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| FINANCIAL SPONSORS |
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The Aztec Foundation
Thanks our Individual & Corporate
Financial Contributors
INDIVIDUAL
C. Connolly
D. Crist
M. Eshoo
D. Fitzpatrick
S. Marshall
B. Moore
D. Parker
J. Parker
J. Rubin
k. Salas
M. Shepard
B. Smith
W. Stanley
P. Trenta
J. Wood
CORPORATE
Citibank
Cons. Contact
John Quigley Trust
Buy Design Graphics
Randall Mar Photography |
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COACHES
CORNER
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Head coach Dan Payne returned to lead the Aztecs on the heels of his impressive debut against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup.
We asked Coach Payne to reflect on the success of the team this year.
Coach Payne, stated "that we accomplished a vast majority of our goals in returning to the USA rugby playoffs. We won the SCRFU crown with a perfect 9-0 record and have successfully built a developmental squad with our D2 team that went 3-3. Additionally, we will have 9 students play for the SCRFU Griffins in the territorial championships this summer. The pools for the USA playoffs worked against us this year as we felt Colorado had the easier draw on getting to the final four. Overall
though I am extremely pleased on our improvement from #8 in the country last year up to #4.
After two years of reaching the playoffs the team knows what it takes to continue to reach higher levels. I probably speak for the entire coaching staff when I say what a great year it was based on the dedication of our kids. I couldn't be more proud.
The Foundation thank's Dan & and the rest of the coaching staff for their tireless efforts.
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| Join The Foundation! |
Have you been wondering how to get more involved with the Foundation?
Would like to have your voice heard?
Want to vote for the board? Want to run for Office or sit on a board of a Non Profit organization?
Well supporters it is easy. On Alumni day of 2007 the Foundation announces parameters to join the Foundation.
Technically, everyone who played or coached rugby at SDSU is eligible to join the Foundation. There is a dues structure in place however with memberships available for:
Rookies: 1 - 3 years post participation at SDSU:
$100.00 a year.
Full Members: 3+ years post participation at SDSU:
$250 a year.
Some supporters have already met their eligibility and were automatically enrolled as a Foundation Member upon receipt of their donation. We welcome your interest in becoming involved.
To join, please mail your check to:
Aztec Rugby Foundation
PO Box 910682
San Diego, CA 92191
San Diego, California 92191
If you have questions regarding the board please contact us at: David Crist, 858-945-0166. | |
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Greetings!
Well the season has come to an end for US Collegiate Rugby with Cal wrapping up the finishing touches of their 25th National Championship. The Aztec team has also shifted gears and turned their sights on a successful summer sevens season.
The Foundation is continuing to make strides as well. In this newsletter edition look for information on:
- Legacy & Foundation Memberships Grow.
- Foundation Directors Needed.
- Foundation and SDSU grants.
- Final Standings and Awards.
- Dan Payne Summer Camp
- Rugby on Television
- Support the Cause
- Employment Needed
- About Us
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Thank You
This month we are proud to announce that we have reached two milestones in financial donations. The Foundation has received four donations from members of the early 80's and 90's squads. These alumni are the first to show their dedication and leadership to the Foundation from their perspective classes.
First, we have two new Legacy 100 members that hail from the early 80's. These two individuals were the cornerstones that brought the modern attacking fullback to SDSU and passed the torch to one another over the years from 80 - 85. The Foundation thanks and welcomes our new Legacy 100 members:
- Paul Trenta & Pat Lenihan
Both alumni donated $1000.00 to help grow the financial base of the Foundation.
Additionally, this month two new alumni from the early 90's have joined the Foundation with a $250.00 donation each. The Foundation welcomes our newest members:
- Jeff Carlin & Mike Shepard
The Foundation thanks you for your support. It is alumni like yourself that will continue to help the Aztec Rugby achieve it's lofty goals.
Way to go Paul, Pat Jeff & Mike!!
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Directors Needed
Want to help guide the Foundation? Make a difference for future Aztec's? Have your voice heard? If you do, then we invite you to become a member of the board.
Currently we have four open directorships for the 2008-2010 years. The board consists of nine members that actively manage the activities of the Foundation and set the strategic vision.
To join you simply need to become a Foundation member. The cost to join is $100.00 for players within 3 years of graduation and 250 for alumni or interested parties 3 years or greater from graduation.
Please let the Foundation know if you are interested in joining and we will add your name to the slate for June.
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| Foundation and SDSU Team Receive Grants
We asked, and you delivered in order to assist the team offset the travel expenses for the USA Rugby playoffs. With the latest donations the Foundation provided $1,600 to the team in an effort to lower the out of pocket amounts to the students.
Additionally, former Aztec Flyhalf and current candidate for US House of Representatives Bob Watkins made a call into SDSU president Stephen Weber. The result of the conversation was an understanding that the President has special funds set aside for playoff bound teams. After speaking with Head Coach Dan Payne the president provided a check to the team for $2500.00!!
Way to go Bob for assisting here and good luck in your run for congress.
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| Final US Rugby Collegiate National Standings
The Aztec's finished off the year in the highest National Ranking since 1993. The team finished at #4 in the country as ranked by erugby news. This was partially due to BYU efforts in the semifinals as they were able to easily get past Colorado. Unfortunately, for the Cougars they met a juggernaut in Cal losing 59-12 in the USA Rugby final. With that one sided loss the St Mary Gaels stepped into the #2 spot with an impressive run at Cal in the semis 41-31. Listed below are the final rankings for the 2008 USA Rugby Collegiate Teams.
4 San Diego St
5 Kutztown
6 Colorado
7 Penn State
8 Air Force
9 Cal Poly
10 Minnesota
11 Navy
12 UC Davis
13 Bowling Green
14 Utah
15 Arkansas St.
16t Tennessee
16t Dartmouth
18 Wyoming
19 Army
20 LSU
21 Cent. Wash.
22 Delaware
23 Arizona
24 UCLA
25 Texas A&M
In addition to the top 4 finish the Aztec's captain and second row Joe Fontana was awarded All American honors and will be eligible to tour New Zealand with the All American side this summer.
Lastly, 9 Aztec's including Joe were picked for the SCRFU side to compete in this summers inter teritorial competition. |
| Dan Payne Summer Camp
This year marks the first for year that Head Coach, and former World Cup USA 8 man Dan Payne will hold a summer skills development camp. The camp is looking for players in 2 categories. Specifically, group 1 will consist of 5th - 7th grades and group 2 will be comprised of 8th grade through seniors. The camp will be conducted at San Diego's Robb Field on June 25-27, 2008. Cost for the camp is $150 per player.
The current SDSU coaching staff will assist in the camp along with current USA team members Todd Clever and USA Rugby National Team Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave Williams.
If you are aware of a high school or youth rugby in your area please forward the news on. A copy of the flyer can be found at the SDSU website at:
http://www.aztecrugby.com/Camp.html
This aims to be another key recruiting component for a steady stream of future Aztec rugby players.
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| Rugby on Television
This year USA rugby has made a nice entry step into greater TV coverage. The Sweet 16's, the collegiate women's rugby and collegiate men's rugby were all covered on ESPNU. The network completed a recap of the brackets in the Sweet 16's and then provided back to back coverage on consecutive nights for the women's and men's final on 21st & 22nd.
Aztec alumni Brian Vizard was the co-host of the event on both nights. Way to go Brian!!
Additionally, for those of you who have Setanta sports the film crew of Total Rugby featured the Aztec team during the Sweet 16's. The Total Rugby show has a worldwide audience of 140 million people. The crew was present for all the games, meetings and practices and conducted interviews with the team throughout the playoffs. Let's hope this has an impact on our worldwide recruiting with international players wanting to come to SDSU.
We will attempt to aquire a link of the show and provide it to alumni in the future. |
Support the Cause
Fellow Aztec supporters in order to maintain this level of success we need your help. In previous emails the Foundation has announced fund raising activities toward achieving a financial base and building an endowment for years to come.
Many of our Alumni have answered the call by stepping forward and contributing in some fashion or by signing up for the Legacy 100. As previously announced, this program is the Foundation's attempt to build a financial base of 100 alumni each with a $1000.00 contribution. To date we have collected over $16k in donations in our initial goal to reach $100k.
The Foundation is also compiling a sponsorship package and looking for corporate advertising to improve our financial standing. But truly efforts to grow the foundation must come from within. In order to continue the proud tradition and success of the program your financial help is needed. Please join your peers in helping fund the Foundation for future generations of Aztec Rugby Champions.
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Employment Needed
Alumni with the end of the school year we have a couple of students looking for work in the San Diego area. Starting hooker/prop Jeff Sparks is looking for a summer job or intern in the civil engineering area.
Additionally, starting lock Bryan Branch is looking for employment in finance, business management or the economics field. If you or your companies have positions available please contact Jeff or Brian at:
These two individuals would have my recommendation as a solid candidate for any company. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
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About Us:
Foundation Principles & Directors
What is the SDSU Rugby Foundation? We are a newly formed Public Benefit Corporation, Incorporated in the State of California. The Foundation is organized under the Nonprofit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. We are exempt from Federal Income Tax as a non profit 501 (c) (3) public charity designation. As part of of our designation all donations to the Foundation our tax deductible.
The Foundation's mission is to develop, foster and support rugby at San Diego State University. Our specific purposes stated in our bylaws are:
1. Development and management of resources for the support of the San Diego State University Rugby Program.
2. Development and management of scholarship, networking and academic enhancement programs for the benefit of the San Diego State University Rugby Program.
3. Promotion and protection of Rugby at San Diego State University.
4. The implementation and monitoring of fundraising to assure the continuation of the San Diego State Rugby Foundation.
The Foundation's financial vision is long term in nature. We are looking to build an endowment fund that will not only help support the current team but also provide for future generation of Aztec's.
This newsletter's purpose is to serve as a communication vehicle to bring the Aztec Rugby Community, located throughout the world, up to date with the current status of San Diego State Rugby.
In November of 2006, six former Aztecs were elected to sit on the inaugural board of the Foundation. We believe this group of officers and directors bring a unique blend of professional experience including engineering, finance, legal, nonprofit and entrepreneurship to help lead the Foundation forward. The officers and directors are:
David Crist, President 85-87*
Jimmy Parker, Vice President 81-87*
Stephen Marshall, Treasurer 84-88*
Chris Morris, Secretary 86-89*
Dwayne Parker, Director 82-87*
Chris Prell, Director 84-88*
Victor Orozco 02-05*
*Aztec Rugby
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