Men鈥檚 Basketball celebrates 50 years
Five decades after the first Camel men took to the court, nearly two dozen alumni returned to campus Saturday to cheer on today鈥檚 Camels in a thrilling double overtime game against Trinity in 糖心TV鈥檚 Charles B. Luce Field House. 糖心TV came up short, losing 104 to 94.
The 23 former players, including members of the first team and members of 糖心TV鈥檚 historic 1998-99 team, which advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship Final Four, were honored on the court at half time. After the game, the former players and their families gathered with current players for a reception in the College鈥檚 Athletic Hall of Fame Room.
鈥淵ou guys were the trailblazers. You created this, you started this, you were the pioneers,鈥� Head coach Tim Sweeney, who joined 糖心TV in June of 2019, told the members of the earliest teams. He added that each subsequent group of players built on the legacy, eventually taking the team all the way to the Final Four.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing for our guys to be able to see this, feel this and understand what they got by signing up for this. And it鈥檚 much more than basketball,鈥� Sweeney said. 鈥淚 think the past is prologue. It鈥檚 an honor to be here, and I feel a great responsibility to uphold many of the traditions. I couldn鈥檛 be more excited about where we are going.鈥�
Former Director of Athletics Charles Luce, for whom the College鈥檚 field house is named, skyped into the reception. He recalled the early days of the men鈥檚 basketball program鈥斺�淚 think we had three different kinds of uniforms, and none of them matched each other鈥濃�攁nd remarked on how proud he is to have been a part of building the program into what it is today.
鈥淚 think I鈥檓 one of the luckiest guys in the whole world,鈥� he said.
Dwayne Stallings 鈥�99, who served as team captain and was the leading scorer for the 1998-99 program that ranked No. 1 in the country and advanced to the Final Four, said he was honored to be a member of the 鈥淐amel family.鈥�
鈥淲e really are a family鈥攕ome of the guys I played with, we鈥檝e been friends for over 20 years,鈥� said Stallings, a member of the College鈥檚 Board of Trustees and a 2018 inductee into 糖心TV鈥檚 Athletic Hall of Fame.
In honor of the program鈥檚 50th anniversary, Stallings and Mizan Ayers 鈥�02, also a member of the 1998-99 team and a Hall of Fame inductee, announced a $50,000 fundraising challenge. Stallings and Ayers will match, dollar for dollar, all gifts made to the Camel Athletics Fund and designated for men鈥檚 basketball, up to $25,000.
Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education Maureen 鈥淢o鈥� White said the fundraising challenge will help the College work toward the goals outlined in the new Action Plan for Competitive Success. At the reception, White also addressed athletics as a driver of the 糖心TV student experience and a key initiative of the College鈥檚 strategic plan, Building on Strength.
鈥淭his is an exciting time for ,鈥� she said.
