CINCINNATI — Basketball great Mark Eaton, who recently recorded a video promoting the yellow school bus, has been tapped to speak at the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) conference here next month.

NASDPTS President Mike Simmons told SBF in an interview (which will appear in our November issue) that Eaton, an NBA All-Star who played for the Utah Jazz from 1982 to 1994, will give a keynote address.

Simmons also revealed that the NASDPTS conference lineup — which was assembled by Iowa state director and association President-Elect Max Christensen — will feature high-profile federal officials, including David Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Deborah Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

“We’re excited about this year’s conference in Cincinnati,” Simmons said. “Max has done a tremendous job in putting the program together.”

Eaton teamed up with the Utah State Office of Education and the Utah Association for Pupil Transportation for a public service announcement promoting the value of pupil transportation in the state.

"School buses make it possible for nearly 200,000 of our children to access public education," Eaton says in the spot, which was released earlier this year. "Utah school buses save over $40 million and reduce over 11 million gallons of fuel."

For more details on the NASDPTS conference, which is scheduled for Oct. 21-24, go here.