{"id":508,"date":"2018-09-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/ncu-rams-help-launch-read-to-the-final-four-initiative\/"},"modified":"2021-12-28T23:11:20","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T23:11:20","slug":"ncu-rams-help-launch-read-to-the-final-four-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/ncu-rams-help-launch-read-to-the-final-four-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"NCU Rams help launch Read to the Final Four initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Friday, North Central University men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball team<\/a> members proved they can handle a book as well as a ball. The players went to Obama Elementary School in Saint Paul to help kick off the Read to the Final Four<\/a> competition being held in conjunction with Minnesota serving as the host site for the 2019 NCAA Final Four<\/a> championship next spring.<\/p>\n

According to the Organizing Committee\u2019s website<\/a>, Read to the Final Four is a year-long, statewide, reading initiative to inspire reading for young people. This signature legacy program offers several ways to participate, including a statewide reading goal for all non-third grade elementary students and a tournament-style reading competition for Minnesota third graders, supported by a library of thousands of digital books.<\/p>\n

Participating students\u2019 reading progress will be tracked via myOn\u2019s digital reading platform over the next several months. The 68 schools with the highest average time spent reading will qualify for the bracket-style competition. School and individual reading winners will be announced during Final Four week, in April 2019.<\/p>\n

\"NCU<\/p>\n

North Central student athletes help mark “reading season”<\/h2>\n

Friday\u2019s \u201ctip-off\u201d event at Obama Elementary was one of 10 locations throughout the state where NCAA-member colleges and universities helped mark the official launch of \u201creading season\u201d for the eager third-graders. While at the school, NCU Rams athletes visited with students, talked about playing basketball, and read out loud to the students.<\/p>\n

Jon High<\/a>, Rams Men’s Basketball Coach, said, “As a coaches, it was a really joy to see our players interact and have a real sense of care for these students at Obama Elementary. It is events like this that help us fulfill the mission of NCU Athletics<\/a> and the ideals of NCAA D3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Women’s Basketball Coach Paul Brunner<\/a> noted it was a high-impact event for the players. “Both the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams emphasize that our programs are ‘bigger than basketball,’\u201d Brunner said, “and having an opportunity like this is more impactful than anything we will accomplish on the court this season. As their coach, seeing them interact with the kids was something that will stand out to me all season.”<\/p>\n

The NCU Rams participating in the event included Jack Martin, Jared High, AJ McGrew, Roy Mack, Mylick Elliot-Dargan, Haleigh Filer, Bethany Shield, Naomi Hagstrom, Allison Bulthuis, and MiCayla Jones.<\/p>\n

Prior to Friday\u2019s tip-off events, organizers shared the following stats:<\/h4>\n