March 29, 2007

FAIRFIELD, CT - Dr. Richard Lapchick, President and CEO of the National Consortium for Academics and Sport (NCAS), will be the Keynote speaker at the Sacred Heart Department of Athletics Ninth Annual Celebrity Breakfast on Tuesday, April 24th in the William H. Pitt Center on campus. The doors open for the event at 7:00 a.m., and breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m.

The speech will be carried live on sacredheartpioneers.com and can be seen by clicking the following link beginning at 8 AM EDT on Tuesday morning: Watch It Live!

Human rights activist, pioneer for racial equality, internationally recognized expert on sports issues, scholar and author Richard E. Lapchick is often described as "the racial conscience of sport." He brought his commitment to equality and his belief that sport can be an effective instrument of positive social change to the University of Central Florida where he accepted an endowed chair in August 2001. Lapchick became the only person named as "One of the 100 Most Powerful People in Sport" to head up a sport management program.

Lapchick helped found the Center for the Study of Sport in Society in 1984 at Northeastern University. He served as Director for 17 years and is now the Director Emeritus. The Center has attracted national attention to its pioneering efforts to ensure the education of athletes from junior high school through the professional ranks.

Lapchick was the American leader of the international campaign to boycott South Africa in sport for more than 20 years. In 1993, the Center launched TEAMWORK-South Africa, a program designed to use sports to help improve race relations and help with sports development in post-apartheid South Africa. He was among 200 guests specially invited to Nelson Mandela's inauguration.

Considered among the nation's experts on sports issues, Lapchick has appeared numerous times on Nightline, Good Morning America, Face The Nation, The Today Show, ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, the CBS Evening News, CNN and ESPN.

Sacred Heart coaches will serve as waiters for the event, which will benefit the Pioneers' intercollegiate athletic program. "Tips" to the waiters, coaches and athletes will help the Pioneer athletic programs continue to successfully compete.

The Celebrity Breakfast is run under the auspices of The Pioneer Club, the new athletic development fundraising arm that benefits all Pioneer athletic programs. Previous keynote speakers at the Celebrity Breakfast have included Lou Carnesecca, Jim Calhoun, Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo, Bobby Valentine, Frank Deford, Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White, former Commissioner of Major League Baseball Fay Vincent, and UConn Associate Head Women's Basketball Coach, Chris Daley.

To make reservations, contact Sheryl Madison at (203) 371-7917