Personalities of the PAC
Andrew DiDonato, Grove City College
The PAC is thrilled to participate in the NCAA's eighth annual Division III Week — a celebration of the division's unique philosophy that equally values academics, athletics and student-athletes' involvement in a full and rich campus life. Division III Week provides an opportunity for all individuals associated with a Division III institution or conference to recognize the powerful impact of athletics and student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community.
Follow all of the DIII Week stories being told across the country by checking out the social media hashtag #D3week. Want to tell a Division III story of your own? Use the hashtag #whyd3!
Andrew DiDonato, Grove City College
A record-setting quarterback during his playing days at Grove City College, Andrew recently completed his third season as Grove City’s head football coach. A native of Bridgeville, Pa. and graduate of South Fayette High School, Coach DiDonato graduated as Grove City's record holder in career passing yards (7,509), pass completions (750), and touchdown passes (49). As a senior, he also lettered in basketball and helped Grove City to the conference title and the Wolverines’ first trip to the NCAA Division III Championship in 21 years. Coach DiDonato concluded his career as a student-athlete by earning the College’s Sportsman of the Year award in 2010. He also earned PAC Academic Honor Roll distinction during his career as a student-athlete. Coach DiDonato earned a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2010 and a master’s degree in exercise science from California University of Pennsylvania in 2011. |
|
“To glorify God in the pursuit of earning a degree, building lasting relationships, and competing for PAC championships”. This is the vision statement we’ve put in place for our football program at Grove City College. For me, this vision statement answers the question, “Why Division III?” Division III provides a unique opportunity and environment to intentionally help athletes grow, develop, and be mentored in many areas in addition to on the athletic field. Here at Grove City College, we call this ‘whole person development’ or developing a student-athlete spiritually, socially, mentally, and physically.
Spiritually – Football will last four years, careers will last the next 40 years, but faith will last forever. The holistic worldview of a small college, founded on faith in God, allows us to use athletics as a means to point our student-athletes to an ultimate end that will last far beyond their playing days. As a team, we pursue a vision of competing for a championship each year but we remind our players that we also pursue a greater vision, which is to glorify God in all we do. Division III athletics has provided an environment in which I could grow deeper in my faith while playing the sport I love.
Socially – I remember sitting in the locker room at Thorn Field getting ready to play in my first game and looking up at my teammates who I would compete with each Saturday in the fall for the next several years. A few years after graduating, I got married in Harbison Chapel on the campus of Grove City College and a number of those same teammates were the ones who stood next to me on one of the biggest days of my life. It was the special camaraderie that Division III so easily lends itself to that has resulted in many lifelong friendships.
Mentally – The Division III experience provided me a quality education that has opened many doors for my peers and me. The small classroom setting gave me the opportunity to be challenged but also encouraged by my professors. It was the same professors who ultimately helped me get my dream internship as well as my start in coaching. A quality education and the ability to connect personally with your professors is something special that the small college experience provides.
Physically – My friends and I still talk about the special moments we shared together playing college football. The competition was great then and it continues to be for our current players. There is no lack of college game day experience for our Division III team. In the last two years, we have seen fans charging the field after a special night game win, a touchdown in the final seconds on homecoming, and winning our first postseason game in school history. Division III athletics provides our athletes with memories that will last a lifetime competing in the sport they love.
Why Division III? It gives you the opportunity to grow spiritually, socially, mentally, and physically in ways that will impact the next four years, 40 years, and forever! |
|
|