Minnesota Wild Time Line page 29

Texaco Signs On As Presenting Sponsor And Minnesota Wild Named Local Host For Nation's Premier Women's Intercollegiate Ice Hockey Award

[January 27, 1999] -- The USA Hockey Foundation announced today that The 1999 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be presented the evening of Thursday, March 25 in St. Paul, Minn., at the Radisson Hotel St. Paul. The award ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets, priced at $100.00 for adults and $50.00 for children under 12, and table sponsorships for The 1999 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award dinner may be purchased by calling John Donovan at The USA Hockey Foundation,(800) 566-3288, ext. 178; or Mike Snee at the Minnesota Wild, (651) 602-6017. Individual tickets and table sponsorship packages are tax-deductible.

An award of The USA Hockey Foundation, The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recognizes the accomplishments of the most outstanding player in women's intercollegiate varsity ice hockey each season. Texaco is the Presenting Sponsor of The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award and the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild will serve as the Local Host of this year's event.

The inaugural Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award was presented last March in Boston, Mass., to University of New Hampshire forward Brandy Fisher (Potsdam, N.Y.).

Texaco has begun a long-term commitment to USA Hockey women's and girls' programs by becoming the Presenting Sponsor of this prestigious, national-level award. Texaco will also support other USA Hockey women's initiatives, including the 2001 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship and the USA Hockey Women's National Team Tour prior to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.

"The USA Hockey Foundation welcomes Texaco as the Presenting Sponsor of The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award," said USA Hockey Foundation President Walter L. Bush, Jr. (Edina, Minn.). "We are pleased to bring this prestigious award to the state of Minnesota, a leader in the growth of girls' and women's ice hockey in the United States. After introducing the award last year, we look forward to again recognizing this high level of excellence in women's intercollegiate ice hockey."

"The Minnesota Wild is proud to host and support The 1999 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award in St. Paul," said Minnesota Wild CEO Jac Sperling (St. Paul, Minn.). "Women's ice hockey is exploding across Minnesota and throughout the nation. The Minnesota Wild is proud to join The USA Hockey Foundation, Texaco, the Minnesota Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA) and the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission (MASC) in encouraging the continued growth of women's ice hockey and recognizing the accomplishments of these outstanding female athletes."

The 1999 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award dinner opens a weekend of women's ice hockey in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The top four women's intercollegiate varsity ice hockey teams in the nation will compete in the American Women's College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) 1999 Division I National Championship, March 26-27 at Mariucci Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

The recipient of The 1999 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be chosen by an 11-member selection committee comprised of women's intercollegiate varsity ice hockey coaches, representatives of the print and broadcast media, and a representative of USA Hockey, the National Governing Body for the sport of hockey in the United States. Candidates for the award must compete for a women's intercollegiate varsity ice hockey team at an NCAA-member institution. Other selection criteria include outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the "clutch," personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration will also be given to academic achievement and civic involvement. The top 10 candidates for The 1999 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award will be announced Feb. 8, and the three finalists will be announced March 15.

An accomplished athlete who excelled in ice hockey, field hockey and lacrosse, Patty Kazmaier was a four-year varsity letter-winner for the Princeton University women's ice hockey team from 1981-82 through 1985-86. She helped lead Princeton to the Ivy League Championship in three consecutive seasons (1981-82 through 1983-84) while anchoring the team's defense.

Kazmaier earned All-Ivy League Honorable Mention honors as a freshman and was named to the All-Ivy League Second Team in both her sophomore and junior seasons. Following a leave of absence from Princeton University in 1984-85, Kazmaier was named to the All-Ivy League First Team and the All-Eastern College Athletic Conference First Team as a senior in 1985-86.

She was also honored as the Ivy League Most Valuable Player. Kazmaier graduated from Princeton in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in religion.

Following a long struggle with a rare blood disease, Patty Kazmaier-Sandt died on Feb. 15, 1990 at the age of 28. She is survived by her husband, Mark J. Sandt; a daughter, Serena K. Sandt; her parents, Richard W. and Patricia H. Kazmaier; and her sisters, Michele Kazmaier, Kimberly Eakin, Susan Kazmaier, Kathy Donnelly and Kristen Kazmaier.

The award was custom-designed and crafted for The USA Hockey Foundation by Tiffany & Co. Tiffany's heritage of marking excellence in sports dates back more than a century, when the firm created exceptional trophies for prestigious yachting and equestrian events. The Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award joins some of the world's most coveted symbols of athletic achievement, including the National Football League's Vince Lombardi Super Bowl Trophy; the National Basketball Association's Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy and the WNBA Championship Trophy; and the trophies for the United States Open Tennis Championship as unique Tiffany & Co. designs.

The Minnesota Wild begins play in the 2000-2001 NHL season in a new first-class, multi-purpose arena in downtown St. Paul.

The USA Hockey Foundation is a non-profit charitable corporation that was established in 1989 for the potential long-range financial support of USA Hockey, Inc. The USA Hockey Foundation was organized and continues to be operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, and to foster national and international amateur sports competition.

Visit the Minnesota Wild on the Internet at www.wild.com  Or USA Hockey at www.usahockey.com  .