Habit for Teamwork

July 23, 2007

NORMAN, Okla. -- When Oklahoma running back Jacob Gutierrez attended this summer's NCAA Leadership Conference he was inspired to involve his team in a project that could impact an entire community.

When the San Antonio native returned to Norman he took the idea to Annette Moran, who oversees the Oklahoma Athletics Department's Community Service projects. With Moran's assistance, the idea blossomed into a Habitat for Humanity project in Noble, Okla.

"I just really wanted to get our team involved with the community a little more," Gutierrez said. "Our community has been so great to us week in and week out. I just wanted to come up with a way to give back and my teammates really responded.

"I am really proud. It just shows what kind of character we have on this team."

On Friday, July 20, more than 80 Sooner football players descended on the project to assist in the demolition of one structure, while building and autographing a playhouse that will later be auctioned to assist in Habitat's ongoing efforts.

"As a former student-athlete myself, (I know) a lot of these guys don't really know what they'll be getting in to," Moran said. "By the end, they appreciate what they have and really understand that getting involved with the community is really important."

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While the project was larger in scale than many undertaken by OU student-athletes, it was typical of the community service emphasis that exists within the athletics department. From August to April, the Sooners logged 343 hours of community service at 73 different events.

Interested in helping with a Habitat for Humanity project? Contact the Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity or find the Habitat for Humanity chapter in your area at www.habitat.org.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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