Compiled by Joseph Hughes

Here's a sampling of recent Ohio University mentions in the media:

Ohio University students - present and past - are known to be loyal, dedicated individuals. For four former Bobcats, missing the Kentucky Derby is out of the question. Tim Overmyer, Andy Kastle, Steve Pell and their friend Basil, who each met while attending Ohio, have reunited at Churchill Downs every year since 1974. Their loyalty to the race, and each other, drew notice in a humorous Louisville Courier-Journal article.

"This weekend is so special to us, our families know not to schedule anything," Overmyer told Jason Riley. He's serious. Look no further than 1982, when Overmyer's wife was scheduled to give birth the day after the fabled race. Tim Overmyer was at the race. "She understood," he said. "She went to college with us too."

If she gave birth the day before the race? "Whatever time he was born, I would have bet that number in the Derby," Overmyer told Riley.

--> See the Louisville Courier-Journal

Ohio University School of Theater professor Ame Wilson had her master's thesis path set, until she saw a performance by Cirque du Soleil. "It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen," Wilson told Polly Shulman of The New York Times. "I started to cry, and I sobbed the whole night. I knew that was what I had to study." Soon after, Wilson, who heads the School's Theater History, Criticism, and Dramaturgy program, began studying the famous outfit. After being denied access, she went "undercover" as a box-office employee, making friendships with those associated with Cirque.

What emerged was her dissertation, "Cirque du Soleil Reimagines the Circus: The Evolution of an Aesthetic," which she's expanding into a book. One issue Wilson plans to address is how success has changed Cirque du Soleil. "I worry about what's happening to Cirque," Wilson told Shulman. "By making themselves so accessible on television, and by making tickets so expensive have they priced themselves out of continued growth? Will their popularity level off now that their style has entered our culture as a language of performance, with the element of surprise that's so important to them removed?"

Soon after the 2003 National Football League Draft, former Ohio Bobcat star tailback Chad Brinker realized his dreams, signing a free-agent contract with the New York Jets. Brinker, wrote Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News, is a shoo-in for a roster spot based on determination alone.

Cimini is referring to Brinker's comeback from a potentially life-threatening arachnoid cyst, removed after putting pressure on his brain. "I didn't think about dying or the seriousness of it," Brinker told Cimini. "There were times when I thought, 'Man, am I going to make it back?' But I convinced myself it was a little bump in the road. I've always had the dream of playing in the NFL, and I wasn't going to let the dream die."

New York signed Brinker to compete for a spot returning kicks, among other duties. "The more I watched (on tape), the more I liked," special teams coach Mike Westhoff told Cimini. "This is a tough guy, but he also has physical tools. Can he fill Chad Morton's role? I don't know, but it will be interesting to see."

Soon after Brinker signed, former Ohio kicker Kevin Kerr agreed to terms with a free-agent deal with the Indianapolis Colts. Kerr is expected to compete for time as a kickoff specialist. Brinker and Kerr join former Bobcat Dave Zastudil, who punts for the Baltimore Ravens.

--> See the New York Daily News

While high school basketball phenom LeBron James will most likely forgo a college education to play in the National Basketball Association, Ohio University has played a part in James' development over the past two seasons. His coach, Dru Joyce II, BGS '78, is an alumnus. In honor of his school, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, winning Ohio's Division II state title this year (its third in four years), Joyce was named national Coach of the Year by USA Today. Over the past two seasons coaching the Irish, Joyce has amassed a 48-5 overall record.

An account manager with ConAgra Foods, Joyce told USA Today legendary UCLA head coach John Wooden is an inspiration. His son, Dru III, also played for SVSM, and will play college ball for the University of Akron. In 10 years, Joyce II told the paper he wants to be "working with young people and having an impact and positive influence on their lives."

--> See USA Today

Ohio University School of Theater visiting professor Jacquelyn Reingold drew rave reviews for her new play, "String Fever," which ran from March 3-23 as part of the Ensemble Studio Theatre's fifth annual First Light festival. The festival, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, helps bring science and technology to the stage.

To that end, "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon plays Lily, a soon-to-be-40 violin instructor with a suicidal father and a phobic ex-boyfriend. Lily soon meets Frank (Jim Fyfe), a physics professor. She uses Frank's knowledge of String Theory - which helps to unify myriad physical principals - to make sense of the goings-on in her tangled life.

"There is so much to engage with any to enjoy," wrote Chance Muehleck of nytheatre.com. "Reingold's language is surprising, inventive, and unique. Her characters are endearing collections of foibles, each trying to make their problems compute to something meaningful." Reingold's comedy-drama, wrote David Finkle of theatermania.com, "has been prepared with large dollops of warmth and a bittersweet view of contemporary living that has an authentic ring." The New York Times praised Reingold's play and its seasoned cast of "charmers."

--> See nytheatre.com

--> See CurtainUp

--> See TheaterMania.com

--> See New York Newsday

--> See the Village Voice

Ohio University MFA candidate Ian Mairs' play "She's a Big Girl, Now" is drawing positive reviews. "... it offers you an attractive, funny, engaging appearance, but you never quite forget that there is something underneath that's sharp enough to draw blood," writes reviewer Sharon Weightman in the Florida Times-Union. Speaking about the dialogue Mairs penned for Lucius, one of his main characters, Weightman says "the playwright has given him language as beautiful as Romeo has for Juliet, expressing each soul's yearning for a mate, an Eve for every Adam." Weightman goes on to praise the play's set, which was designed by Johnny Pettegrew, who received his master of fine arts degree from Ohio University.

--> See the Florida Times-Union

Joseph Hughes is a writer with University Communications and Marketing.