June 16, 2009

Peter Sauer, University of the Virgin Islands

In just nine years, University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) Athletics Director Peter Sauer has positively changed the UVI athletics department. Since his arrival, the athletics department's size has increased dramatically. Once just a six team program - now there are 12; once hovering around 50 student-athletes - now it boasts more than 110. Sauer is also responsible for getting UVI admitted into the prestigious LAI University League in 2006. Another of Sauer's impressive additions has been the Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament. The tournament, which began in 2001, includes both men's and women's NCAA Division I teams. Both the men's and women's tournament fields have featured some of the top teams in college basketball and both tournaments have been televised nationally since 2005. Sauer was responsible for raising the $335,000 necessary to initially get the tournaments televised. Sauer led the campaign that raised more than $1 million to build the new $2.1 million state-of-the-art Wellness Center on the UVI campus that broke ground for construction in January 2009. Sauer was also responsible for bringing the World Champion San Antonio Spurs and Virgin Islands native Tim Duncan to UVI for training camp in 2005. The training camp and scrimmage game are still considered the most significant sporting events in U.S. Virgin Islands history.