Caz McCaslin to Keynote the 2016 Convocation at SMC

Spartanburg Methodist College is pleased to announce Caz McCaslin of Upward Sports as the keynote speaker at its annual convocation ceremony marking the beginning of the new school year. The event will be Wednesday, September 7, at 11:00 a.m. in Jesse L. Bridges Arena on the SMC campus and is open to the public and free of charge.

McCaslin’s talk, “Today Matters,” will focus on overcoming adversity. After an injury ended his college basketball dreams, McCaslin was forced to find a new direction for his life. His struggle eventually led to the founding of Upward Sports in 1995.
With a mission to promote the discovery of Jesus through sports, Upward Sports has grown from several hundred children playing in a basketball league in one church to the world’s largest Christian youth sports league. Today, approximately half a million players at more than 2,000 churches in 47 states participate in camps, clinics, and leagues for basketball, soccer, flag football, volleyball, baseball, and cheerleading through Upward Sports’ recreation and performance divisions.

McCaslin is a graduate of the University of Georgia and has more than 30 years of experience in ministry. As founder, president and a member of the board of Upward Sports, McCaslin believes that cultivating a spiritual foundation in America’s youth is at the heart of creating successful, empowered generations to come. His sports programs develop total athletes mentally, athletically, spiritually, and socially, producing players who excel both on and off the field. He is the author of three books, Every Child Is a Winner, Act or React, and the soon to be released Coach ‘Em Up. He and his wife, Leslie, reside in Spartanburg and have three children and three grandchildren.