NC State Students Partner with Special Olympics in Unified Basketball League

University Recreation created a unified basketball league with Special Olympics of North Carolina. This league gives Special Olympics athletes in Wake County a chance to create teams with NC State students and play basketball.

The league officially began on February 2, but a week prior the athletes had a chance to meet with their teammates and throw the ball around on the courts. Freshman Morgan Brown had participated in the Special Olympics Flag Football Tournament and was excited about the opportunity to work with Special Olympics of North Carolina again. Student players were placed on teams with special olympics athletes, and after practicing, the season began.

Jack Koonce, Kyle Pennington, Brandon Toledo, Josh Hull, and Matt Hartl, all members of Lambda Chi Alpha, chose to participate in the league after their chapter leader encouraged participation. Kyle really noticed the enthusiasm of the special olympic athletes.  “No matter what, all the athletes are excited when someone scores, even if it’s not a player from their own team. They don’t care about being competitive, they just want all their friends to do well.”

Once play began, each team was guaranteed to play at least one game. Whichever team won moved on in the league, which will continue until the championship game next Tuesday, March 29.

The Blue and Green teams faced off on Court 3 next to the Black and Red teams during the first game of the playoffs this past Tuesday, March 22. The Red and Blue teams came out victorious, but the games were still fun for all players. Parents lined up on the benches to support their family members on the court.  One grandfather, Richard Reinard, tries to attend all of his granddaughters games, and has even traveled all the way to Princeton, NJ to watch his granddaughter compete in the Special Olympics USA Games. Ashley also plays basketball for her church, and her grandfather attends almost every game she plays in. She thoroughly enjoys the chance to play with NC State students, and she was smiling with excitement the entire game.

Another athlete who was enjoying the tournament was Chello, a veteran of Special Olympics who has played soccer, softball, and basketball with the program for over 10 years. Chello is always charismatic and friendly towards every player on the court. He is also an experienced basketball player, scoring over half of the Red team’s points. When asked about the unified league with University Recreation, he said, “I love the tournament, and I hope it happens again next year. I really love it, it’s a lot of fun.”