AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts Athletics and the Massachusetts State Lottery are partnering to introduce the Community Salute, a new program that will celebrate deserving individuals who have made a positive impact on campus and greater Western Massachusetts communities. Recognition of the honorees will be incorporated into the final five regular-season home men’s basketball games.

“We are excited about this season-long partnership and look forward to saluting deserving residents of the greater UMass community who are giving of their time and effort for the betterment of the lives of others,” said Michael Sweeney, Massachusetts State Lottery executive director.

Nominations of individuals for the Community Salute program are accepted online via UMassAthletics.com/salute or by mailing a submission to: 131 Commonwealth Ave., 280 Boyden Building, Amherst, MA 01003. All nominees must be over 18 years of age and must demonstrate commitment and humanitarian spirit towards the community.

A UMass Athletics’ corporate partner, Massachusetts State Lottery returned over $989 million in net profit to the Commonwealth in the last year. These funds flowed back to the 351 cities and towns throughout the state and helped provide funds for local improvement projects, public safety and education initiatives. The Lottery relationship is overseen by UMass Athletics’ multimedia rightsholder, Learfield’s UMass Sports Properties.
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An industry leader for more than four decades, Learfield has a deep presence in the college athletics landscape nationwide. In addition to UMass, it manages the multimedia and sponsorship rights for more than 120 collegiate institutions, conferences and arenas, and supports athletic departments at all competitive levels as title sponsor of the prestigious Learfield Directors’ Cup.

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