Curtis Carries on Legacy of Achievement By Steve Raczynski, Director of Sports Communications
IFYOURSURNAME IS CURTIS, it could be a foregone conclusion that you matriculate at Springfield College. But, that was not the case for Kelly Curtis when it came time to decide which college she would attend. “Many members of my family came to Springfield College,” she says. “But I had decided I wanted to do my own thing and get away from the Northeast.” Thus Kelly, a multi-talented track and field star, was destined to try her hand at Division I Tulane University in New Orleans—where the circus-like atmos- phere of Bourbon Street would far transcend the placidness of elite Nassau Street in her hometown of Princeton, N.J. It all began in the Curtis family when grandfather James made some very flattering remarks to his son James Alphonso “Jimmy” Curtis II (Kelly’s uncle) regarding Springfield College. “He recognized good people on this campus for whom they were” says Kelly, “and when it came time to discuss colleges, Springfield came to the forefront.” So, Jimmy went to Springfield
College.
Jimmy would have graduated with the Class of 1964, but he passed away following his sophomore year in 1962. In fact, the Springfield College Male Sophomore Athlete of the Year Award, annually given at the Athletic Varsity Sports Recognition Night in early May, is awarded in the name of the very same James Curtis.
Then along came John (Kelly’s father). He was 12 when Jimmy died. “My dad decided he wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps,” says Kelly. “So, it was no surprise when he, too, went to SC.”
Dad turned into an excellent wide receiver and, in fact, still holds eight school receiving records.
Kelly, however, had decided she was going to forego all this legacy and tradition, until circumstances changed.
TRIANGLE 1 Vol. 83, No. 3
Kelly’s mother, Debbie, had devel- oped epilepsy, and after Kelly’s first year at Tulane came thoughts of transferring. “I wanted to get closer to home,” she says. “My track coaches had left Tulane. And I began to pay more attention to Springfield College. “I decided to pay another visit. I remember it was a beautiful day, and Coach (Jim) Pennington did a great job in showing me around. Everyone was so nice, but when I saw the facilities, I was sold. The athletic facilities are just one of the reasons why I’m now at Springfield College. People make it very clear they want to be here and I, for one, just couldn’t be happier.” Curtis had a very successful 2012 indoor track and field season. Her indoor season culminated with a seventh place finish at the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships at Grinnell, Iowa, where she scored 3,309 points, her season-high point total, and became an All-American. Her proudest achievement, however, is placing first last year in the heptathlon at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, where she captured a Championship of the Americas. “My parents have always had season tickets to the Penn Relays. I had been there many times growing up. Winning at Franklin Field may be my biggest thrill.” This past spring, Curtis received an NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Scholarship. Overall she was one of just 13 to earn this specific scholarship nationally, and just one of three representing Division III. A great student (3.966 GPA in sport management), Curtis plans to continue her education at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., next year. She will pursue a graduate degree in sports industry management, and would like to one day become an athletic director at an NCAA school.1
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