A St. Petersburg loan consolidator helps raise the status of the college baseball award with scholarships.
By JEFF HARRINGTON
Published June 2, 2004
Xanthus, a student loan consolidator based in St. Petersburg, will have its name attached to one of the best-known trophies in collegiate sports.
The Dick Howser Trophy, which honors the country's top college baseball player as chosen by the College Baseball Writers, has been presented annually since 1987. But the trophy's sponsor, the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, has long angled to find both a corporate title sponsor and some scholarship money to go along with the bust of the baseball All-American.
On Tuesday, Xanthus stepped up to the plate to fill both voids.
The company, founded by a trio of St. Petersburg High graduates, will become the Howser's title sponsor. It has agreed to fund a $10,000 scholarship for the winner each year and $1,000 scholarships to each of 64 participating universities. "We're in the student loan business, so this is a perfect fit," said Jim Zach, Xanthus' president.
With the financial backing, St. Petersburg chamber president Russ Sloan said he hopes the Howser becomes second only to football's Heisman in the world of college sports trophies.
The first $10,000 scholarship will be awarded at college baseball's 2004 World Series, which starts June 18 in Omaha, Neb. The $1,000 scholarships will be awarded starting in the 2005 season.
Financial terms of the five-year sponsorship were not disclosed.
The Howser Trophy was created and founded by friends of Dick Howser and the St. Pete chamber. It recognizes Howser's career as an All-American shortstop at Florida State University, 1961 American League rookie of the year, head baseball coach at Florida State, manager of the New York Yankees and manager of the 1985 champion Kansas City Royals. Howser died of cancer in 1987.
Whereas some awards focus solely on performance, the Howser Trophy gives special emphasis to an athlete's character, courage and leadership along with performance.
Several years ago, Sloan said, the chamber's Dick Howser Committee decided a trophy wasn't enough and began a search for a title sponsor. Verizon Super Pages briefly emerged as a sponsor in 2002, but not a title sponsor.
The chamber approached the Xanthus Higher Education Loan program a couple months ago to begin talks, Zach said.
Zach describes his company as primarily a debt management firm. With interest rates at historic lows, it counsels students in options to lower their debt through consolidating multiple student loans into a single, lower-rate loan.
Xanthus was founded in July 2002 by Zach, chief operating officer Brian Green and chief financial officer Raymond Otts.
When the three tried to trademark the name Higher Education Loan Program, they were told it was too generic. An attorney suggested picking something Greek. Green searched the Internet for information on Greek mythology and settled upon Xanthus, an immortal horse given the power of speech by the goddess Hera so he could warn Achilles that he was about to die in the Trojan War.
Since then, Xanthus has been growing quickly. With 112 employees, it expects to consolidate between $400-million and $450-million worth of loans this year, Zach said.
