Jana Angel, a junior on the volleyball team and president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, stood at a line marked “throw” with a softball in each hand.
Angel wound up, all 6’4 of her frame tensed for the next toss.
The first one went so far wide it almost hit Fowler in the head. The next two crunched safely against the fabric toward the top of the frame and out of harm’s way.
“I’m a volleyball player,” Angel said. “I don’t have that throwing coordination.”
Students spilling onto the Brickyard in between classes from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. handed over $5 or watched as others took their shots at some of N.C. State’s Athletics personnel at a dunking booth sponsored by the SAAC.
All profits went toward a group called Imagine No Hunger. The group meets in downtown Raleigh and puts together 65 to 75 lunches per week for the homeless, according to Frideric Prandecki, a senior on the men’s tennis team.
“It’s a good cause because you don’t realize how many homeless people there are in your backyard,” Prandecki said. “You always hear about people donating money to Sudan, but there are a lot of problems at home too.”
SAAC sent out feelers in the athletic department and had swimming and diving coach Brooks Teal, men’s tennis coach John Choboy, gymnastics coach Todd Henry, volleyball coach Charita Stubbs, baseball coach Elliott Avent and Athletic Director Lee Fowler volunteer their time.
Prandecki estimated the event raised $500 to $600, though said it probably would have received more attention if the cold weather didn’t scare students away.
“This should keep us going for a few weeks, though,” Prandecki said. “It’s the little things that count.”
Avent was one of the coaches who volunteered to take the plunge.
“The first two or three times were a lot colder than you’d think,” Avent. “After that, it wasn’t so bad.”
The wind causes problems for Avent during his team’s regular season, and he said it was not his friend sitting on the dunking booth either. When the wind whipped around Harrelson Hall, it added an extra chill for the drenched coach.
“I wish more people would have come out because it’s obviously for a good cause – otherwise I wouldn’t have done it,” Avent said.
However, it was Fowler who garnered top billing. Students and athletes gathered to see State’s Athletics Director of the last 11 years sitting above a pool of cold water in a t-shirt instead of his usual suit and tie.
“It means a lot that our Athletic Director was willing to come out here and do this for our charity,” Angel said.
The next event the SAAC will hold will take place in the spring.
“This is our fall fundraiser. In the spring we’ll have the athlete talent show, which should be a lot of fun. Especially with the swim team – you never know how much clothing they’re going to take off,” Angel said.
