Hope College baseball coach Stu Fritz has been
honored by his alma mater, Wartburg College of Iowa, as its
alumni coach of the year.

Fritz, a 1988 Wartburg graduate who has guided Hope's
baseball fortunes the past five seasons, was recently presented
the John Kurtt Alumni Coach-of-the-Year award. John Kurtt served
Wartburg as a coach and athletic director for 32 years.

This spring Fritz led the Flying Dutchmen to the
championship of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
(MIAA) and Hope's first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III
championships. The team posted a school-record 25 victories in
winning its third conference championship in three seasons.
Fritz has a career mark of 86-83-2 overall and a 57-34 mark in
conference games.

He enjoyed a banner 1997-98 school year, serving as
quarterbacks coach for Hope's MIAA championship football team
last fall.

This summer, for the fourth year in-a-row, he will coach in
the Roberto Clemente Allstars program in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Fritz received the masters degree in sports administration
from the University of Northern Colorado. He and wife Carol
reside in Holland. Carol is a member of the Hope College
admissions staff.

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Hope-Calvin Basketball To Remain on Television

WGVU-TV 35 & WGVK-TV 52 will present the Calvin College vs. Hope College regular season men's basketball games during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. The two west Michigan schools have signed an exclusive two-year contract with WGVU and WGVK. West Michigan Public Broadcasting first aired the historic West Michigan basketball rivalry this season. Due to the success of these broadcasts, WGVU-TV & WGVK-TV, Calvin, and Hope have partnered to assure continued live television coverage of this exciting tradition. Just about everybody in West Michigan knows the significance of the Hope-Calvin rivalry," said Michael T. Walenta, general manager for the local public television stations. "We're proud that Hope and Calvin chose us to provide live coverage of these games to the West Michigan Community." "The partnership with West Michigan Public Broadcasting last year proved to be a good one," said Calvin College men's athletic director Dr. Marv Zuidema. "The two broadcasts last year were well done and we're excited that a superb small college basketball rivalry will have a local television home for the next two season." "The live telecasts of Hope-Calvin basketball are as much a part of the tradition as the games themselves," said Tom Renner, director of public relations at Hope College. "Our partnership with WGVU & WGVK brings together three institutions in a significant way." The Hope-Calvin basketball rivalry has never lacked for interest. Since it began in 1917, fans throughout western Michigan and alumni of both colleges across the country have eagerly anticipated this annual competition. The teams have played 140 games, each team now having 70 wins, and the difference between them in all those contests is just 17 points: Hope has scored 9,188 points to Calvin's 9,171. The next four games are on Saturday, January 16, 1999 at 3 p.m., Wednesday, February 10, 1999, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, January 15, 2000 at 3 p.m., and Wednesday, February 9, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. Public television stations WGVU-RV 35 & WGVK-TV 52 are a service provided to the West Michigan public by Grand Valley State University.