Written By: Nicole Westfall
On June 25, 2016, WMU-Cooley hosted
the first ever Tri-City Basketball Tournament. Each of the Michigan campuses
came together with two teams for a double elimination tournament in which the
proceeds from the ticket sales and concessions were given to Focus: HOPE, a
non-profit that supports educational programs in the Metro-Detroit area, while
the remainder of the money was given to the organizations to help out with
future events.
Upon
walking in, it was exciting to see all the teams warming up and of course
seeing the Lansing Campus, our hometown! I asked a few players how they felt
representing their school before the tournament started. Benjamin Kibugi, Lansing Campus, stated, “In
this tournament, I’m pretty proud honestly. Cooley is a great school overall
and being able to be a part of this fellowship is great. It’s an awesome
opportunity.” Sam Quon Elira Sr, President of SBA, Auburn Hills Campus, said,
“It feels good. I am actually delighted that Auburn Hills along with Grand
Rapids and Lansing get a chance to come together to fellowship and play some
basketball. I think it brings the respectable campuses together because we
haven’t ever done this.” Te Smith, Grand Rapids Campus, also added “It’s a
great opportunity to be able to network and meet students from other campuses
and come together as one Cooley family.”
During the
game I talked to a few fans about how they felt supporting their school and if
they felt their school deserved to win. Of course every campus said they felt
their school deserved the bragging rights and to bring home the trophy!
Samantha Buckner, Lansing Campus, stated, “I feel awesome supporting my school
and being a part of something. I’m a member of SELS and I want to do sports law
and entertainment, so it feels good to come and support my fellow law
students.” Marceya Clark, Auburn Hills Campus, chimed in with “I feel great
about being here and it builds morale. We don’t have a choice not to win
because we have the best players and the tallest!”
In the end,
the Lansing Campus brought home the trophy! I asked Geofrey Bilabaye from the
winning team what was it that he thought allowed his school to win, he replied,
“Teamwork, these guys are really good. They played their hearts out so it was
definitely hard work and teamwork.” Overall, this was a great experience and
hopefully something we will continue to do in the future!