(Portions of this story courtesy of Johnson & Wales University Denver athletics)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Johnson & Wales University Denver was recognized as the winner of the August NCAA Division III Special Olympics Spotlight Poll.
The JWU Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted Special Olympics Colorado in February for a unified basketball game. The event was held in conjunction with the SCAC Change for the Better campaign, an annual event that encourages each member institution to collect as much change as possible from fans, parents and students in support of a chosen charity over the course of one week during the conference basketball season.
The JWU event saw student-athletes team up with athletes from Special Olympics Colorado for a basketball game in the Wildcat Center on February 13. The two teams battled through two 10 minute halves with three JWU athletes partnered with a pair of Special Olympic athletes on the court at a time with Wildcat men's basketball players serving as officials.
Following a halftime free throw contest by the participants, Bryce Moore, president of JWU Denver's SAAC presented Ben Wrubel, Unified Champion Schools Sports Manager for Special Olympics Colorado with a check from JWU and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's Change for the Better campaign.
During a pair of basketball doubleheaders in early February, SAAC members collected change from the crowd, resulting in $376.67 being donated to Special Olympics Colorado.
The Johnson & Wales Special Olympics event, which was one of three stories highlighted in this month's poll, received 90 percent of the total votes to win the August poll and earn the institution $500 towards its next Special Olympics activity.