KENT STATE COLUMBIANA CONTINUES TO PUT STUDENT-ATHLETES FIRST

SALEM, OH- How rare is it that a University invests their time, and resources into a high school event to recruit students?

Not very.

OK, now let’s add in some ingredients:  What if the university is promoting a local event where their satellite campuses are located?  What if they do one boy event in the winter, and another for girls in the fall?  What if they handed out scholarships to worthy students and fans that attended the game?

Now for the big one…

What if that university is all about attracting the student portion of the “student-athlete” because they currently don’t have sports teams?

Insanity.

No, that’s just how Kent State Salem, and East Liverpool rolls.  Over the last five years, KSU Columbiana County has invested so much into the battle of two communities (Salem and East Liverpool) to help engage a healthy culture and atmosphere to enlighten, engage, and enroll students to help further their futures.  It started by having the Kent State Classic on the basketball court with the boy’s teams and grew into the giveaways that included scholarships, Flash in attendance, games between breaks, and so much more.  However, that wasn’t enough.  Doctor David Dees, who serves as Dean of both campuses leaned on his staff to think bigger, and that they did.  Now entering their third year of putting on a Kent State Classic on the volleyball court to help bring light and excitement to girls’ sports and activities as well!

As we at YSN gear up for what should be a great game with Salem and East Liverpool inside the Field House, we sat down with “Doc” to discuss why this is so important to all involved, and how things might look a bit different wrapped around a pandemic.