Terry Wanless is booming of good cheer these days. And excuse the ear-to-ear grin.

The man in charge of the Sacramento State athletic department was named this week the West Region Athletic Director of the Year for the level formally known as Division I-AA.

Oh, and his nephew, Neal, had a tidy $88 million dropped into his bank account Thursday after winning the Powerball Lottery in South Dakota.

Wanless doesn't buy Lotto tickets, but he feels fortunate with what he can control, such as campus leadership. And yes, he might have young Wanless, 23, come out to Sac State, checkbook and all (Terry grew up on the South Dakota ranch that Neal and Terry's brother Arlen own and operate).

"Neal can't build the Kings a new arena with that, but we can put his name on a new building or on the scoreboard here," Wanless said, laughing. "I'll get the limo ready and pick him up myself. No, it's a great thing for him. It will change his life."

What has made Wanless' life more sane in recent years is the Hornets' success across the board.

Sac State has become a championship program in Olympic sports – volleyball, track and field, tennis – and it has captured three of the past four Causeway Cups (head-to-head competition against UC Davis).

Graduation rates are strong. The facilities, embarrassing for years, are starting to improve. And the high-profile sports are led by Wanless' home-run hires of Marshall Sperbeck in football and Brian Katz in men's basketball.

"I feel great about the coaches we have here, and the new field house we have allows us to recruit kids who before didn't give us the time of day," Wanless said. "Good times right now, but a lot of work still to do."

Negri dusted off – Frank Negri is the new football coach at Natomas High School, but he will be the man of the hour tonight at the Sacramento Hilton for the "1960s Vintage Mustangs Reunion," at which dozens of Foothill graduates will meet.

Negri coached football at Foothill for 40 years. Pat "Muddy" Watters, Foothill class of '69, said Negri will be presented with a new customized coach's hat for his appointment at Natomas.

Members of Negri's 1968 championship team met at a pizzeria Friday to rehash old stories.

More Negri – Len Frizzi, the gem of an announcer for prep events for decades, is delighted that his old foil in Negri is back in coaching at 72.

Frizzi has roasted Negri for years – for founding football shortly after World War I and for stalling coaches' playoff luncheons because of frequent trips to the restroom.

Said Frizzi: "When Negri retired before, he told me, 'You won't have Frank Negri to kick around anymore, Frizz.' I can't wait to see him. I have new material."

Around the region – Optimist All-Star football practices start today. Grant coach Mike Alberghini leads the North and Christian Brothers coach Andre Johansen the South.

In its 53rd year, the Optimist has had many high-profile talents turn down invitations in recent years because their scholarship programs prohibited them from competing (typical of NCAA programs thinking of their product first and not the Optimist charities).

It's still a very worthwhile event (7 p.m. next Saturday at American River College).

• Sac State is hosting a passing league tournament today with high school football teams from across Northern California, including Sheldon, Winters, Galt, Fairfield, Rodriguez and Vanden. No pads, no contact but a lot of 7-on-7 passing drills.

• The Sac State men's basketball team has a nice recruit in John Dickson, who showcased his skills – and personality – at Arco Arena for Fairfield during the prep playoffs.

The 6-foot-5 leaper had 45 points and 11 rebounds in the recent Battle of the Best Showdown in Oakland. He made three-pointers, played above the rim, ran the floor and defended. In other words, a Katz kind of talent.

• San Luis Obispo's Jordan Hasay, a four-time winner at the Golden West Invitational track meet and one of the top prep distance runners of all time, is the Maxpreps.com Female Athlete of the Year. She will join former Oak Ridge standout Alex Kosinski at Oregon this fall.

Call The Bee's Joe Davidson, (916) 321-1280.