West Hartford, CT - University of Hartford baseball coach Jeff Calcaterra has announced that Boston Red Sox great Jim Rice will be the featured speaker at the 2007 Spring Fundraising Baseball Dinner.  The Hawks will serve it up on Friday, May 11 at the Gengras Student Union on the University of Hartford campus.

The event will begin with a reception at 6:00 p.m. with dinner to follow at 7:00 p.m. The dinner will feature a key note speech from Rice, a live auction and a live question and answer session with Rice, Coach Calcaterra and others.  Members of the Hartford baseball team will serve as table hosts and waiters throughout the event.

Rice played 16 seasons (1974-89) in the major leagues, all with the Boston Red Sox.  He was the 1978 American League Most Valuable Player.  Rice and the Red Sox made two appearances in the postseason during his tenure, winning the ALCS in 1986.  He finished his career with a .298 batting average, including seven seasons of .300 or better, and finished in the top-five in the MVP voting in six different years.  He was also a superb fielder (a .980 average with just 66 errors in 16 years).

The cost to attend the 2007 Spring Fundraising Baseball Dinner is $75 per seat and $1,000 for a table sponsorship, which includes a prime table location for eight seats and eight autographed items from Rice, among other benefits.  For more information, please call Chris at 768-4638.