For the past two years, Kansas State University’s head football coach, Bill Snyder, and Nebraska’s former head football coach, Tom Osborne, have engaged in a friendly wager to see which state, Kansas or Nebraska, could recruit the most new mentors during the football season.  University of Kansas head coach Turner Gill has also joined the challenge to encourage Kansans to help close the “mentoring gap”.
“Both on and off the football field, caring role models are making a tremendous difference in the lives of our young people,” Snyder said. “That is why I ask every Kansan to join me in this challenge by signing up to mentor a young person today.”
The 2010 Coaches’ Challenge runs from Aug. 1 to Nov. 30. The winning team will be announced December 4, 2010.  Last year Kansas won the challenge, recruiting over 5,000 new mentors for the state.
Currently, there are thousands of young Kansans, especially young males, in need of a caring role model. In as little as an hour a week, an individual can offer the support and guidance these young people need to succeed.
Interested Kansans can visit www.KansasMentors.org to learn more about mentoring and to connect with over 175 mentoring programs statewide.
The 2010 Coaches’ Challenge is hosted by Kansas Mentors and Nebraska’s TeamMates Mentoring Program. For more information, visit www.KansasMentors.org or call (785) 368-6207.