The University of Akron Athletics
Greenberg, Huggins, Tressel Captivate Audience at Dambrot Recognition Dinner
August 10 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – On a Tuesday evening filled with community leaders, donors, friends, and family, the Keith Dambrot Recognition Dinner featured a line-up of high-profile speakers and heartfelt tributes from former athletic directors, players, and coaches. The Zips' coach was honored before a sold out audience at Lake Forest Country Club in Hudson, Ohio.
Varsity "A" Association members, Karl Schwarzinger and Brian Fisher spearheaded the event and welcomed everyone in attendance before presenting a highlight video that captured some of Dambrot's many accomplishments.
Next, ESPN's college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg captivated the audience with his basketball expertise, evaluation of Akron basketball and the intriguing qualities of the Zips' head coach. He spoke about Dambrot's leadership and character while infusing humorous stories and experiences. He also touched on the importance of community support.
"Akron has something special," Greenberg said. "A coach that is committed to you, and has been able to win at an elite level. He is a coaches' coach, he's going to coach you hard, love you, challenge you, and care about you."
He continued by commenting on Dambrot's success at Akron.
"When you look at it, what Keith has been able to accomplish here is remarkable. Look at the numbers, five teams in the country to win 21 games in 11 straight years. It's so hard in college basketball to be consistent."
Greenberg finished by putting on a pullover and introducing the next speaker, Bob Huggins, former head basketball coach at Akron and current head coach at West Virginia University. Huggins reminded everyone Dambrot's worth.
"I've known Keith for a long time, and he has been a dear friend of mine," Huggins said. "I'm amazed at the job that he does here and how hard his guys play from an X's and O's standpoint. There are a lot of guys who can get their guys to play hard, but there are not a lot of guys who can get them to play hard and know what they are doing. That's not easy."
Huggins passed the mic to the final keynote speaker, Jim Tressel, fromer Zips' assistant football coach, vice president, and current President of Youngstown State University.
Tressel opened talking about winners to what they do best, win. He continued by quoting Albert Einstein, saying, "Concern for man and his fate must form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations."
He expressed how this relates to coaches, including Dambrot.
"Concern for man and his fate has always formed the chief interest with Keith Dambrot," Tressel said. "That is why he is a winner, that's why we are here this evening and it's an honor to be here with a winner, because winners win and Keith Dambrot wins."
Finally, Dambrot took the stage. He started by thanking Greenberg, Huggins, and Tressel for making the event a success. He continued by telling everyone what it means to be a Zip, and how important and fortunate to have the type of players in the program that have contributed to his success. He also thanked the community, donors, friends, assistant coaches their families, and last but not least, his family.
The theme of the night remained the same, how valuable Dambrot is to the University and how he has impacted people as a leader, mentor and coach. Former colleagues and players who could not attend the event echoed this sentiment, by sending heartfelt-congratulatory messages through video, including former players three-time NBA champion LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jeremiah Wood, and Nate Linhart.
In addition, Mike Thomas, former Director of Athletics at Akron who hired Dambrot and Ben Braun, former head coach of Eastern Michigan who hired Dambrot as an assistant, congratulated Dambrot for his continued success. Hunter Yurachek, Vice President for Athletics at the University of Houston, Mack Rhoades, Vice President/Director of Athletics at Baylor University, Jeff Boals, head coach at Stony Brook, and Shaka Smart, head coach at University of Texas, also expressed how Dambrot impacted their lives.
The UA basketball team is scheduled to depart for Nassau, Bahamas on Friday, Aug. 12. Every four years NCAA institutions are permitted to participate in a foreign tour during the summer vacation period, which includes 10 practice sessions.
Akron is scheduled to play two games against a pair of domestic teams from Nassau, beginning with its first game on Saturday, Aug. 13, at 1 p.m. followed by a contest on Monday, Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. Follow the Zips' Foreign Tour on GoZips.com, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
