Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Linda Hamilton

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2007  –  Philippines
  • 2010  –  Ivory Coast
  • 2011  –  Brazil
  • 2013  –  Chile
  • 2014  –  Bangladesh
  • 2015  –  Burma
  • 2016  –  China
  • 2019  –  Egypt

Linda Hamilton enters her fifth season as head coach of the Southwestern women’s soccer team, coming off a season in which she was named the SCAC Coach of the Year, leading the Pirates to the SCAC Championship match.

Hamilton brings a wealth of experience to the program, both as a player and coach. She played collegiately at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina, earning All-America status and all-conference honors all four years. She was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in 1988. Hamilton was a member of the United States National Team, where she played in 82 international matches. She helped the team to a World Cup gold medal in 1991 and bronze in 1995.

Hamilton, who owns a United States Soccer Federation “A” coaching license, got her start in coaching at Old Dominion University as the team’s head coach from 1993 to 1995. She later served as an assistant at Hofstra University (2006-2007) and most recently served as head coach at the University of North Florida (2007-2013). She has additionally worked with the Easter Seals and National Multiple Sclerosis Society (2002-2006), serving as director of development.

Gawen DeAngelo “Bonzi” Wells

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2019  –  China

Gawen DeAngelo “Bonzi” Wells is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Ball State University and was drafted in the 1998 NBA Draft.

Doug Overton

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  China

Doug Overton is a retired former American basketball player. Prior to beginning his 11 seasons with the NBA, Overton spent a season with the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian NBL. He credits his time with the Illawarra Hawks as a big stepping stone for his career in the NBA.

He was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the 2nd round (40th overall) of the 1991 NBA draft. Overton played for the Washington Bullets, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers. In his NBA career, Overton played in 499 games and scored a total of 2,253 points. As well as earned the First-team All-MAAC three times.

In May 2006, Overton was named assistant men’s basketball coach at Saint Joseph’s University. He became an assistant coach for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets in 2008. He was also named Nets Player Development Coach prior to the 2010–11 season. Now coaches Lincoln University men’s basketball in Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Chris Henderson

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2019  –  China

Chris Henderson works as a Partnership Management Analyst for the NBA 2K League, focusing on League Marketing and Partnerships.

Alexander English

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2014  –  China
  • 2014  –  South Korea
  • 2015  –  Italy

Alex English was born January 5, 1954 in Columbia, South Carolina. English stayed true to his homegrown roots, starring at local Dreher High School before moving on to play collegiately at the University of South Carolina.

Following his career at South Carolina, English was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 23rd overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft. During his time in Milwaukee, English learned the game as a backup as the team tried to rebuild following Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s departure. English was traded to the Indiana Pacers in 1978, where he began to show flashes of his scoring ability, averaging 16 points per game. Midway through the 1979-80 season, he was traded once more to the Denver Nuggets where he would solidify his reputation as a prolific scorer. From 1980-1990, his entire tenure with the Nuggets, English averaged 26 points per game, earned 8 All-Star bids, became a 3-time All-NBA Second Team selection, led the league in scoring in 1983 and became the franchises’ all-time leading scorer. To add to the list of impressive feats, English led the Nuggets in scoring in 55% of the games he played for Denver. Following this decade with the Nuggets, he signed with the Dallas Mavericks in 1990, where he would play for one season before finishing his NBA career.

After being away from the game for a few years, English got into coaching, spending one season each with the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks as an assistant coach prior to joining the Toronto Raptors organization. There, he would spend 2004 – 2011 as the Director of Player Development and as an assistant coach. In the summer of 2011, English finished with the Raptors and spent one season with the Sacramento Kings.

Tim Gebhart

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  China

Tim Gebhart graduated from the University of Hawaii, Hilo with a degree in education. For 8 years following college, he worked alongside MLB Hall of Fame Shortstop Cal Ripken Jr and 12 year MLB player Bill Ripken where he traveled the world teaching baseball “The Ripken Way”. Throughout his time in Baltimore, he was able to complete his masters degree in special education at Northcentral University.

In 2013, Gebhart was introduced to Sean Casey, the President and founder of the Miracle League of the South Hills. Gebhart helped him start Sean Casey’s Champions Camp during the summer to help raise money for the field and the playground located in Boyce Mayview Park. In 2016, Gebhart moved to Pittsburgh to become the executive director of the Miracle League of the South Hills and Casey’s Clubhouse.

Matt Backert

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  China

Matt Backert played baseball and soccer from 2002 to 2006 at Neumann University in Ashton, Pennsylvania. During this time, he earned various All-Conference and team honors in both sports. After graduating from Neumann, Backert spent seven years overseeing baseball operations for Ripken Baseball, including leading its instructional programs, such as camps and clinics. From 2007-2010, he served as a Baseball Coach Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, a position that led him around the world, including China and Nicaragua, to facilitate camps and coaching clinics to teach baseball to youth and coaches. From 2014 to 2017, Backert was the head baseball coach at The John Carroll School in Bel Air, Maryland. In 2018, Backert joined Community College of Baltimore County Essex Athletics as an Assistant Head Coach for the Knights. In late 2019, Community College of Baltimore County Dundalk Athletics announced Backert would become the Lions’ new head coach of their baseball team.

BJ Surhoff

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2007  –  China

After attending Rye High School, B.J. Surhoff was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1982 MLB June Amateur Draft. In 1985, Surhoff was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the first round of the MLB June Amateur Draft. Surhoff’s MLB debut was with the Brewers the in 1987. In the positions of Left Field, Catcher, and Third Baseman, he played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. Surhoff retired in 2005 after a 19-season career. In 2007, Surhoff was elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame.

Billy Ripken

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  China

Billy Ripken grew up surrounded by baseball because of his father Cal Ripken Sr. who played and coached for the Baltimore Orioles. His father, his brother, and himself made baseball history when Ripken was picked by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 1982 MLB Draft. He played in MLB from 1987–1998 for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers (1993–94, ’97), Cleveland Indians (1995), and Detroit Tigers (1998).

In 1990, Ripken had his most successful campaign offensively. He batted .291, the highest total of his career and a mark which would lead the Orioles in 1990. Ripken finished fifth among AL second basemen with a .987 fielding percentage and led AL hitters with 17 sacrifice hits. Billy committed a total of 11 errors, the fewest in major league history among second baseman-shortstop combinations. In 1992, Ripken hit what would be a career-high four home runs, batting .230 with 76 hits and 36 RBI in 111 games. He had a .993 fielding percentage.

Since his baseball career, Ripken has written several books on the development of young baseball players as well as novels that illustrate the difficulties of parenting and children’s lives as child athletes. In 2001, Bill and Cal Ripken, Jr. Co-Founded the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation as a tribute to their father’s devotion to teaching life skills and lessons through sports. Their foundation helps to build character and teach critical life lessons to at-risk young people living in America’s most distressed communities.

Adam Christ

Baseball

Served as envoy

  • 2008  –  China

Adam Christ’s baseball career began at Des Moines Area Community College where he was a two-time all-conference selection from 1998 to 2000. In 2000, Christ played shortstop at Iowa State shortly before being recruited by the Cyclones. Playing infielder at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Christ went on to earn his BS in Kinesiology in 2003 from Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In 2008, Christ earned his MS in Athletic Administration from Minnesota State University, where he became Assistant Coach in 2009. After three years, Christ was promoted in 2012 to the position of Assistant Head Coach at the University, a position he remained in for four years. Since leaving Minnesota State in 2015, Christ has worked as the Assistant Coach at the University of Illinois.