Play With The Pros This Weekend in Mount Pleasant
July 18, 2003
MOUNT PLEASANT - A scholarship to honor a Central Michigan University faculty member who was the last official casualty of the Vietnam War will get a fund-raising boost from some renowned sporting greats and university alumni.
The four-day "Playing with the Pros" weekend, scheduled for Sept. 4 to 8 at the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort, will feature CMU alumni and NFL stars Gary Hogeboom and Ray Bentley to headline the list of alumni and former professional athletes who will help raise money for the William B. Nolde Scholarship Fund at CMU. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the scholarship.
Activities include a celebrity golf tournament, softball game and dinner, interactive on-field and locker-room experiences and film sessions with the legends, and attendance at a CMU football game.
The event is co-sponsored by Sports Revenue and Enterprises LLC, a Tampa-based event sports management company, CMU's College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, and CMU Athletics. Mount Pleasant General Agency is the Program's Title Corporate Sponsor.
Some of CMU's all-time best athletes as well as memorable players from the Detroit Tigers, Red Wings and Lions will gather for a weekend of golf, football and fun. In addition to Hogeboom and Bentley, other athletes confirmed include former Tigers Dan Petry, Milt Wilcox, Jason Thompson, Dave Rozema and Randy O'Neil, plus former NBA greats Artis Gilmore and Otis Birdsong. Other athletes expected to attend include Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, PGA tour legend Doug Sanders and many more.
 Former NFL quarterback and CMU alum Gary Hogeboom is also listed as one of the weekend's participants.  |
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"The concept of a sports fantasy program and other similar events is something I have been involved with for more than a decade," said Bart Nolde, president and chief executive officer of Sports Revenue and Enterprises. "But to hold an event with athletes from a university and bring back the alumni of the school with the legends to benefit the school, instead of a pro team or league, is a new and exciting spin. It's going to be a great event for everyone."
The William B. Nolde Scholarship Fund was created to benefit CMU ROTC students. It is named in honor of Col. William B. Nolde, a former instructor in CMU's military science department who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1973 and is considered the last official casualty of the war.
He died just hours before the final cease-fire was signed.
Col. Nolde's son, Bart, founded Sports Revenue and Enterprises in 2002. Key partners involved with the company include Super Bowl-winning athletes Brad Johnson and Anthony "Booger" McFarland, as well as NFL quarterback Shane Matthews and former defensive all-pro Brad Culpepper.
For registration or other information about the event and upcoming events at other NCAA Division I colleges and universities, visit www.legendsandalumni.com on the Web or call (877) alumni2.