University of Portland professors display their own kind of March Madness in Howard Hall last Thursday
By David Thompson
The University of Portland women's Basketball Head Coach Jim Sollars has a rule when it comes to playing in pick-up basketball games.
"I never play in a game where people wear black shoes, black socks and jeans," Sollars said.
While no one who showed up was sporting black shoes, socks or jeans, Sollars opted not to show his skills, rather taking the job of referee in the annual faculty basketball game held last Thursday in Howard Hall.
Faculty from across campus took time to participate in the annual faculty basketball game. The game featured professors and other faculty from the education department, psychology department, foreign language department, physics department and business department. The tightly contested game came down to the final possession as the yellow team failed to hit a three pointer in the final seconds as the blue team held on to a narrow 36-33 victory.
"A game like this is always fun," said physics lab coordinator Ethan Siegel.
Siegel said he had not played basketball since he was a teenager. "I'm a much worse shot than I remember," Siegel said. While Siegel may not have helped the yellow team's shooting percentage, he was a beast on the board, ripping down numerous offensive rebounds.
"Rebounding is a lot easier now. It must be the extra nine inches," Siegel said laughingly.
Siegel was one of 12 participants in the game that close start to finish. The score though was not the important part to the faculty. "It's about having fun," said first year professor Mary Dolan.
Dolan was one of six women, all from the School of Education, who decided to play in the annual game together.
The game, which has sometimes been extremely competitive, was light hearted throughout. The only argument that arose was if business professor Jack Kondrasuk's shorts were legal. Kondrasuk, who organized the event, added an old-school touch when he showed up in bright neon short shorts to the game.
While the cliché of "just have fun" may not register with ultra-competitive athletes, that was definitely the theme of the day.
"This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be," Dolan said. "I was kind of expecting it to be competitive and fierce, but it isn't. It's a lot of fun."
