Daemen Ranks 6th In NCAA Community Service Competition

5/21/2019 12:00:00 PM | By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

A free basketball clinic for area youths was just one of a number of community service projects conducted by Daemen student-athletes this year

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College student-athletes completed nearly 3,700 hours of community service, leading the Wildcats to a No. 6 ranking out or more than 300 NCAA Division II institutions participating in the 2018-19 NCAA Team Works Helper Helper Community Service Competition. Throughout the academic year, student-athletes across the NCAA's three divisions logged their community service hours using the Helper Helper app. A full report detailing the impact of the community service competition was released Tuesday afternoon.

"I am proud of our student-athletes for dedicating time outside of academics and competition to give back to the Buffalo community," said Hailey Dietrich, student-athlete success and community engagement coordinator for Daemen Athletics. "To rank sixth in the nation out of all Division II schools is fantastic. I am looking forward to the next academic year in which we'll continue to find ways to make an impact in our community."

Student-athletes from Daemen's 18 intercollegiate athletic teams contributed to a wide variety of community service initiatives, including visits to local elementary schools, participation in the Western New York Girls in Sport Service Day, conducting a canned food drive, volunteering with the Daemen Center for Allied and Unified Sport and Exercise (CAUSE) and the execution of volleyball and basketball clinics for area youths. In addition, Daemen student-athletes conducted fundraising events that benefited non-profit organizations like Team IMPACT and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, as well as Oishei Children's Hospital of Buffalo.

The NCAA-released report included a breakdown of rankings by sport and gender. The Daemen men's and women's track and field/cross country and soccer teams each ranked among the top-10 in NCAA Division II.

"It is continually impressive that our student-athletes find ways to give of themselves, despite the rigors of their academic course loads and their commitments to being the best athletes they can be," said director of athletics Traci Murphy. "I commend them for helping to shine such a positive light on Daemen Athletics, and doing so without even scoring a goal or crossing a finish line."

This marks the second community service-based news item for Daemen Athletics in as many weeks. At the annual East Coast Conference Awards Dinner held on May 13, Daemen was announced as the recipient of the ECC Community Cup which is presented annually to the institution that records the highest number of community service hours per student-athlete.

As a whole, NCAA student-athletes contributed over 474,000 hours of community service, a total that carries an estimated $12 million in economic impact. With 222,114 total hours, NCAA Division II student-athletes contributed 47 percent of the total hours.

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