By Samantha Berkhead
News Editor
With the recent success of St. Bonaventure’s men’s and women’s basketball teams throughout the last four weeks has come a whirlwind of activity on the part of students, faculty and university employees.
There were the viewing parties in the The Rathskeller, bus trips to Atlantic City, N.J., Nashville, Tenn. and Raleigh, N.C. and the NCAA Selection Show in the Reilly Center.
And a lot of free chicken wings.
University employees — from the departments of athletics, advancement and student life — all had to organize these events on short notice, often within hours after either team won a game.
The Department of Student Life sponsored and organized the viewing parties with free chicken wings in the ‘Skeller, according to Steve Kuchera, assistant director of the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership (CARL). The Department of Athletics organized the Selection Show viewing in the Reilly Center, and CARL, athletics and advancement collaborated to organize the bus trips.
“The bus trips were a team effort,” Steve Mest, associate athletics director for external relations, said.
Several Bonaventure alumni and trustees joined the effort, making donations to help lower travel costs for students who wanted to follow the Bonnies on the road.
“The bus to Raleigh was paid for by an anonymous donor who was a Bonaventure graduate,” Mest said. “The buses to Nashville were paid for by a large collection of donors, mainly coming from Board of Trustees members.”
If chartering buses, booking hotels and negotiating ticket prices at a moment’s notice seems like hard work, Mest had to reach out to donors to fund each trip.
“For the trip to Atlantic City, we made an appeal to donors from the Bonaventure Athletic Fund,” Mest said. “That was as last-second of an appeal as we could possibly get. I sent an email out on the Saturday after we beat (Massachusetts). Literally within an hour, I had secured enough funding for two buses (to Atlantic City). And when I say ‘I,’ I mean the generosity of people out there and the willingness of people to step forward and help on incredibly short notice.”
Mest said donors gave various amounts to the cause all to ensure students would have the chance to support the Bonnies away from home.
“We had people give anywhere from $50 to $1,000 via email and phone calls,” Mest said. “People instantly said, ‘What can I do? How can I help? We just want to get students to Atlantic City for that final game.’ To me, it’s absolutely incredible.”
Kuchera said he feels the bus trips have given students new experiences and ways to show their school pride.
“I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for students to support their school, show their pride and also travel to a new state, a new city,” he said. “Hopefully those students will continue to support their school after they graduate — and not just basketball, but other athletic events.”
The Bonnies’ success has brought not only opportunities for students to travel, but also a surge in recognition of St. Bonaventure around the country.
“St. Bonaventure has had huge exposure,” Kuchera said. “It’s been in commercials, on ESPN and CBS. So many people have never heard of St. Bonaventure. It’s been one of the largest Google searches in the tournament, which is huge for the university. It’s remarkable.”
Kuchera said he feels confident the university community and its alumni will make events like these possible in the future.
“I would assume that the continued support of alumni will be there in the future, for, if and when it happens again, as long as students want to go,” Kuchera said.
berkhesj10@bonaventure.edu
