$2,500 in someone’s lap

Special to the Messenger

Oct. 25, 2000 10 PM

Troy State University women athletes are raising funds for their programs by selling tickets to a unique event scheduled for homecoming festivities Saturday, Oct. 28.

The fifth annual Trojan Drop is the major fund-raiser for TSU women’s athletics, according to Dr. Jean Laliberte, vice president for institutional advancement, who chairs the Trojan Drop Committee.

"The Trojan Drop helps pay for equipment that is not covered in the regular budget, such as practice and travel attire and training equipment," Dr. Laliberte said. "Without the proceeds from the Drop, many of our teams would not be as competitive."

At approximately 1:30 p.m. a parachutist will drop on to Scrushy Field at Memorial Stadium, landing on a canvas sheet that has been divided into 3,000 squares. Tickets numbered to represent the squares are being sold for $10 each. The square that the parachutist hits will be carefully noted, and the holder of that ticket will be $2,500 richer. Holders of tickets adjacent to the winning square will also receive prizes.

Tickets for the Drop are still available and may be purchased from any member of any women’s athletic team at TSU or by calling the athletic department at 670-3480 or Dr. Laliberte at 670-3608.

Organizers hope to raise more than $30,000 for the women’s sports programs. The first four Drops have raised more than $100,000.

"Many of our women’s athletic teams are non-revenue sports, meaning they do not charge admission to their games or matches, so they depend heavily on the Drop," Dr. Laliberte said.

TSU fields women’s teams in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, track and volleyball.