Men's Basketball Alum Honored

DePaul Men’s basketball alum George Poulos (‘66-68) will be recognized for his lifetime of service to Wells Park and the Chicago Park District with a ceremonial naming of a stretch of West Sunnyside near Wells Park. The celebration will be held on November 7 at 11:30 a.m. at Sunnyside and Oakley Ave. in Chicago. Coffee and cake will be served immediately following in Welles Park.

That evening, a reception will be held from 5- 10 p.m. at La Villa Restaurant & Pizzeria at 3632 N Pulaski Rd. For more information, please call John Giordano at 1-773-415-4203 or John Moran at 1-773-418-1575. Tickets are $25 which includes appetizers, beer, wine, soda, and coffee.

Poulos was at home in Lincoln Park, playing basketball for both DePaul University and DePaul Academy. George played high school ball at DePaul Academy, actually playing lights and heavyweights, for Coach Bill Gleason. Poulos then attended DePaul University where he lettered from 1965-68 under Basketball and DePaul Hall of Famer Ray Meyer. The team combined for a 48-28 mark, including a 1966 NIT berth.

After graduating from DePaul, he married Michelle Turone and George started out teaching, but soon switched to working at Wells Park until he retired from the Chicago Park District in 1998. While at Wells, he started many innovative programs and was commonly known as real student advocate, especially the underprivileged. After retiring from the Park District, he was hired by DePaul graduates Principal John Butterfield and Assistant Principal Betty Martinez, to be the Director of Guidance at Mather High School.

If you have photos to share or what to make a video testimonial to George, please email giptribunephotos@gmail.com.

Free Throws Galore! World Record Acheived!

DePaul University continued its celebration of the "POWER OF WE WEEK" with the second annual free throw marathon. Nearly 200 students, faculty and staff came together on Thursday to participate in the Free Throw Marathon. This year the DePaul University community attempted 18,659 free throws!

The Free Throw marathon wasn't the only activity creating a buzz around campus. The event concluded with an attempt to break the world record for the biggest game of Knock-out. In June, the New York Knicks set the record for the longest game of Knock-out played, with 101 contestants. But with the support of the DePaul staff, coaches, fans, and students, the record now belongs to DePaul!

With a total of 112 contestants the Knicks record was smashed Thursday night at McGrath Arena. The game featured players of various skill level and age. Approximately nine rotations were completed before the line was narrowed down to the final five players. Shots, rebounds, and put-backs were constant observances as each player fought to make it to the final round of two. Joe Anhalt was crowned the 2009 world record attempt Knock-out champion and Ryan Darcy was the runner- up. Third and fourth-place finishes went to Drew Olson and Alexander Ruiz, respectively.

For their efforts and skills on the hardwood Anhalt received a skybox at All State arena to one non-conference men's basketball game; Darcy was awarded court-side tickets to both a men's and women's basketball game; and both Olson and Ruiz received Free Throw Marathon jackets.

Cross Country Welcomes World Champion Eammon Coghlan

DePaul Cross Country welcomes three guest speakers Eammon Coghlan, a three-time Olympian and world championship winning /Gold Medal athlete, spoke to the Cross Country team about the importance of persevering and maintain a positive attitude in the bleakest of moments.

Coghlan used his experience as a collegiate student-athlete to effectively convey his message to the DePaul Cross Country Team. His delivery was genuine and his message powerful… “Have Tunnel Vision; Believe in yourself and your abilities; and never, ever worry about the other runners.”

Coghlan reminisced about his journey to Villanova from Dublin, Ireland to run track. He talked about his ups and downs…and encouraged the student-athletes to listen to the people closest to you, because “they’re the most important.”

Coghlan who is the author of “Chairman of the Boards” was in town for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Track Alumni Meet to Celebrate Columbus Day and Coach Amidei

In attendance from (left to right): Ryan Rupcich (asst. coach), Pat Savage, Stephanie Williams, Jim Barry, Bob Geiger, John Caldow, Bill Drennan, Nate Blackman, Fred VanDenHende, Ralph Motto, George Gabauer, Lloyd Schlegel, Jim Faron

In what has become a tradition, fourteen DePaul track alumni celebrated Columbus Day at the Cliff Dwellers. The alumni use the annual holiday as a chance to get together and to celebrate Blue Demon Track and Field.

The celebration began in the early eighties at the invitation of the late Hall of Fame track coach Don Amidei. A member of the Cliff Dwellers, Amidei would invite his alumni that worked as educators since he knew they would have the day off.

"It was a thrill to see so many of our alumni come out for our Columbus Day Reunion," Coach Pat Savage said. "It is fun to see old friends and talk about the growth of Blue Demon track & field and cross country."

This year, DePaul track expanded the invitation to all its track alumni. Alumni ranging from Nate Blackman from the class of 1951 to Stephanie Williams class of 2009 enjoyed the chance to meet and talk about Blue Demon track & field and cross country.

Track Alumni are invited to mark their calendar for the 2009 Track & Field and Cross Country Alumni Dinner on November 27 at 7 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Foyer of McGrath Arena. For more information, call Marge Mazik at 773-325-7240.

Help Support the Free Throw Marathon and Blue Demon Community Service

On Thursday, DePaul Athletics will host its annual Free Throw Marathon from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. The Free Throw Marathon raises gifts to fund DePaul's community service efforts. Annually our student-athletes preform thousands of hours of community outreach.

One of the biggest and most recognizable outreach efforts is hosting area students for home contests. Annually, we have hosted students from disadvantaged schools for a home women's basketball game, giving them a taste of college life. We don't just provide students with free tickets, all students receive transportation, a tickets and a DePaul t-shirts. The games are often the first time students are exposed to a college campus.
The youth day game is just one of the many community service projects in which our student-athletes participate. With your help, we can increase those efforts and provide greater outreach on behalf of DePaul.

In addition to the young people that these efforts touch, the value is also in developing the leadership skills of our student-athletes in the spirit of St. Vincent dePaul. Any donor making a gift of $100 or more receives membership in the Champions Club!

Click this link to support the 2009 Free Throw Marathon!
http://www.depaulbluedemons.com//quest/Questionaire.dbml?SPSID=68823&SPID=7777&&QID=68850&DB_OEM_ID=15600