FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 28, 2006
BIG ORANGE TIPOFF CLUB SEASON FINALE DINNER TOMORROW NIGHT
The Big Orange Tipoff Club is proud to announce its season finale pre-game bash tomorrow evening, Wednesday, March 1, at 5:00 p.m., at a larger venue at The Foundry at Worlds Fair Park in Downtown Knoxville, where a buffet dinner will be served. Gail Goodrich, an NBA Hall of Famer along with Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain with the Los Angeles Lakers, and an NCAA National Champion with Coach John Woodens UCLA Bruins, will be the featured keynote speaker.
Goodrich will be introduced by Olympic bronze medalist Bill Schmidt, former Vice President of Gatorade Worldwide Sports Marketing and former Chief Executive Officer of Oakley. Currently President of Pegasus Marketing, and an Adjunct Exercise, Sport, & Leisure Studies Professor at The University of Tennessee, Bill worked with Gail at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles where Schmidt was Vice President of Sports.
Please plan to arrive as early as possible for this meeting to avoid the crunch, since it is a sellout. The Foundry will open the cash bars at 4:30 p.m. and the buffet lines at 5:00 p.m. to accommodate what is expected to be an overflow standing-room-only crowd to hear Gail, who will be speaking just prior to the big Tennessee-Kentucky mens Senior Night basketball game at Thompson-Boling Arena that will be on Jefferson Pilot Sports TV tomorrow night. The program starts promptly at 6:00 p.m., and will conclude by 7:00 p.m., in plenty of time to get to the big game, since it has a late 8:00 p.m. tipoff time and the Foundry is only a short 5-minute ride away from the arena.
The UT cheerleaders and the Big Orange Banditos Band will be on hand as well, making it a festive pre-game pep rally. Dress is game casual and very informal. Just wear whatever you normally wear to a game, jeans, sweater, etc. A special commemorative "thank you" collectible gift will be given to everyone that you don't want to miss.
UT Coach Bruce Pearl will be there to meet and greet everyone prior to the dinner and will say a few words before he has to go to the arena for the game. We are also hoping to have UT Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt there as well tomorrow night before she goes to Little Rock for the SEC Womens Tournament.
Parking will be free and plentiful. Roving photographers will be there to take individual, group, and candid photos that you will be able to purchase as souvenirs. We expect many former players to attend, including former UT and NBA star Dale Ellis, as well as surprise celebrity guests.
There will be a silent auction of 10 autographed UT basketballs that will end promptly at 6:00 p.m. They will include 3 balls that have been signed by all of our 2006 Big Orange Tipoff Club speakers for this inaugural year, including John Ward, Bruce Pearl, Pat Summitt, Jennifer Azzi, Don DeVoe, Sonny Smith, Mike DeCourcy, and Gail Goodrich. There will also be 2 balls that have been signed by the entire UT mens basketball coach staff and 2 balls that have been signed by the entire Lady Vols basketball coaching staff. There will be 2 official NBA balls signed by our keynote speaker, Gail Goodrich. Finally, there will be a ball signed by the UT lettermen from the 1970s that were honored at the UT-Arkansas game on Saturday. All proceeds from this silent auction are to benefit amateur athletics. All auction winners will be provided with a receipt for tax purposes from our non-profit corporation.
THIS WEEKS FEATURED KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Left-handed guard Gail Goodrich, who many said was too small to play college basketball and too frail to play professionally, led two of the most successful teams in the history of the game at both levels. He guided the 1964 UCLA Bruins to a 30-0 record and the National Championship and the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers to a 69-13 record and the NBA World Championship.
Gail was a fiery competitor, an intelligent ball-handler, and a crafty player with great court vision. He played for Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden in college and won two National Championships under him. He was UCLAs all-time leading scorer with 1,690 points, leading the league in scoring, the first Bruin ever to do that. He was named Co-Player of the Year, along with Bill Bradley, his senior season at UCLA, as well as an All-American.
Drafted by the Lakers, he played 14 seasons in the NBA with them and the Phoenix Suns. He led Los Angeles to the title just a year after being traded back to the Lakers by the Suns. He also played in the NBA All-Star Game five times.
Goodrich and Jerry West remain the highest scoring guard tandem in NBA history. Gail was the teams leading scorer when Los Angeles won the World Championship, and led the Lakers to an NBA-record 33-game winning streak that year, as well as an NBA-record 69 wins overall. His Number 25 jersey was retired a decade ago.
CLUB MEMBERSHIP: The Club invites you to get membership and corporate sponsorship information for next season by calling President Lloyd Richardson at (865) 588-5433, by faxing a request to (865) 588-2083, by e-mailing at tipoff@utfan.com , or by visiting our website at www.utfan.com/tipoff .
Legendary former UT Head Basketball Coach Ray Mears is an Honorary Member. Many members of the UT athletics administration, coaches, etc., are in attendance regularly.
All media are invited to attend and will have the opportunity to record and film any portion of the meeting, ask questions of Goodrich in a public forum at the conclusion of his remarks, and will be able to interview him, as time allows, on both a group and individual basis. Each of our meetings so far has been covered extensively by print and broadcast media, including TV stations and several newspapers.
All media are also invited to call (865) 522-8547 to schedule radio, television, and newspaper interviews with various Big Orange Tipoff Club steering committee members, including Charles W. Morgan, Gary D. Rowcliffe, Barry J. Smith, Christy Gentry, Michael J. Turner, Mark Hancock, and Club Historian R. Larry Smith regarding the club, its promotion of UT basketball, its purposes, its sponsoring of awards and contributions to scholarships, and its charitable endeavors in supporting college and amateur athletics in East Tennessee. Steering committee members have been making radio and television appearances and doing newspaper interviews regularly, and are available for speaking engagements to any groups.
BIG ORANGE TIPOFF CLUB SEASON FINALE DINNER TOMORROW NIGHT
The Big Orange Tipoff Club is proud to announce its season finale pre-game bash tomorrow evening, Wednesday, March 1, at 5:00 p.m., at a larger venue at The Foundry at Worlds Fair Park in Downtown Knoxville, where a buffet dinner will be served. Gail Goodrich, an NBA Hall of Famer along with Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain with the Los Angeles Lakers, and an NCAA National Champion with Coach John Woodens UCLA Bruins, will be the featured keynote speaker.
Goodrich will be introduced by Olympic bronze medalist Bill Schmidt, former Vice President of Gatorade Worldwide Sports Marketing and former Chief Executive Officer of Oakley. Currently President of Pegasus Marketing, and an Adjunct Exercise, Sport, & Leisure Studies Professor at The University of Tennessee, Bill worked with Gail at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles where Schmidt was Vice President of Sports.
Please plan to arrive as early as possible for this meeting to avoid the crunch, since it is a sellout. The Foundry will open the cash bars at 4:30 p.m. and the buffet lines at 5:00 p.m. to accommodate what is expected to be an overflow standing-room-only crowd to hear Gail, who will be speaking just prior to the big Tennessee-Kentucky mens Senior Night basketball game at Thompson-Boling Arena that will be on Jefferson Pilot Sports TV tomorrow night. The program starts promptly at 6:00 p.m., and will conclude by 7:00 p.m., in plenty of time to get to the big game, since it has a late 8:00 p.m. tipoff time and the Foundry is only a short 5-minute ride away from the arena.
The UT cheerleaders and the Big Orange Banditos Band will be on hand as well, making it a festive pre-game pep rally. Dress is game casual and very informal. Just wear whatever you normally wear to a game, jeans, sweater, etc. A special commemorative "thank you" collectible gift will be given to everyone that you don't want to miss.
UT Coach Bruce Pearl will be there to meet and greet everyone prior to the dinner and will say a few words before he has to go to the arena for the game. We are also hoping to have UT Lady Vols Coach Pat Summitt there as well tomorrow night before she goes to Little Rock for the SEC Womens Tournament.
Parking will be free and plentiful. Roving photographers will be there to take individual, group, and candid photos that you will be able to purchase as souvenirs. We expect many former players to attend, including former UT and NBA star Dale Ellis, as well as surprise celebrity guests.
There will be a silent auction of 10 autographed UT basketballs that will end promptly at 6:00 p.m. They will include 3 balls that have been signed by all of our 2006 Big Orange Tipoff Club speakers for this inaugural year, including John Ward, Bruce Pearl, Pat Summitt, Jennifer Azzi, Don DeVoe, Sonny Smith, Mike DeCourcy, and Gail Goodrich. There will also be 2 balls that have been signed by the entire UT mens basketball coach staff and 2 balls that have been signed by the entire Lady Vols basketball coaching staff. There will be 2 official NBA balls signed by our keynote speaker, Gail Goodrich. Finally, there will be a ball signed by the UT lettermen from the 1970s that were honored at the UT-Arkansas game on Saturday. All proceeds from this silent auction are to benefit amateur athletics. All auction winners will be provided with a receipt for tax purposes from our non-profit corporation.
THIS WEEKS FEATURED KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Left-handed guard Gail Goodrich, who many said was too small to play college basketball and too frail to play professionally, led two of the most successful teams in the history of the game at both levels. He guided the 1964 UCLA Bruins to a 30-0 record and the National Championship and the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers to a 69-13 record and the NBA World Championship.
Gail was a fiery competitor, an intelligent ball-handler, and a crafty player with great court vision. He played for Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden in college and won two National Championships under him. He was UCLAs all-time leading scorer with 1,690 points, leading the league in scoring, the first Bruin ever to do that. He was named Co-Player of the Year, along with Bill Bradley, his senior season at UCLA, as well as an All-American.
Drafted by the Lakers, he played 14 seasons in the NBA with them and the Phoenix Suns. He led Los Angeles to the title just a year after being traded back to the Lakers by the Suns. He also played in the NBA All-Star Game five times.
Goodrich and Jerry West remain the highest scoring guard tandem in NBA history. Gail was the teams leading scorer when Los Angeles won the World Championship, and led the Lakers to an NBA-record 33-game winning streak that year, as well as an NBA-record 69 wins overall. His Number 25 jersey was retired a decade ago.
CLUB MEMBERSHIP: The Club invites you to get membership and corporate sponsorship information for next season by calling President Lloyd Richardson at (865) 588-5433, by faxing a request to (865) 588-2083, by e-mailing at tipoff@utfan.com , or by visiting our website at www.utfan.com/tipoff .
Legendary former UT Head Basketball Coach Ray Mears is an Honorary Member. Many members of the UT athletics administration, coaches, etc., are in attendance regularly.
All media are invited to attend and will have the opportunity to record and film any portion of the meeting, ask questions of Goodrich in a public forum at the conclusion of his remarks, and will be able to interview him, as time allows, on both a group and individual basis. Each of our meetings so far has been covered extensively by print and broadcast media, including TV stations and several newspapers.
All media are also invited to call (865) 522-8547 to schedule radio, television, and newspaper interviews with various Big Orange Tipoff Club steering committee members, including Charles W. Morgan, Gary D. Rowcliffe, Barry J. Smith, Christy Gentry, Michael J. Turner, Mark Hancock, and Club Historian R. Larry Smith regarding the club, its promotion of UT basketball, its purposes, its sponsoring of awards and contributions to scholarships, and its charitable endeavors in supporting college and amateur athletics in East Tennessee. Steering committee members have been making radio and television appearances and doing newspaper interviews regularly, and are available for speaking engagements to any groups.
