Feb. 5, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle University celebrated the 23rd annual National Girls and Women in Sport Day with a luncheon for its female student-athletes on Tuesday. NGWS Day was started in 1987 in honor of Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman, who died in 1986 while competing in a tournament in Japan. The day has grown into a national celebration of women’s athletic achievements in the past and present and to acknowledge the positive influence of sports participation and the ongoing struggle for equality and access.

La Salle celebrated this year’s NGWS Day with the awarding of the Mary O’Connor Award to the late Bob Vetrone and a keynote speech by Atlantic 10 Associate Commissioner Debbie Richardson.

Vetrone - a La Salle sports information legend and proponent of women’s athletics - was a Philadelphia sports media fixture since the early 1940s. Prior to his time at La Salle, he served as a writer for The Bulletin and the Philadelphia Daily News. He came on board at La Salle in 1990 as a Sports Information Director for Men’s

Bob Vetrone, Sr.

Basketball to create the media exposure and recognition that led to Lionel Simmons being named National Player of the Year. During his nearly 15 years on campus, he developed a love of all Explorer teams and took a particular interest in women’s athletics. He routinely attended games both at home and on the road, whether it was women’s basketball, volleyball, softball or track. In addition to rooting on each and every Explorer, he served as a mentor for many student-athletes and the student-workers he helped recruit to the athletic department.

Bob Vetrone, Jr., accepted the award on his behalf and spoke a few words about the impact his father had on La Salle and the impact that La Salle had on his father. Vetrone, Jr., also stressed the importance of getting involved and sticking with something that you love.

The Mary O'Connor Award was created in 1978 to honor its late namesake, who was the first Coordinator of Women’s Athletics Activities and basketball coach, as well as the first female Hall of Athletes inductee. The award has only been given 11 times and is to honor those who exemplify the loyalty, dedication and service to the women’s intercollegiate athletic programs that O’Connor personified.

In addition to the awarding of the Mary O’Connor Award, female student-athletes were also treated to Richardson’s keynote speech. Richardson has been a fixture in women’s athletics as a student-athlete, coach and administrator, and most recently came to the Atlantic 10 Conference after a 10-year stint as the

Bob Vetrone, Jr., accepts the Mary O'Connor Award on his father's behalf, along with University President Br. Michael McGinniss and La Salle Athletic Director Dr. Thomas Brennan.

Associate Athletic Director at Campbell University in North Carolina. She also emphasized the importance of sticking with something that you love doing and emphasized the importance of being a role player on a team. She relayed her story about picking up a basketball in fifth grade and working toward playing at North Carolina. According to her, she was not the most talented point guard on the team, but she was rewarded for putting in hard work and maintaining a positive attitude by being voted team captain.

In addition to Vetrone, Richardson and members of La Salle’s women’s athletic teams, Tuesday’s luncheon also saw a number of men’s coaches and University administrators come out to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sport Day and the accomplishments of the Explorer women.