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GAA program opens sporting events to local children
By Gregory D. Degermajian ’81
For more than two decades, the General Alumni Association’s
Alumni Guest Committee has worked cooperatively with the
College’s athletic marketing department to distribute
tickets for home athletic events to local schools and
organizations. The arrangement is a win-win situation:
the athletes benefit from young, enthusiastic fans, and
local children have access to quality sporting events
at no cost.
The genesis of this community-centered program reaches
back more than 20 years. Arthur Andreoli ’58 remembers
a time in the early 1980s when there was a great deal
of interest in Holy Cross athletics.
“Kids wanted to go to Holy Cross games and may
not have had the resources to attend,” he recalls. “We
wanted kids from all surrounding cities and towns to come
to Holy Cross and experience not only a great athletic
event, but also be a part of the Holy Cross community.”
Working with the late Joseph McDonough ’48 and
former Athletic Director Ron Perry ’54, Andreoli
launched the Alumni Guest Program - first distributing
tickets to varsity football games and, in later years,
to men’s and women’s basketball and hockey
events. He was optimistic that the GAA program - open
to organizations, including churches, community programs,
schools and YMCAs - would succeed.
“I had high hopes for the program and am pleased
that the GAA and its regional clubs have been able to
give back to the community,” he says.
More than two decades later, the Alumni Guest Program
is well established. In the 2003-04 school year, more
than 2,500 tickets for basketball and hockey games were
given out. In addition, the program committee worked with
current Holy Cross students to supply the Student Programs
for Urban Development (SPUD) program with 100 tickets
for a women’s game against Army.
The GAA and its regional clubs - in particular
the Holy Cross Clubs of Greater Worcester and Boston - fund
all the ticket costs associated with the program. When
it comes to distributing the tickets, however, the College’s
athletic marketing department does all the work - writing
letters to the school principals, generating interest
in the program, coordinating the allocation of tickets
for specific games and making public announcements at
games recognizing the groups attending.
Jen Kagno, manager of events and promotions, and Frank
Mastrandrea, assistant athletic director for marketing
and media relations, work on behalf of the College and
the GAA to get tickets out to the community. The athletic
marketing department’s deep commitment to ticket
distribution is due, in large part, to the efforts of
Perry, as well as Richard Regan Jr. ’76, the College’s
current athletic director.
“This program has allowed a new generation of
fans to get their first taste of Holy Cross basketball,” says
Regan, “and we continue to get very positive feedback
from the participating schools. We greatly appreciate
the support of our alumni in making possible the very
successful Alumni Guest Program.”
Whatever happens on the court, the Alumni Guest Program
is a winner. Children gain a positive perspective on college
and college-level athletics, even as Holy Cross enhances
its visibility and outreach efforts in local communities.
And by reaching those who otherwise might not be able
to afford a game ticket, the program dovetails with the
Jesuit tradition of helping others.
A longtime chair of the Alumni Guest Committee and a
season ticket holder in both football and basketball for
more than 30 years, William “Bud” McManus ’58
welcomes local students to the stands.
“I love to see the stands full of blocks of children - they
energize fans and players alike,” he says. “It’s
important for Holy Cross and the GAA to give back to the
community. The children and their parents certainly remember
this positive Holy Cross experience. Who knows? Maybe
some of these kids will return to Holy Cross to play on
these fields and courts!"
Gregory D. Degermajian ’81 and Mark Powers ’85
serve as co-chairs of the Alumni Guest Committee for
the GAA.
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