Student-athletes from basketball (15), baseball (28), softball (8) volleyball (1),and cheerleading (2) took advantage of the opportunity. The physicals were offered from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Library Student Facility Building on the PNC campus for just $30 per athlete.

"It was a great opportunity to provide an additional service for our student-athletes in an affordable, convenient fashion," said Athletic Director John Weber. "The staff from LRHS was wonderful."

"We've been able to accomplish more each year as we take steps to grow our department," said Weber. "Doug took the lead in planning and overseeing this opportunity and has been fine-tuning it for months. Overall, through Doug's and many other's efforts we've enjoyed a solid partnership with LaPorte Regional Health Systems."

PNC continues to grow in the athletic training field. Besides the physicals, all the coaches became CPR certified in July, they have purchased new equipment, and have had new traning tables donated.

Hough specializes in internal medicine and geriatrics. He welcomes new patients to his new office location at Johnson Road Internal Medicine located at 7002 W. Johnson Rd. in Michigan City beginning Tuesday, Sept. 2.

The Purdue University North Central Athletic Department was recently chosen as a recipient of the NAIA Champions of Character award.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) named 130 colleges and universities to the list of Champions of Character institutions for the 2006-07 school year. There are currently 281 institutions affiliated with the NAIA.

The mission of Champions of Character is to restore character values and raise a generation of students who understand and demonstrate in everyday decisions respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship.

The NAIA and member institutions use the Champions of Character program to instill an understanding of character values in sport, and provide student-athletes, coaches and parents the training to help them know and do the right things, inside and outside the sports setting. The program is dedicated to the principle that character is a choice and that being a champion is not just about winning, but making good decisions consistently in daily life.

To be considered a Champions of Character institution, schools must incorporate the five core values in the campus community and educate student-athletes, coaches, parents and fans on specific standards and expectations. Each school is later reviewed by a team directed by NAIA Director of Champions of Character Initiatives Rob Miller.

Within representing the five core values, the PNC student-athletes have done numerous charitable events in the surrounding areas. Included in recent activities among many are ringing the bell for Salvation Army, assisting in holiday parties for needy families, free camps and clinics, and raising money for many catastrophic events.

“The Champions of Character program is a game plan dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics,” said Miller. “The philosophy and approach to sport is a fundamental distinction gaining traction throughout the United States and Canada . Successful teams are built on a solid foundation and hundreds of competitive programs see the value in the NAIA and the Champions of Character model.”

To learn more about the NAIA and Champions of Character visit www.naia.org .

On April 23, 2006, John Weber, Director of Athletics, announced the first inductees to the PNC Hall of Fame at the annual sports recognition banquet. The first inductees are past coaches Ed Bednar, Larry Blake, and Jerry Lewis. Each inductee has a long history in the sports program at PNC.

Bednar, who retired from the position of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in June 2004, began at Purdue as a math instructor in 1965. Bednar began the intramural program in basketball, softball, and tag football in 1968 and ran a “ Joe College ” basketball tournament for PNC students, local
school teachers, and military personal each Christmas holiday from 1966 through 1969.

Bednar began the intercollegiate team with an 18 game schedule in 1968 as assistant coach with then Dean James Blackwell as head coach.

“I learned a lot about coaching and organizing a team from Jim,” stated Bednar.

Bednar's overall coaching record was 52-133. Coaching the PNC team from 1969 to 1976, his crowning achievement was winning the Indiana regional campus championship at the end of 1971-72 season.

“We finished the season with four of the last five games over 100 points,” remarked Bednar.

Blake, who once received an invitational tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1968, coached at PNC for several years. He was the head baseball coach from 1990 to 1999 with an overall record of 75-138 and head basketball coach from 1990 to 2002 with a record of 81-134.

Blake was the coach when PNC started making the transition to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and later to the Chicagoland Collegiate Association Conference (CCAC).

Blake presently serves as a member of Purdue North Central Athletic Advisory Board and is involved in pitching and hitting clinics for area athletes.
Jerry Lewis, Director of Financial Aid, has the motto: “If it is for kids, it is a good thing.”

Lewis started the baseball program in 1977 under the guidance of John Coggins, the current Dean of Students and coached the then Centaurs to their first-ever winning seasons.

“As a club sport, there were some great opportunities, yet the creation of a schedule, recruiting players, coaching and practicing without a baseball facility was a real challenge,” said Lewis.

Lewis has coached the women's volleyball team as a club sport, men's basketball for five years as a club sport, and was involved with the men's golf club for approximately five years. He also operated multiple intramural programs off campus.

“Without the sacrifice and dedication of many staff over the years anything that I accomplished over my time in athletics on the PNC campus would not be possible,” added Lewis.

Unlike many Hall of Fames, the record of each coach was not the sole consideration when forming the first class. Each individual was recognized for their contributions, impact and efforts in helping initiate and helping maintain athletics on campus, especially at a time when there was limited funding and facilities. Without these efforts, PNC would most likely not be competing as an intercollegiate athletics program today.

The Purdue North Central athletic department recently named Jim Clark as the first-ever women's volleyball coach for the start-up program scheduled to begin in the 2006-07 school year.

The Panthers will start this fall as a club program before making the jump to an NAIA intercollegiate sport for the 2007-08 academic year, competing as an independent. In 2008-09 PNC will complete their transition by competing as a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Clark brings a wealth of experience to PNC, including 21 years at Westville High School coaching both the boys and girls varsity teams. During that span, Clark led Westville to 15 Porter County Conference championships, 13 Porter County Conference Tournament championships and six Indiana High School Volleyball Coaches Association men's state championships.

Clark is also a veteran of local club volleyball and beach volleyball activity. He served as a Dunes Junior Volleyball club coach from 1993 to 1995 and spent over 25 years organizing and directing Michigan City Beach Volleyball tournaments. Clark directed the Indiana State Beach Volleyball Championships for 25 years and guided eight IHSVCA state tournaments.

Clark has also had the opportunity to coach and influence numerous talented individuals, including Jackie Nunez, who was All-Big Ten at Northwestern and went on to coach at Iowa State , LaSalle and Temple. The mentor coached Nick Cheronis, currently the associate head coach at the University of Florida and Troy Campbell, who has coached Marquette High School to three state championships. Clark has also coached the all-time kill leaders at both the Division I and II levels (Sara McFarland at Loyola Marymount and Ronda Price N. Alabama) among others. McFarland is a member of the USA National Team and the Grand Rapids professional team.

“We're excited to bring Jim on board as the first volleyball coach at PNC,” said Director of Athletics, John Weber. “With his experience and knowledge we expect Jim to accept this unique challenge of literally starting from scratch and building a highly successful program.”

Along with his coaching duties, Clark spent over 30 years (1971-2003) as a teacher at Westville High School, primarily teaching psychology and government, in addition to history, sociology and physical education courses. He also runs a part-time business that sells athletic apparel.

The veteran coach graduated from Ball State in 1971 and earned a Masters Degree in Education in 1977 from Indiana . He attended PNC from 1966-1968.

“I will give each player a quality experience by being a positive role model, increasing their knowledge of the game, and challenging them to be not only better players, but also better people,” said Clark.

The Panthers are a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and currently offers baseball, softball and men's basketball.

A leader in the development of student-athletes, the NAIA is committed to changing the culture of sport through Champions of Character. Founded in 1937, the NAIA continues to be a pioneer in implementing exceptional standards for academics, diversity, and character. Today, the NAIA sponsors 23 collegiate championships in 13 sports for its nearly 300 member institutions throughout the United States and Canada.

For student-athletes interested in potentially becoming a member of the volleyball program, please fill out the recruiting questionnaire on the PNC athletics website at http://www.pnc.edu/athletics/.