Being auctioned off to mow lawns, paint houses, or rake leaves at the homes of their fans certainly isn't part of any Coker College student-athlete's scholarship agreement. Nor is it in any of the coaches' contracts. Nevertheless, more than 100 Cobra athletes and coaches found themselves doing some spring cleaning for local residents last month as a result of the school's first annual student-athlete auction.

Coker's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) organized the auction, which was held in March, and raised almost $3,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. (NCAA Division II has been a Fundraising Advocate for Make-A-Wish since 2003.) While Coker athletes and coaches volunteered their time and energy, Hartsville, S.C., residents, faculty members, and other Coker coaches who needed various chores performed at their homes opened their wallets.

Raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation wasnít the only motivation for the auction, however. "This event was about community involvement," says Joel Tyson, a junior soccer player and SAAC member who helped come up with the idea. "We want the athletic program to be connected to the local community. We wanted to raise publicity for our teams and hopefully get some more fans out to our games."

Bidders filled the Timberlake-Lawton Gymnasium on campus on a Wednesday evening, as former world champion auctioneer and local resident Archie Moody emceed the event. As 23 pairs of athletes and seven full teams took turns on the stage, audience members placed their bids. Most of the athletes found out their services would be needed outside, as the time of year called for yard work.

Tyson was one half of a menís soccer team tandem that fetched a record $100 (tying a pair of cross country runners who received the same bid). The men's basketball and baseball teams received the highest team bids of $300 apiece, and one Hartsville resident bought the services of both the volleyball and men's soccer teams to do yard work on several acres of land. The athletes had until the end of the semester to get in touch with their buyers, figure out a day and time to perform the agreed upon services, and complete the chores.

Athletes werenít the only ones that made the event a success, however. Several coaches volunteered their services to be auctioned off, and others bid on athletes themselves.

"Three of our coaches were auctioned off, with Head Volleyball Coach Chuck Mullen earning the highest bid at $90," says Christian Stryker, Sports Information Director. "Dave Schmotzer, the Head Baseball Coach, purchased his entire team, and our men's basketball and cross country coaches also won pairs of athletes. And coaches who weren't auctioned off or bidding at the event, volunteered to help with the auction itself."

Coaches were also asked to help publicize the auction, and SAAC members were out in the Hartsville community in droves. "We put an announcement up on the athletics Web site, and I think just about every business, church, and community organization in town had a flyer in their window," Stryker says.

"We had a couple SAAC members speak to the local paper, a few of us spoke at a faculty senate meeting, and we sent e-mail blasts to students and our athletic booster club," says Natalie Schembra, SAAC President and a senior volleyball player who labored through several hours of yard work with her team.

Schembra adds that it was important to have the support of all Coker student-athletes, whether they participated in the auction or not. "It felt like we had almost every athlete in the gym that night," she says. "If athletes didn't volunteer their time, they still came out in support of those of us who did. We attend each other's games throughout the year, but there aren't a lot of chances for us to all do something and make a difference as a group. The auction afforded us that opportunity."

Although the project took a lot of time and effort, Schembra says it was worth it. "All our hard work paid off in the end," she says. "When we started planning this event, our original goal was to raise $500 to $1,000 for Make-A-Wish. To almost triple that was beyond our expectations."