Visit Quad Cities Accepting Applicants for New Scholarship in Honor of MVC Commissioner
In March 2022, Visit Quad Cities, the region’s official destination management and marketing organization (DMMO), announced The Patty Viverito Emerging Leader Scholarship in honor of Patty Viverito, past senior associate commissioner at the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference commissioner.
This scholarship recognizes and supports outstanding female student-athletes in the Quad Cities region who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership characteristics, and community engagement.
Applicants must be juniors or seniors in High School and have plans to pursue an undergraduate education at any accredited university or community college. In March 2023, two Quad Cities female student-athletes from Illinois/Iowa will be recognized and awarded a scholarship investment in Ms. Viverito’s name.
A logo for Visit Quad Cities, which promotes tourism for the region.
The deadline for applications is January 15, 2023. For more information and the scholarship submission form, go to www.SportsQCScholarship.com.
“Patty Viverito has been a strong female leader with a multitude of accomplishments in her years in athletics,” said Joan Kranovich, Vice President, Business Growth & Director, Sports QC, Visit Quad Cities. “She has been an inspiration and a mentor to me, as she has been for countless other women throughout her career. Patty was the driving force from The Valley to bring Hoops in the Heartland to the Quad Cities in 2016. She will continue her affiliation with the Quad Cities for years to come with this scholarship and be an influence for the next generation of female student-athletes.”
About Patty Viverito
A Chicago native, Patty Viverito was named the Missouri Valley Football’s first commissioner in September of 1985. She led the conference (then known as the Gateway Conference) to national prominence in the 1980s. The league, which sponsored nine women’s sports and FCS football, saw its women’s programs merge with their MVC men’s counterparts in 1992.
Viverito currently serves as the FCS commissioners’ representative on the NCAA Division I Council and Vice-Chair of the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee. A nationally respected administrator, Viverito recently completed a term on the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA) Executive Committee and Chair of the FCS Subcommittee of the CCA. Previously, Viverito has served on the prestigious NCAA Executive Committee, the NCAA Council, the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and was chair of the NCAA Committee for Women’s Athletics and Olympic Sports Liaison Committees. Additional national service includes the NCAA Championships Finance Working Group, NCAA Recruiting Task Force, the NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball and Issues Committees, the NACWAA Board (two terms), the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Board, the NACDA Board, the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) Board (two terms), multiple terms on NCAA Basketball and Football Officiating Committees, the NCAA Football Academic Working Group, and the NCAA Work/Life Balance Task Force. She currently serves on the Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards Executive Committee, responsible for selecting the winner of the Honda Cup annually.
In 2015, Viverito received the Mel Narol Medallion for her service to NASO and the officiating community. She was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. In 1996, Viverito was recognized for her contributions to collegiate athletics, when she was selected as the NACWAA (National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators) Administrator of the Year. In addition, she received Professional Service Achievement Alumni Awards from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Northern Illinois University.
The Quad Cities has served as the host of the MVC Women’s Basketball postseason championship since 2016. This year marks the 16th-consecutive season in its 41-year history that the event will take place at a neutral site. The Valley becomes the only Division I stand-alone women’s basketball event to be held in the same city for eight or more consecutive years. For more information, go to www.mvcquadcities.com.
