Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton to speak at Carrier Dome as part of annual benefit auction

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton to speak at Carrier Dome as part of annual benefit auctionFebruary 09, 2007Gillian Ottmangeottma@syr.edu

Bill Walton, three-time NCAA Player of the Year and a Basketball Hall of Fame member, will be the 2007 Jreck Subs Distinguished Lecture Series speaker as part of the Syracuse University Sport Management Club’s Charity Sports Auction, Thursday, March 29, in the Carrier Dome. Walton’s speech will take place at 6:30 p.m., immediately preceding the benefit auction.

“We’re thrilled to bring basketball legend Bill Walton to Syracuse University to tip off Final Four weekend,” says Michael Veley, director of sport management and event co-chairman. “Bill is not only one of the all-time greatest players, but he is a three-time Academic All-American who epitomizes what a scholar-athlete is. His success on the court has translated into a very successful communications career.”

Walton played college basketball at UCLA, where he was a member of the 1972 and 1973 NCAA championship teams that accumulated an NCAA record 88-game winning streak. He also won the Player of the Year Award in 1972, 1973 and 1974, and went on to become the number one overall NBA draft selection in 1974.

Walton had an incredibly successful professional basketball career, winning two NBA championship titles and being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1978. In 1993, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame; in 1997, he was selected as one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all time.

Walton currently works as the lead analyst for ESPN/ABC’s coverage of the NBA and is a regular contributor to NBA.com, ESPN.com, ESPN Radio and ESPN The Magazine. In 2001, Walton won an Emmy Award for “Best Live Sports Television Broadcast.”

Following Walton’s speech, the second annual Charity Sports Auction will take place on the Carrier Dome floor, with a portion of the evening’s proceeds again benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Syracuse. Last year’s auction, which included more than 200 items, raised $10,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Syracuse.

As in 2006, the items to be auctioned include autographed sports memorabilia from college and professional sport teams, vacation packages, vintage artifacts, tickets to local and regional sporting events, electronics, jewelry and sports equipment. More than 300 items are expected to be available for bid.

The distinguished lecture and charity sports auction are open to the public. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for SU students and individuals 18 years old or younger. Tickets can be purchased at the Carrier Dome Box Office or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX (1-888-366-3849).

The Sport Management Club is a student-run organization of the Department of Sport Management in the College of Human Services and Health Professions (HSHP) at SU.

The Jreck Subs Distinguished Lecture Series is provided by Jreck Subs and its CEO, Christopher Swartz. The endowment, established to benefit the sport management program at HSHP, brings nationally and internationally recognized leaders in the sports industry to the University each year.