BROOKLYN, N.Y. - For the 2017-2018 men's and women's basketball season, the LIU Brooklyn Athletic Department will continue with its inspired approach to connect elementary school children from the Bedford-Stuyvesant, Carroll Gardens, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Fort Greene, and Park Slope communities with the school's Division I basketball teams. The department's Games 4 Gear (G4G) program provides free admission to children and their families at select Blackbird home basketball games.
Past participating schools include: Arts and Letters, Community Partnership Charter School, Community Roots Charter School, IHS 285, MS 113, PS 9, PS 11, PS 21, PS 23, PS 29, PS 58, PS 44, PS 133, PS 120, and PS 156. Community organizations have included: CAMBA Diamonds of Next Level Youth, Emmanuel Baptist Church, Farragut Tenant Association, Ingersoll Community Center, Ingersoll Tenant Association, and the Lafayette Gardens Tenant Association.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for local kids to see our basketball programs compete against some of the best teams in the area right in their backyard," said Margaret Alaimo, LIU Brooklyn's Deputy Director of Athletics. "The four programs that record the best attendance at these games will be awarded $500 to purchase equipment and gear for their respective basketball programs."
For local elementary school and community basketball programs, the impact of the Games for Gear initiative has tangible benefits.
"In these economic times of budget cuts and takebacks the Games 4 Gear program has been a prayer answered," said Mark Zguro, physical education teacher/head basketball coach at P.S. 44 in Bedford-Stuyvesant. P.S. 44 was one of the winners from last year's competition. "It is the perfect mix of community, charity and championship basketball."
The men's team, helmed by new head coach Derek Kellogg, is coming off a second place finish in the Northeast Conference in 2016-17, and is bringing a new, fast-paced style of play to Brooklyn. The women's squad, coached by Stephanie Del Preore in her third season, returns a talented group of hot-shooting upperclassmen who are ready to lead the incoming class, and improve on last year's record.
The men and women will play a total of 21 dates as part of G4G, with the majority being contested at the Steinberg Wellness Center in downtown Brooklyn. Included in this promotion are two dates at the world-famous Barclays Center: Sunday, December 10 when teams play a double header against Lehigh and Fairfield at 1 and 3:30 p.m., and December 17, when the men will face off with Saint Peter's University at noon.
Other noteworthy dates include: Saturday, December 2, when Michigan will play the women at noon, and Wednesday, December 20th, when LIU hosts Navy at 7 p.m.Local power Stony Brook will face the LIU men on Monday, December 4 at 7 p.m. The Blackbirds will also face cross-town rival St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday, February 22 at 8 p.m. in a match-up that will be televised on ESPN3.
LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY
LIU is one of the nation's largest private universities. Since its founding in 1926, LIU has provided high quality academic programs taught by world-class faculty. LIU offers 500 accredited programs to more than 20,000 students and has an active network of over 200,000 alumni that includes leaders in industries across the globe. LIU is recognized for its commitment to experiential education and entrepreneurial thinking. Visit liu.edu for more information.