d inspiration


half-million dollar medical bill for terminally-ill team member Brian Piccolo and provided scholar- ships to finance Piccolo’s three daughters’ expenses to Wake Forest University. Sayers described Halas as a great role model who helped him make the transition from professional football to a success- ful career in business.


Sayers also identified Piccolo as a great influence as teammate, roommate, and friend. “Piccolo,” he remarked, “was always upbeat and optimistic” and was the key to Sayers’ recovery following a devastating knee injury in 1968. In turn, Sayers supported Piccolo during his final battle against cancer. Their friendship was recounted in Sayers’ 1971 memoir, I Am Third, and became the basis for the 1971 motion picture, Brian’s Song, which was remade in 2001.


Since his retirement from professional foot-


ball, Sayers has built a successful career in busi- ness, currently serving as chairman of Sayers 40 Inc., a technology-consulting firm serving Fortune 1000 companies nationwide. He and his wife sup- port philanthropic causes in Chicago, including The Cradle Foundation, an adoption organiza- tion, and The Gale Sayers Center, which provides after-school programs for children on Chicago’s West Side.


Next in the Leadership Speaker Series:


James Brown, CBS Sportscaster, January 19, 2012


Ervin “Magic” Johnson, NBA Great, April 18, 2012


For more information on the CSU Leadership Speaker Series visit www.csuleadership.org


GO MARAUDERS! CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY 17 CENTRAL STATE UNIVERSITY 17


CSU to be a part of a new NCAA Division II Conference in 2013


Central State University is one of six institutions that


have formed a new athletic conference. The six NCAA Division II colleges and universities from Ohio and Kentucky announced the league will be named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC).


The six member institutions include Cedarville


University (Cedarville, OH); Central State University (Wilberforce, OH); Kentucky Wesleyan College (Owensboro, KY); Notre Dame College (South Euclid, OH); Urbana University (Urbana, OH); and Ursuline College (Pepper Pike, OH).


The new conference will begin competition in the fall of 2013. The G-MAC will become the NCAA’s 24th Division II Conference.


The Great Midwest Athletic


Conference reflects the membership of similar institutions with parallel academic and athletic philosophies and resources. The geographical reference in the Conference’s name represents the connection to NCAA Division II’s Midwest region. Expansion beyond the original six will be a priority moving forward.


Central State University Athletic Director, Kellen


Winslow Sr. said, “G-MAC will become the model NCAA Division II Conference with a focus on the whole student-athlete experience—including academics, socialization, and the ability to compete athletically with success.”


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