April 12, 2002
Head Football Coach Tom Craft, Head Men's Basketball Coach Steve Fisher,Baseball Coach Tony Gwynn, and Head Women's Basketball Coach Jim Tomeyjoined SDSU Executive Director of Athletics and Special Assistant to thePresident Rick Bay as the keynote speakers at the Kick-off Rally for "TheDrive 2002" held at the Aztec Athletic Center on Thursday, April 11th.
The Kick-off Rally marks the official beginning of the AAF's annual campaignto raise funds for student-athlete scholarships at SDSU. Locally basedteams of volunteers from throughout San Diego and Orange Counties willcompete against each other for the right to be the Aztecs top fundraisinggroup in 2002, as well as great prizes for individual and team results.This year's goal is to raise $1.1 million during the ten-week campaign,which would eclipse last year's record of $960,000.
"To have those five gentlemen take time out of their busy schedules to thankus and send us off into the campaign is truly amazing," said "The Drive2002" Chairman Craig Nelson. "There's so much positive energy surroundingAztec Athletics at the moment, and the evening was truly spectacular. Ourvolunteers are definitely ready for the task at hand, and can't wait to getout into the community and spread the news about Aztec Athletics."
"It was a great evening to kick off our campaign," said AAF Director PatKreger. "It was a high energy night, and our volunteers really appreciateseeing the support of our coaching staff and administration. There's nodoubt our volunteers left the building last night on a high note, and areready to capitalize on the momentum our Athletic Department is creating.This is just the start of the journey to a championship level, and it'sgoing to be a fun ride!"
You can help the Aztecs and the AAF reach their ultimate goal of $3 millionsupport for student-athlete scholarships at SDSU, by far the biggestchallenge facing the athletic department. Contact Pat Kreger at the AAF at(619) 594-6444 to get in contact with the team in your area as a volunteerfundraiser, and find out more on how you can become an integral part ofbuilding a successful Division I athletics program at San Diego StateUniversity. It's a great way to get involved with the Aztecs, meet coaches,student-athletes, and athletic department personnel, and join other loyalAztecs to help build a championship level program in the Mountain WestConference. Be a part of the winning team at SDSU, as the AAF looks tobuild on the record-setting campaign in 2001, and the momentum created bySteve Fisher's squad appearance in the 2002 NCAA Men's BasketballTournament.
The teams will again meet at the Aztec Athletic Center on Thursday, April25th at 6 PM for Report Night #1 to track progress toward the $1.1 milliongoal. You can track progress on the campaign by frequently checking updatesat the SDSU Athletics website, www.goaztecs.com.