Behind the Banner - April 2023

BEHIND THE BANNER

big 12 looks to crown a champion in north texas

By Stephen Evans

Fresh off of the city of Dallas hosting one of the most talked-about NCAA Women’s Final Four events in women’s basketball history and a dramatic gymnastics national championship meet also held in North Texas, the region is set to host yet another college sports championship event in May when the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship returns to Globe Life Field in Arlington.

The prestigious championship tournament takes place May 24-28, and will mark the second consecutive year Arlington has played host to the event. Last season the

Oklahoma Sooners knocked off the Texas Longhorns 8-1 to win the conference tournament championship, and the Big 12 could not have been happier with the results of their return to Arlington.

“The Big 12 was extremely pleased with the 2022 championship at Globe Life Field,” said Jenny McGhee, Senior Director - Competition for the Big 12. “Both sides, however, recognize there is even more untapped potential, and that an opportunity exists to elevate the event into something much more than a traditional baseball tournament.”

Making championship events “much more” has been a long-running theme for the Big 12, as both the 2017 and 2023 Women’s Final Four events in Dallas can attest. As a host of those championships, the Big 12 helped to expand the reach of those events beyond the court and made fan experience a top priority. The same is now being done with the conference’s baseball championship.

“There is intentional effort this year to provide additional entertainment and activations to elevate the fan experience,” McGhee continued. “The new offerings include the Premium Club which features unlimited snacks and soda in a private field level club, the Party Plaza which is a premier entertainment area that includes food and drink discounts, yard games, music, and more, Big 12 Eats which has custom food offerings that represent each Big 12 school, and other special in-game features.”

Fans are taking notice and have already responded to

the enhancements being offered, as ticket sales are 50% ahead of last year at this time. And that follows a trend for the baseball championship. Each of the past four baseball championships has seen an increase in attendance, and last season’s event had the highest combined attendance in 18 years.

It doesn’t hurt that baseball has been one of the conference’s strongest sports over the years. This season all nine baseball-playing Big 12 programs rank inside the nation’s top 75 for attendance and the conference is one of just two leagues averaging over 3,000 fans per game, an impressive feat considering some of the early-season challenges with cold weather that some of the Big 12 schools face.

Earlier this season, three Big 12 programs helped set the mark for the largest attendance for a regular season college baseball event since 2017 when participating in the College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field. That

event, along with the championship tournament, has enhanced an already strong relationship between the Big 12 and the Texas Rangers.

“Our relationship with the Rangers goes back more than 20 years as we hosted the 2002 and 2004 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championships at The Ballpark in Arlington, which included record-setting attendance marks,” said McGhee. “Even before Globe Life Field started construction, we kept in touch with the Rangers as a community partner and preeminent baseball presence in North Texas. The bid process for the 2022 Championship actually began in 2018 – not long after Globe Life Field broke ground – so discussions ramped up as we saw the mutual benefit of partnering to host the Big 12 Baseball Championship at the premier ballpark in Major League Baseball.”

play competing in a double-elimination, two bracket tournament. In addition to the 2022 and 2023 events, the championship will return to Arlington at least one more year in 2024, with the future of the partnership between the Big 12 and the Texas Rangers continuing to be very bright.

“The Big 12 is incredibly proud of our partnership with REV Entertainment and the Texas Rangers and are thrilled to deepen our relationship through the addition of future events held in and around Globe Life Field,” said McGhee. “We are thrilled to call the Dallas metroplex home, and are committed to serving our community that is home to the Big 12 headquarters and its staff.”

MARCH 2023 EDITION

The 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship features the top eight teams from regular season

All-tournament tickets for the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Globe Life Field are on sale at www.GlobeLifeField.com/Big12

vex world championship showcasing stem talent

By Amber Billops

MORE THAN 28,000 ATTENDEES FROM OVER 55 NATIONS COMPETE IN THE WORLD’S LARGEST ROBOTIC COMPETITION IN DALLAS

The Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation’s 16th annual VEX Robotics World Championship is back in Dallas to showcase the talent of student competitors at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas (KBHCCD) from April 25th to May 4th. This time around, more than 20,000 students from all 50 states and more than 55 countries will participate in competitive matches and make critical design adjustments with the goal of being crowned world champions.

Tens of thousands of students will compete at VEX Robotics World Championship, the world's largest robotics competition, as their problem-solving is tested. Year-round students design innovative robots and compete in local, state-level, regional, and national events to qualify for the year's culminating event.

Student-led teams ranging from elementary to university age groups will showcase their game strategy, design, and teamwork skills at this global event, including VEX IQ Challenge (Elementary & Middle School), VEX Robotics Competition (Middle School & High School), and VEX U (College/University).

“The value of regional competitions throughout the season and this world championship helps teach real-world skills and prepare students for a range of technology careers,” said Dan Mantz, CEO of the REC Foundation. “I am so proud of these extraordinary student competitors along with over 400,000 young innovators in our robotics community that truly represent the next generation of problem solvers.”

(science, technology, engineering, and math) excellence and participate in exciting competition matches. Students compete year-round to qualify at state and regional competitions for the VEX Robotics World Championship.

Through the creative process of designing, building, and programming robots for competition students gain a wealth of technical knowledge and develop

The REC Foundation offers a variety of hands-on learning initiatives for the 400,000 young innovators in its robotics community, including the VEX IQ Competition (for elementary and middle school students), the VEX Robotics Competition (for middle school and high school students), VEX U for post-secondary students, the Aerial Drone Competition, Bell Advanced Vertical Robotics Competition, along with the Girl Powered program presented by Google. RECF’s global mission is to provide every educator with competition, education, and workforce readiness programs to increase student engagement in science, technology, engineering, math, and computer science.

The next generation of innovators celebrate STEM communication and teamwork skills that will serve them throughout their lives. Additionally, the REC Foundation provides a scholarship program, an alumni program, online challenges, manages the International Robotics Honor Society, issues industry certifications, and maintains a dynamic STEM Hall of Fame to honor the work of Inspiration All-Stars - individuals who inspire the next generation of innovators.

To learn more about the VEX Robotics World Championship competitions, visit vexworlds.com.

THE COMMISSION

Gold Cup Quarterfinals Coming To Dallas July 8

AT&T Stadium will host two of the four quarterfinal games for this summer’s tournament featuring some of the best national soccer teams in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and special guest country Qatar.

Sign up for the Mayor’s Youth Sports Ticket Program! LEARN

The Mayor’s Youth Sports Ticket Program is an initiative created to welcome local youth to area professional, collegiate, and amateur sporting events at no charge.

upcoming events

Jordan Spieth Continues To Be a Champion in the Community with his Family Foundation

While his recent top five finishes at The Masters (tied for 4th) and the RBC Heritage (second place) have catapulted Jordan Spieth into the top 10 of the World Golf Rankings, that’s not the most important news Spieth has made recently.

The Jordan Spieth Family Foundation recently

financial support from the foundation, with many of those having ties to North Texas. The foundation offers a platform for Jordan, who grew up in Dallas, to lend time, help grow awareness, and offer financial support for four philanthropic areas: individuals with special needs, pediatric cancer,

junior golf, and military families and veterans.

“Once I had a platform that I knew could not only help raise funds but also awareness, it made sense,” Spieth recently said about why he decided to start his foundation. “What I’m most proud of, it’s not really necessarily the dollars, it’s more the amount of different programs we’ve been able to impact.”

In addition to the 21 Grant Partners in 2023, the foundation awarded 20 organizations with grants in 2022, 25 in 2021, and 22 in 2020.

In announcing its 2023 grant recipients, the organization stated on its website: “We are honored to share the great work of our 2023 Jordan Spieth Family Foundation Grant Partners. The JSFF team has enjoyed getting to know the leadership teams and the hearts of the 21 organizations. We are thrilled to share their stories over the next year; each group focuses on impactful work within our four mission pillars that inspires us, and we are so grateful to be supporting each of their unique journeys.”

The organization’s charitable giving doesn’t stop with its annal grant partners. In September 2022, Jordan, his wife Annie, and the foundation donated $500,000 to the Children’s Medical Center Foundation, the fundraising arm of Dallas-based Children’s Health, to support the expansion at Children’s Medical Center Plano, with a focus on pediatric oncology.

“Annie and I are very grateful to the incredible oncology staff at Children’s Health for their lifesaving work,” Jordan said in the press release announcing the donation. “While we hope research continues to make the issue nonexistent in the future, for now, our focus is on improving each family’s experience as much as possible.”

Spieth Family Foundation.

The 2023 Jordan Spieth Family Foundation Grant Partners are:

Individuals With Special Needs

Believe It Foundation

Brookwood in Georgetown

Easterseals (Dallas area)

Lake Highlands Junior Women’s League (Dallas area)

Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center

My Possibilities (Dallas area)

Special Olympics

Pediatric Cancer

Carson Leslie Foundation (Dallas area)

Children’s Flight of Hope

Children’s Hospital of Georgia

Cook Children’s Hospital (Dallas area)

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (Dallas area)

Junior Golf

American Junior Golf Foundation

First Tee - Central Florida

First Tee - Fort Worth (Dallas area)

Save Muny

Military Families and Veterans Freedom Alliance

Operation Homefront

Operation Second Chance

Soldiers’ Angels

Warriors & Quiet Waters

That donation to Children’s Health is the largest grant made to any organization from the Jordan

For more information about the Jordan Spieth Family Foundation or to make a donation to the organization, e-mail us at info@jordanspiethgolf.com.