Thursday, November 03, 2005

Disney Honors Tulane Football

Disney's Wide World of Sports Honors Tulane University

Tulane University will be taking home an unexpected award on Thursday — one which they never dreamed of during preseason practice.

The school's football team has been named this year's winner of Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award, given annually to college football's most inspirational student-athlete or team.

NFL Hall of Fame player Kellen Winslow, Disney's director of Sports and Recreation Planning and New Event Development, will present the award to Tulane head coach Chris Scelfo and seniors Matt Traina and Brandon Spincer as part of ESPN's live broadcast of The Home Depot 2005 College Football Awards. The 15th annual awards show at the Walt Disney World Resort will take place 7-9 p.m., ET.

Specifically, the team is being recognized for its resilience and its indomitable spirit in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the team's home city of New Orleans last August.

Mother nature forced the team to abandon its campus, and Tulane played 11 games in 11 different stadiums, including "home" games in six different cities. The team endured countless logistical challenges in an effort to fulfill the request of university president Scott Cowen to "carry the torch, be the face and represent the name" of Tulane University.

"The Tulane University football team handled these incredibly difficult circumstances the same way we would hope that we would if faced with the same challenges — with fortitude, resolve and unwavering optimism," says Disney Sports and Recreation Vice President Reggie Williams, a former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker.

"Their determination amid such extraordinary circumstances is a testament to the character and leadership within their football program, and is reflective of the very ideals that led us to create Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award."

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