Most Wolf Pack fans know the story of Colin Kaepernick's life, but with his success as the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback the last few weeks, the nation is learning about what a special person he is.

In case you missed it, here's a great story about Kaepernick by USA Today's Robert Klemko. It talks about his childhood, his family, his turtle and his NFL career so far.

Nevada's student-athletes are defined by their competitiveness to excel on and off the field.

That drive to be the best also extends to their community service efforts, so this year, the Wolf Pack has fully embraced the challenge of winning the Mountain West Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's Community Service Award.

Through the leadership of Nevada's Student-Athlete Advisory Council, the Wolf Pack has already logged over 1,000 hours of community service so far this year toward its goal of winning the challenge among league institutions.

Those hours have included reading in schools, visiting hospitals, holding camps and clinics, raising money for their fellow students who are also young mothers and giving out safe Halloween candy as well as volunteering at the Race for the Cure, the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, the Tough Mudder, the Reno Balloon Races and the Animal Ark just to name a few.

The Mountain West school that tallies the most community service hours will be presented with an award at the Mountain West Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas in March.

To see some photos of the community service the Wolf Pack has been involved in so far this year, check out this photo gallery (the Nevada photos start around photo No. 20).

For more information about the Wolf Pack's community service efforts, click here.

Ever wonder what happens to the thousands of bottles that fans drink at Mackay Stadium?

The University of Nevada's Media Relations Office wrote a great story about the Phi Delta Theta fraternity which has donated its time to the Wolf Pack Recycling program on campus after football games this year.

According to the story, the group collects approximately 50 pounds of recycling after each home football game.

If you happened to be on campus lately, you might have found Coach David Carter or Coach Jane Albright's wallet.

Those wallets are part of an innovative marketing campaign Nevada Athletics put together to help raise campus awareness about Wolf Pack men's and women's basketball. The marketing department dropped 250 wallets all over campus, and inside each wallet is an ID for one of the Wolf Pack basketball coaches, a basketball schedule card and a note that directs the finder to turn the wallet into the ticket office. Finders receive Wolf Pack decals and signs and an opportunity to be entered into a drawing for prizes, including gift certificates.

According to Adam Carp, Nevada's director of involvement and promotions, the promotion has brought out the best in people with at least 61 wallets being turned into the ticket office so far.

"I dropped one casually and this student ran right up to me saying I think you dropped your wallet," Carp said. "I told him it was his to keep because being a Good Samaritan and raising awareness about Wolf Pack basketball is what this is all about."

So next time you are on campus, look down and you might find Coach Carter or Albright's wallet too.

A small change has been made to the women's basketball 2012-13 schedule. Tip-off for the Dec. 12 home game against Cal State Los Angeles has been changed from 12 p.m. to 11:30 a.m. The team is partnering with the Washoe County School District to host a "When I Grow Up" event, where elementary school students will tour the University of Nevada campus before attending a free game at Lawlor Events Center. The time change allows the participants to return back to their respective schools on time.

The Wolf Pack will host its annual John Ascuaga's Nugget Classic on Nov. 23-24 at Lawlor Events Center. Nevada will open the event against Cleveland State Friday at 2 p.m. Santa Clara and Toledo will face off in the second game at 4:30 p.m.

The Nevada women's basketball team had a special guest in its locker room following a tough road loss to Pacific last night. Former WNBA player and Olympic Gold Medalist Ruthie Bolton stopped by to offer some words of encouragement and meet with the team. Bolton and current Wolf Pack women's basketball director of basketball operations Carla McGhee played together on the 1996 Olympic team where the squad won the gold medal in Atlanta. Bolton and McGhee also squared off against each other in the SEC, as Ruthie played for Auburn while Carla played for Tennessee.

Nevada will close out its road trip tomorrow against UC Irvine, before returning home for the annual John Ascuaga's Nugget Classic at Lawlor Events Center Nov. 23-24.

University of Nevada head basketball coach David Carter joins Steve Schroeder on Delicious by DaVita Wednesday on
KRNV-TV channel 4 for a cooking segment.  The segment will air during the 4 p.m. news.

The Wolf Pack hosts the World Vision Classic this weekend, Nov. 16-18 at Lawlor Events Center.  Nevada opens the classic versus Cal State Fullerton on Friday at 6 p.m.

Although Monday is the observed holiday for Veteran's Day, the Wolf Pack's Quarterback Club Luncheons will be held as usual.

Join Wolf Pack head coach Chris Ault at the Peppermill Casino and enjoy lunch while Ault discusses the Fresno State game, including a film breakdown. Ault will also give a preview of this week's game at New Mexico and take questions for the audience.

Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Program begins at noon. Cost is $17 at the door.

Last week, Nevada Athletics held its Salute to Champions Dinner to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prevents gender discrimination in education.

In addition to a great keynote address by Olympic gold medalist Brandi Chastain, the evening celebrated the success of women's athletics at the University of Nevada as well as honored some donors and decisionmakers who contributed to that success.

We were fortunate enough to have some former student-athletes from the 1940s, 1950s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s with interesting stories to tell about their time at Nevada.

Prior to the passage of Title IX in 1972, budgets for women's sports were very small or non-existent and women did not receive scholarships, often had to share uniforms or make their own and sometimes had to sleep in travel vans or on gym floors.

Female student-athletes also did not receive lettermen's jackets like their male counterparts, so in honor of these women, we presented them with a letter at last night's dinner.

In attendance were event emcee Wendy Damonte who swam for the Wolf Pack in the early 1990s, Angie Taylor who played basketball from 1982-86 before going on to work as an administratory in the Wolf Pack athletics department, Jane Miller who played basketball, volleyball and softball from 1972-76, Jane Witter who skied for the Wolf Pack from 1971-74, Pat Klos who skied from 1958-59  and Betty Macaulay who competed in basketball, volleyball, tennis, horseback riding and rifle in the late 1940s.

Miller and Witter both experienced firsthand the benefits of the passage of Title IX during their collegiate careers although they both said they didn't know it at the time. Miller said that suddenly she started receiving money for books during her career as a student-athlete, while Witter said that her parents had to pay for all of her competitions up until her final race in 1974 when the university paid her travel expenses.

"I didn't know about Title IX at the time, but it always seemed unfair that the university paid for the men's events and not the women's," Witter said.

Klos joined the skiing team in the late 1950s. She said there wasn't a women's ski team, but a few of her friends recruited her to ski because they could race in the downhill and slalom against other schools if they had enough women. Klos said that the women had to make their own ski jackets, so she joked being able to sew was a requirement to join the team. She said that one of her teammates had a pattern, so all of the women went to her house to make their jackets.

And finally Macaulay shared a great story about how three of the women on the rifle team in the 1940s were chosen for the men's team in a shooting match against California. She said that their gender was not given on the roster, so "when we showed up at the rifle range, the men were flabbergasted." The Wolf Pack, with the three women, went on to outshoot Cal.

All in all, it was a great night and a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the history and success of Wolf Pack women's athletics, pre- and post-Title IX. Here is a photo of all of the former student-athletes who were in attendance at the dinner (from left to right: Wendy Damonte, Angie Taylor, Pat Klos, Betty Macaulay, Jane Witter, Jane Miller):

 

The Wolf Pack women's basketball team spent some time delivering season tickets to the homes of fans recently. Many of the women's basketball season ticket holders were surprised and excited to get visited by members of the team.

Nevada will open the 2012-13 season at home for the fourth consecutive season Friday evening against Cal State Fullerton. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Lawlor Events Center.

Season tickets are still on sale. A new option for fans this season is the "Family Pack". The plan costs $99 and includes two adult season tickets along with two youth season tickets. Regular season tickets are $60 for adults, $40
for seniors 65 and older, and $35 for children eighth grade and under. Each youth season ticket
comes as a Pup Club Membership which includes a t-shirt, membership lanyard as well as free
admission to football, volleyball, soccer, softball, baseball and discounted admission for men's basketball.
Season tickets are good for any seat in the lower bowl of Lawlor Events Center, including
the cushion seats on the floor, on a first-come first-serve basis.