Flag football, softball, basketball and volleyball were some
of the activities that took place during the second annual Student-Athlete
Festival. The yearly event is the brainchild of Ramsey Baker '91, the College's
associate director of athletics. The intent is to bring together Union's large
student-athlete population (approx. 550) for a few hours of competitive fun.
“I
was excited to see that we had such a large number of participants this year,”
said Baker. “This year's SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee, which is
made up of representatives from each of the College's 25 intercollegiate
athletic teams) group took more ownership of the day and they developed a
schedule of events that brought more head-to-head competition into the
activities. We experimented with the idea of moving to a weekday and it looks
to have paid off.
“This is a
great opportunity for our athletes to witness first-hand the outstanding
athletic ability of their peers,” Baker continued. “I consider it a work in
progress that we can adapt each year as the momentum for the event grows. I
think that the student-athletes who took part in this year's festival will be
our best advocates and promoters of the event in the future.”