Behind the Banner - February 2023

BEHIND THE BANNER

Athletes Unlimited

Bringing Hoops to Fair Park

By Stephen Hunt

For a third straight year, Athletes Unlimited (AU) will hold court at Dallas Fair Park Coliseum. However, unlike 2021 and 2022, when volleyball occupied center stage, this time AU basketball will be front and center for five weeks between February 23 and March 25, 2023.

“We’re excited to be back in Dallas,” said Matt Biggers, AU’s Senior Director, Marketing. “Volleyball will be moving somewhere else and to the fall. We’re excited to be bringing basketball to this market. First year [of AU basketball in Las Vegas, 2022]

was awesome. This year, we have a better group of players, more experienced. We’re excited to see the level of competition continue to increase.”

Eighteen of the 44 players participating in AU basketball 2023 played in the WNBA last season, including three (Veronica Burton, Allisha Gray, and Isabelle Harrison, the 2022 AU Basketball Defensive Player of the Year), who suited up for the Dallas Wings.

Participating for a second straight year is a name very familiar to local basketball fans-Odyssey Sims, a former national high school player of the year at Irving MacArthur. Sims was also a four-time All-Big 12 Conference selection at Baylor, helping lead the Bears to the 2012 national championship. The 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year has since starred professionally overseas and in the WNBA.

Prior to each week, four captains, who after week one will be determined by AU’s top four in points, will select 11 players for their team’s roster. Over the ensuing three to four days, each team will play three times in doubleheaders on each day of competition.

After the conclusion of each day’s doubleheader, fans can interact with their favorite players at

postgame autograph sessions and shoot hoops on the court. AU basketball will also have several giveaways scattered throughout its five-week schedule like rally towels, aluminum water bottles, bucket hats, and replica champion’s medals.

AU basketball 2023 will also host theme nights honoring the Wings, Black Women’s History Night, International Women’s Day, Early 2000s Night, Special Olympics, AU Volleyball, Athlete’s Causes, Pride Night, and Fan Appreciation Night.

“The level of fan engagement is extremely high. But at the same time, it’s a really intimate experience,” Biggers said. “You get the opportunity to be close to the action. A lot of times if you’re in 18,000-seat arenas, you can be pretty far from the action. Here,

everybody is pretty close. The opportunities to meet players and get autographs, it’s a really cool experience fans don’t get at other pro sports.”

This basketball season also marks the launch of AU’s Fantasy League, which is free to play and will also be offered for AU’s other sports of lacrosse, AUX softball, softball, and volleyball. Fantasy players can win prizes like signed merchandise from AU

and draft the four players each week that they think will score the most points. It’s all free, so it’s an easy way for people to get involved, follow closer, choose their favorite players, and really test their knowledge on who’s going perform week in and week out.”

Between March 31 and April 2, American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas will host the 2023 NCAA Women’s Final Four and championship games

competitors, for having the top team for a week or by winning the season championship. “We have fans all over the country,” Biggers said. “Fantasy is just another engagement opportunity for our fans in Dallas and across the country. Our model sets up perfectly for it. We crown an individual champion based on our leaderboard in the confines of a team sport, which aligns very well with fantasy.”

“We re-draft our teams every week, so our captains, which are our top four on the leaderboard each week, they’re going through the same process. They’re drafting who they think will perform the best to become the best team. Our fans can do the same thing, be a pseudo-captain of their own team

for NCAA Division II and III women’s basketball. The debut of AU basketball at Fair Park Coliseum provides a nice lead-in to what will be a local celebration of women’s hoops in the coming weeks.

“We’re excited. The Wings have been in the market for seven years and they’re partners of ours. We end the week before the Final Four gets into town,” Biggers said. “Dallas really is the epicenter of women’s basketball. We’re proud to be part of that to continue to shine a bigger light on women’s basketball to help it continue to grow so rapidly in this country.”

For more information on AU basketball, visit www.auprosports.com

RENEGADES RETURN WITH FULL THROTtLE REBOOT

By Stephen Evans

The XFL is back - again - and once again our region is at the center of the reboot .

To prove the point , the massive Dwayne “ The Rock” Johnson made an appearance in Arlington this past Saturday afternoon to help kick-off the season. The game between the Arlington Renegades and the Vegas Vipers marked the third time that the league debuted after initially launching more than 20 years ago in February 2001 as a partnership between the WWE and NBC. That lasted one season. Its much heralded comeback happened in 2020 when the WWE’s Vince McMahon rebooted the dormant league after nearly 20 years. But COVID shut it

down after just five games, sending it back to the sidelines.

Now the Renegades are back again after seeing their promising 2020 season cut short , and their strong fan base appears to have returned with them, enjoying a nail-biting victory that saw the home team down 14-3 at halftime only to hang on for a 22-20 victory after keeping the Vipers out of the endzone on a potential game-tying two-point play in the game ’ s waning seconds.

“ We have seen robust fan support leading up and through opening weekend, highlighted by

communications director Matt Mallian. The team has held multiple community events that have brought fans closer to the team, including taking part in Service Day with Mission Arlington and serving hot meals to families in need. We look forward to being a constant presence in the community and remaining accessible to our fans.”

The league’s third debut comes under the management of Johnson, a global entertainment superstar, and his business partner Dany Garcia. Teams will play a 10-game regular season schedule that will conclude Sunday, April 23. Four teams will then take part in two semifinal games, with the two winners participating in the XFL Championship that will be played on Saturday, May 13.

“ The XFL is in great hands with the new ownership group of Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital,” Mallian said. “Ownership is committed to putting players and fans first , while creating opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible without the XFL .”

All XFL teams will practice in Arlington each week before heading to local markets to play their games. Though the league is returning to a number of the same markets that played in 2020, the Renegades enter the 2023 XFL season as the only team with

Football Hall of Fame inductee, has filled out his staff with experienced coaches and a roster of highquality players looking to find their way to the NFL

But the overall experience will be just as much about the fans as it is the players on the field.

“XFL fans can expect an immersive experience that brings them closer to the game with opportunities that are not available in other professional sports leagues,” Mallian said. “Fans will have the chance to interact with our players in the community and on game day The immersive experience will carry over to the game broadcasts, which will provide viewers unparalleled access to players and coaches.

“Arlington Renegades games at Choctaw Stadium will feature experiences that provide unique access for fans. Game days will be highlighted by the Full Throttle Tailgate, which will consist of live music, face painters, balloon artists, photo booths, corn hole, and more. Select fans will have the opportunity to take part in on-field experiences –national anthem buddies, high-five tunnels, watching pre-game warmups, and taking the field with the players.”

Learn more at xfl.com.

Teneisha McKinney

Event Support Manager

Trevor Stowers Director of Events

upcoming events

Each month the Dallas Sports Commission is recognizing a local organization in the Dallas region that is committed to enriching the lives of young people through education, sports, and health and wellness initiatives. These Community Champions are making a positive impact locally, and during Black History Month, the Dallas Sports Commission is excited to feature The Village Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation as February’s Community Champion.

Organized in 2017, the mission of The Village Giving Circle at Texas Women’s Foundation is to honor, sustain, and expand the legacy of African American

women’s philanthropy by funding organizations and initiatives that positively impact the AfricanAmerican community in North Texas.

The Village was borne out of a desire to harness the collective giving power and influence of African American women philanthropists, and in recognition of the need to provide opportunities for like-minded African American women to form connections that enhance their civic leadership activities.

Members focus their collective resources on local community organizations that are led by African Americans and/or serve the needs of African American communities throughout North Texas. In

addition to providing financial support to selected organizations, The Village membership seeks to elevate awareness of issues, initiatives, and efforts that affect or support African Americans living and working in North Texas.

Rather than making “one-off” individual gifts to community organizations, The Village Giving Circle empowers its members to combine their resources and award large, high-impact, strategically-selected grants to organizations and initiatives benefiting African-Americans. In 2022, The Village provided $186,000 in grants to local organizations, two of which serve our local youth through sports – G.O.L.F. 3:16 and I AM a Golfer Foundation.

G.O.L.F. 3:16 is a faith-based organization located in Frisco, TX, formed to provide services and resources to at-risk youth and their families in efforts to enrich, improve, and empower their quality of life. G.O.L.F. 3:16 provides positive programs that promotes healthy lifestyles which assist youth in becoming self-sufficient, anchored, and well-rounded members of society.

G.O.L.F. 3:16 (God Offers Love & Forgiveness) innovatively uses the game of golf to introduce youth to a relationship with God and instill positive life-skills such as stability, good citizenship, responsibility, morality, and character. The program bridges the gap across all age groups by having them interact and engage in the game of golf while learning transferable skills for the game of life and developing an appreciation for God.

Like G.O.L.F. 3:16, the I AM a Golfer Foundation received valuable funding in 2022 from The Village. I AM a Golfer Foundation was established in 2018 with the mission to be a catalyst for community renewal and transformation in South Dallas through the programming, preservation, and promotion of the historic Cedar Crest Golf Course. IAMGF’s belief is that the promotion of the sport and activity to diverse and historically underserved communities

will have an impact beyond the course and into the daily lives of those reached by its initiatives.

Since inception, IAMGF has engaged over 450 area youth in instructional programming, created and hosted 71 paid internship positions for area students, and awarded more than $95,000 in college and higher education scholarships. Additionally, IAMGF has advocated for and assisted with more than $1M in improvements at Cedar Crest and annually conducts the Dallas Amateur Championship, Friends of Cedar Crest Golf Classic, and other events designed to bring increased awareness to the historic course and community.

“The support of The Village Giving Circle means the world to our organization the I AM a Golfer Foundation,” said Chuck Walker, I AM a Golfer Foundation’s executive Director. “Equally important as the monetary support from The Village Giving Circle is our ability to show participants in our programs where the support comes from and that it is people who look like them who care and have a heart for giving back and helping the next generation succeed.

“The modeling being displayed by the members of The Village Giving Circle is beyond inspiring and will undoubtedly create a virtuous, uplifting new cycle and pattern that will grow upon itself and positively impact African American communities for generations to come. We are beyond grateful and cannot say thank you enough to each of the members and supporters of The Village Giving Circle for their commitment to our young people, our community, and to organizations like ours working to make a difference each day.”

To learn more about joining or domating to The Village, please email communications@villagegivingcircle.org.