The Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche community funds recently donated $160,000 to the DPS Foundation for middle school sports. The money will support the Denver Nuggets/Colorado Avalanche Prep League for almost 4,000 boys and girls in 23 DPS middle schools.

Since 1997, the Prep League has received $1,208,300 in cash contributions from these funds. Additional In-kind contributions include 14,400 tickets distributed with a face value of $266,400.

This season alone, Denver Nuggets players Michael Ray Richardson and Mark Randall have visited with every Prep League team (boys and girls) at least twice. Both of the NBA players have attended Prep League play-off games.

The Denver Nuggets/Colorado Avalanche Prep League has been a success since its inception in 1997. The league ensures that nearly 4,000 middle school student athletes have constructive, structured after-school athletic opportunities that encourage sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders to keep their grades up and stay in school. The league, thanks to the substantial support of the two funds and the DPS Foundation, now sponsors nine sports throughout the school year (baseball, softball, volleyball, flag football, cross country, boys’ and girls’ soccer and boys’ and girls’ basketball). Students who maintain a C average or better in each class participate in 1,560 games in the league annually. The existence of this academic requirement helps students develop good study habits and appreciate the importance of maintaining good grades in order to have the privilege of playing organized sports.

The participating middle schools are: Baker, Cole, Gove, Grant Ranch K-8, Grant, Hamilton, Henry, Hill, Horace Mann, Kepner, Kunsmiller, Lake, Martin Luther King Jr., Merrill, Moore K-8, Morey, Noel, Place, Randolph, Rishel, Skinner, Slavens K-8 and Smiley.

The League is funded primarily by grants from the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche Community Funds, funds of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, IKON Office Solutions, and the Denver Public Schools Foundation.
The Denver Nuggets Community Fund and the Colorado Avalanche Community Fund are both funds of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, a charitable organization located in Chicago, Illinois. These two funds have together made grants totaling $1,208,300 to the Prep League since 1997. Through its Communities Program, the McCormick Tribune Foundation plays a significant philanthropic role in the metro Denver area. Since 1991 the Foundation has granted more than $130 million to area nonprofit organizations. In addition to the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets, the Communities Program Denver-area partners include the Denver News Agency, the Colorado Rockies, the Denver Broncos and WB2 TV.

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at 720-423-3414.