Jan. 25, 2006

The NCAA and The University of Virginia hosted the annual APPLE Conference last weekend. Four USC student-athletes attended the conference, including Erica Battle from the women’s golf team, Matthew Mierley, representing men’s soccer, Katy Biffle from the equestrian team and Adam Gardner from cheerleading.

The conference is geared towards Student-Athlete Wellness and Substance Abuse Prevention. The APPLE conferences assist schools in improving and enhancing the climate of their athletics departments by empowering teams of student-athletes and administrators to create and implement institution-specific action plans. Each school has a unique environment and is encouraged to develop a substance abuse prevention plan that is tailored to its specific needs.

USC is a recipient of the NCAA CHOICES Grant. This $30,000 grant, established as a gift to the NCAA from Anheuser-Busch, encourages schools to integrate athletics into effective campus-wide alcohol-education programs. CHOICES projects are designed to work toward the elimination of illegal and excessive alcohol consumption on college campuses. Members of the Athletics Department’s “CHOICES Team” have been engaged in residence hall presentations and a campus literature campaign.

For more information on the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program, please visit the website at uscsports.com or call (803) 777-8704.