When Concordia University and the Cascade Collegiate Conference co-hosted the 2010 NAIA Cross Country National Championships last week, it afforded event organizers the opportunity to spread the NAIA's message regarding the five core values of Champions of Character to more than 150 high school students from Portland's Roosevelt High School. Nike World Headquarters was the venue for this year's Champions of Character event, which featured participating NAIA student-athletes from around the country.
Champions of Character: Spreading the Message
Champions of Character Photo Gallery
BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Take the Bo Jackson Center on the Nike campus, add part of the student body from Portland's Roosevelt High School, sprinkle in NAIA cross country student-athletes from around the U.S., and what do you get?
Easy. After a three-hour interactive clinic on the five core values of the NAIA, you end up with more than 200 Champions of Characters under the same roof.
The nearly 100 Roosevelt students made a field trip to the Nike World Headquarters on Thursday, Nov. 18, where they were involved in activities and messages led by visiting NAIA student-athletes centered on the five core values of Champions of Character.
The event, which took place inside the Bo Jackson Center, was followed by a Nike-sponsored lunch for the participants on the Concordia University (Ore.) campus where the Roosevelt students heard from current and former CU student-athletes on the importance of character in making positive choices that lead to success in life.
“We felt it was important to give something back to the community here in North Portland as part of the cross country national championships,” said Matt English, Director of Athletics at Concordia. “We are excited that the student-athletes had an opportunity to teach the core values of the Champions of Character program to young people in an area of Portland where many youth are underserved. We are proud to partner with Roosevelt and very thankful to Nike for helping provide an extraordinary opportunity for these deserving youth.”
Said Dave Haglund, commissioner of the Cascade Collegiate Conference: “Our Champions of Character outreach effort was a critical component to the entire championship week experience. We are grateful to Concordia University, Nike and Roosevelt High School for creating such a unique and interactive format in which to reinforce these important messages.”
The NAIA’s Champions of Character program has established five core values – integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership – that go well beyond the playing field to the daily decisions of our youth. These character values help young people – and those associated with their development – make good choices in all aspects of their lives and reflect the true spirit of competition.
An NAIA-based non-profit organization whose mission is to change the culture of sport, Champions of Character is designed to instill an understanding of key character values and provide practical tools for student-athletes, coaches and parents to use in modeling exemplary character traits.
As part of its nationwide outreach efforts, the NAIA conducts student-led Champions of Character sessions in every locale where NAIA national championship events are held.