DENVER – CoPeace, a diversified holding company that invests in growing companies demonstrating positive measurable impact and strong fiscal health, announced today a presenting sponsorship of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardians of the Game Awards for Advocacy & Service. CoPeace will also be a sponsor of the “John McLendon – Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities” coaches clinic. Both events will take place during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in Indianapolis the week of March 29-April 2.

The Guardians of the Game is a national awareness and education program of the NABC. The goal of the program is to focus attention on the positive aspects of basketball and the important role coaches play in the lives of student-athletes as well as positively impacting their communities.

The sponsorship is an ideal fit for CoPeace, which has launched a “sport for good” initiative that helps coaches, athletes and sports organizations utilize their platforms and maximize their ability to positively impact society. For coaches in particular, CoPeace’s impact measurement and business development services can help align their personal values with sustainable impact opportunities, while boosting their brand equity in the process.

“Nelson Mandela said, ‘Sport has the power to change the world,’ and I fully agree,” said CoPeace CEO Craig Jonas. “As a former college head basketball coach, and long-time sports executive, I believe coaches deeply affect the lives of young people, as well as the wider communities in which they serve. To have the opportunity to be associated with the NABC and these outstanding honorees is a no-brainer for us at CoPeace as we work to make our world a better place through the business of sport.”

Similarly, the NABC sees the partnership with CoPeace as representing another positive opportunity for its membership to effectively impact society. The NABC has long encouraged basketball coaches to serve the greater community in ways that elevate moral, ethical and educational values.

“The NABC is excited to evolve our relationship with CoPeace, with whom we share many common core values,” said Craig Robinson, NABC Executive Director. “This partnership will enhance the NABC Convention and the NABC Guardians of the Game Awards program, and in doing so, further elevate coaches who make a difference on and off the court.”

The John McLendon clinic “Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities,” presented by CoPeace and led by Jerry Krause and Ralph Pim, is especially pertinent in 2021, following a year in which everyone has faced personal and professional challenges. McLendon, who was a student of Dr. James Naismith at the University of Kansas, is the first college coach in history to win three consecutive national championships.  He was a basketball innovator, ambassador for the game and a pioneer in integrating the sport of basketball.

After having passionately led the push for increased voting education and civic engagement among coaches and players leading up to the 2020 election, Georgia Tech’s associate head coach Eric Reveno was named the winner of the NABC Guardians of Game Award for Service, presented by CoPeace. Reveno was the driving force behind the NCAA’s new rule establishing federal Election Day as a required day off from practice and competition for NCAA teams in all sports.

Moreover, Reveno’s tireless efforts were also a key factor in the establishment of the Coaches’ Voter Engagement Pledge, which encouraged sports programs to publicly commit to registering 100 percent of their eligible student-athletes. Over 1000 college basketball coaches took the pledge, which directly impacted 8,000 student-athletes.

“I’ve always been excited about building championship teams,” said Reveno, “For me, something clicked that night (of our team meeting) that we’re all one big team. Our democracy is dependent on us being great teammates. In hindsight, I’m extremely satisfied that we were able to create something that moved the needle.”

The winner of the NABC Guardians of the Game Award for Advocacy sponsored by CoPeace is University of Colorado head coach Tad Boyle. Boyle has long been committed to making the game of college basketball as good as it can be. He has served in an exemplary manner as the Pac-12’s congressman for the NCAA and most recently as the chair of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee.

“I’ve been working with the Rules Committee a long time and we have had a number of coaches who have been strong leaders as the chair. Tad Boyle is one of the best,” said NCAA Men’s Basketball Secretary-Rules Editor Art Hyland.

About CoPeace

CoPeace is a forward-thinking holding company, building a portfolio of carefully selected for-profit companies with measurable social and environmental impact. CoPeace is democratizing the investment world by allowing everyone, not just wealthy investors, to invest in private impact companies via its holding company structure.

As a designated Certified B Corp and a public-benefit corporation (PBC), CoPeace is committed to acting morally, ethically and responsibly in regard to society, the environment, the natural world and the world at large.

For more information about CoPeace and how you can grow your money for good, visit copeace.com.