreading its mission of doing good among my Gen Z peers.” – Caitlin Collins, Rutgers University Women’s Lacrosse

Jack Holl is a senior at Pennsylvania State University-Behrend, where he is positioned in center forward and spent two years as captain and as a two-time All-American for the Men’s Water Polo team. Jack is originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, and comes from a large family with deep roots in the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). His father tragically lost his best friend, FDNY firefighter John Daniel Marshall, on 9/11 and raised Jack to understand the sacrifice of our heroes who gave their lives that day.

“From a young age, my father instilled in me a profound respect for all first responders and members of our armed forces and emphasized the importance of supporting those who protect us. I am proud to join Tunnel to Towers Student-Athlete Advocate Program to honor and Never Forget the memory of his best friend, John Daniel Marshall, and all of the heroes who make sacrifices each and every day to keep our country and communities safe.”– Jack Holl, Pennsylvania State University Men’s Water Polo

Follow @Tunnel2Towers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Additional assets for coverage are available upon request.