Fuel Up to Play 60 students in the New York area were invited to participate in football clinics with the soon-to-be drafted players on the Wednesday and Thursday leading up to the 2013 NFL Draft. Students participated in football drills during the Youth Football Festival, which also served as a celebration for the draftees. In addition to the clinics, Fuel Up to Play 60 students and families were invited to attend the Draft on Saturday afternoon, and enjoyed VIP and behind-the-scenes experiences, including a visit with Antoine Bethea of the Colts.

Behind perhaps only the Super Bowl, the Draft has become one of the premier events on the NFL calendar each year. More than 20 million viewers tuned in across various media outlets this year to watch the first round.

About Fuel Up to Play 60

Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council (NDC) and NFL, in collaboration with the USDA, to help encourage today’s youth to lead healthier lives.

Fuel Up to Play 60 helps students make positive changes in their schools by improving opportunities to consume nutrient-rich foods and get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The ultimate goal is to ensure changes made at school are sustainable and compliments – not competes with – an academics-focused environment.

In the second episode of the series, entitled “A Wake Up Call,” chronicling Ward’s preparation for the IRONMAN® World Championships in October, Hines steps up his workouts in the pool, takes a tumble on his bike, and spends some quality time learning about workout recovery with his nutrition coach – including the properties in chocolate milk that make it the right formula for refueling.

Ward was a four-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl MVP in his 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and has stayed active in his post-NFL career. Ward won season 12 of “Dancing with the Stars,” and serves as an NFL analyst for NBC Sports. But his role as part of Team REFUEL, taking him from retired athlete to triathlon competitor, looks to be his most daunting task to date.

To learn more about Hines’ journey to become a triathlete and his teammates on Team Refuel, click here.

CBS is creating an exclusive microsite on CBSBaltimore.com for the contest, with a cluster of radio stations driving listeners to vote on their favorite photo each week. At the end of the contest, fans will be able to vote between all of the weekly winners, with the  winning school receiving a $1,500 donation from PNC for their athletic department and A Night At The Ballpark for the team, which will include a skybox at Camden Yards, complementary food and beverage, passes to batting practice before the game, and the opportunity for one player to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before an Orioles game.

Team Services has been working with PNC to align them throughout lacrosse in Baltimore.  This includes the sponsorship of the championship games for the IAAM, the MIAA, and the MPSSAA high school leagues.  Through the PNC Play Of The Week contest, PNC will extend their promotional period beyond the championship games, and foster better engagement with the lacrosse community.

With both the city, who owns the stadium, and the team looking for additional revenue, the entities are jointly inspecting ways to bring additional revenues while simultaneously protecting the Harry Grove name.  Harry Grove was the founder of the Frederick Hustlers, a professional team that played in the area from 1915 through World War II. The Grove family donated $250,000 to the city to help fund the construction of the stadium in 1989, and Harry’s name has adorned the building ever since.

The stadium, in addition to baseball, has also hosted Bob Dylan during his third annual Summer Minor League Baseball Tour, World Wrestling Entertainment events, and the 2005 Class-A All-Star Game.

IAAM Executive Director Susan Thompson.

To celebrate the start of the lacrosse season, PNC hosted a luncheon to kick off the season for the IAAM. Sonia LaMonica, Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach for Towson, and Laura Gamble, Regional President Greater Maryland for PNC served as the guest speakers for the afternoon. Heads of School, Athletic Directors, Lacrosse Coaches, and Team Captains were invited to the event at Towson University.

In working with PNC in Baltimore, Team Services has strategized and negotiated numerous partnerships for PNC including the Baltimore Orioles, Towson University Athletics, Loyola University Athletics,  the Preakness Stakes, the Inner Harbor Independence Day Celebration, and the Baltimore Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, along with many other regional events.

Led by Junior transfer Jerrelle Benimon, the Tigers finished second in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 13-5 conference record. Benimon, who transferred to Towson after beginning his collegiate career at Georgetown, led the Tigers in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks per game. Benimon led the CAA in rebounds with 11.2 per game, finished third with 17.1 points per game, and ranked third with 1.9 blocks per game.

The Tiger’s season-ending 67-64 victory over Hofstra not only clinched the record, but it also sent the Towson Center out on a winning note, as it was the last game for the team’s home for the last three-plus decades. The crowd stormed the court following the historic victory, which sent the team to it’s highest conference finish and victory total in almost 20 years.

Team Services is handling the naming rights for the Tiger’s new arena, scheduled to open for the 2013-2014 season. Towson’s success should carry over to next season, as their top-5 scorers and 12 of their 14 players overall will return, and the new state-of-the-art arena should help the university remain competitive in recruiting top players in the future.

This is the 16th consecutive year that MilkPEP has run the award winning “face off” ad campaign, which features two opponents from the teams participating in the Super Bowl. The campaign has featured such NFL stars as Aaron Rodgers, Michael Strahan, Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Hakeem Nicks, and Matt Hasselbeck in previous ads.

The  ad campaign is designed to highlight how essential a breakfast consisting of milk and other essential nutrients is in order to fuel up to play 60. MilkPEP made their presence known during the Super Bowl, following up the print ad with their first ever Super Bowl TV ad, featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

During the NFL Experience in New Orleans as part of the Super Bowl XLVII festivities, 20 NFL players made appearances at the Fuel Up To Play 60 field to conduct clinics for kids. The one hour clinics included a welcome speech with information on the National Dairy Council and the Fuel Up To Play 60 program, a Q&A and photo/autograph session with an NFL player, and activity rotations/drills on the Fuel Up To Play 60 field. The players shared personal stories of how they “fuel up” with healthy foods, like milk in their cereal and/or oatmeal, the importance of starting every day with breakfast, and how they had strong bones and muscles because of milk, yogurt & cheese. Additionally, 15 of the 20 NFL players that participated in the clinics posted messages to their personal Twitter accounts promoting the fun the had with Fuel Up to Play 60 at the NFL Experience.

Over 700 students attended the clinics throughout the weekend and signed the Fuel Up to Play 60 pledge to eat smart and get moving. A local processor, Brown’s Dairy, provided low fat chocolate milk that was sampled along with Borden Lite String Cheese. Team Services directly managed the booking of all NFL players who participated in clinics throughout NFL Experience.

NFL Players who participated in Fuel Up to Play 60 clinics at 2013 NFL Experience included:

· Malcolm Jenkins – New Orleans Saints – Safety

· Curtis Lofton – New Orleans Saints – Linebacker

· Danny Woodhead – New England Patriots – Running Back

· Jamaal Charles – Kansas City Chiefs – Running Back

· Kurt Warner – Alumni – Quarterback

· Alfred Morris – Washington Redskins – Running Back

· Doug Martin – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Running Back

· Kyle Rudolph – Minnesota Vikings – Tight End

· Eric Decker – Denver Broncos – Wide Receiver

· Trent Richardson – Cleveland Browns – Running Back

· Luke Kuechly – Carolina Panthers – Linebacker

· Lance Moore – New Orleans Saints -  Wide Receiver

· Matt Schaub – Houston Texans – Quarterback

· Matt Forte – Chicago Bears – Running Back

· Devin McCourty – New England Patriots – Safety

· Jason McCourty – Tennessee Titans – Safety

· Stevan Ridley – New England Patriots – Running Back

· Rueben Randle – New York Giants – Wide Receiver

· Garrett Hartley – New Orleans Saints – Kicker

· Blair Walsh – Minnesota Vikings – Kicker

On Friday, February 1st, DMI held a dinner at the famous National World War II Museum in New Orleans. The event was attended by such football greats as Kurt Warner (former quarterback and Super Bowl MVP with the St. Louis Rams), Joe Theismann (Super Bowl Champion with the Washington Redskins) and Thurman Thomas (former four-time Super Bowl participant with the Buffalo Bills).  Also in attendance were Demarcus Ware of the Dallas Cowboys, Pro Bowl Offensive Tackle Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns, Tighet End Kyle Rudolph of the Minnesota Vikings and past player, coach and current ESPN commentator Herm Edwards.

Players in attendance at the Welcome Dinner at the National WWII Museum. From near to far: Joe Theismann, Kurt Warner, Thurman Thomas, Kyle Rudolph, Demarcus Ware, Joe Thomas, and Herm EdwardsWarner, and Herm Edwards, in addition to current NFL stars Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns, Kyle Rudolph of the Minnesota Vikings, and Demarcus Ware of the Dallas Cowboys.

The museum is currently hosting a special exhibit called Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It features a panoramic view of the story of professional football, from in early beginnings in the late 1800′s up to the cultural phenomenon that it has become today. The exhibit features an extraordinary collection of artifacts from the game’s past, and the Hall of Fame and NFL partnered to create the audio and video for the exhibit.

The following day Houston Texans’ quarterback Matt Schaub and Chicago Bears’ running back Matt Forte led a clinic for kids at DMI’s booth at the NFL Experience. The NFL Experience is an interactive theme park offering games, displays, autograph sessions, and a memorabilia show.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Team Services secured four-time Super Bowl Champion Joe Montana to attend brunch where he discussed his past experiences playing in four Super Bowl games.  The weekend wrapped up with the game itself and the Baltimore Ravens becoming Super Bowl Champions with a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Team Services' Super Bowl Contingent with Joe Montana

Joe Montana With Team Services' Principals Fred Fried (left) and EJ Narcise (Right)

In a partnership between the “got milk?” Campaign and Fuel Up to Play 60, America’s Milk Processors will provide $250,000 in grants to local Fuel Up to Play 60 schools across the country to help give kids greater access to a healthy breakfast. Visit www.MilkMustache.com for details.

Created in partnership by the National Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League, the “Fuel Up to Play 60” program empowers youth to take actions to improve nutrition and physical activity at their school and for their own health. It encourages kids to eat right and be active for at least 60 minutes every day. Visit www.FuelUpToPlay60.com to learn more.

Team Services is the sports marketing agency for MilkPEP and Dairy Management Inc. in conjunction with the National Dairy Council and the Fuel Up to Play 60 program.