The CSUSB men’s basketball program continued their engagement in the local community recently, volunteering their time with the youth at Shandin Hills Middle School in San Bernardino.

The Coyote student-athletes instructed practices with different drills and got in and participated as well. After a fun day of basketball, the Coyotes huddled all of Shandin Hills players up and explained to them how important it was to succeed in the classroom, as well as the court.

“The most important thing you need to have as a student-athlete is respect,” All-CCAA selection Andres Villa said.  “It is important to be respectful on and off the court because you are always representing somebody.”

“Our student-athletes understand it is a privilege and they are fortunate to play at this level,” CSUSB head coach Andy Newman said.  “It is important for us to stay engaged and give back to our community to hopefully create opportunities for local youth.”

Student-Athlete Food Drive

The CSUSB Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) completed their annual Food Drive recently, and thanks to the help of everyone in the CSUSB community, it was a resounding success.

Collections were taken at home basketball and baseball games, and the SAAC members went out to collect donations, along with contributions straight from CSUSB student-athletes from all 10 sports.

All donations were sent directly to the Obershaw Den on campus to help CSUSB students experiencing food insecurity and all totaled, there were 1725 food and household items donated from the CSUSB SAAC Food Drive.

“Because we are able to donate needed items to a facility that disperses them to a vast population, we are able to impact our campus and help decrease the number of college students in need here at CSUSB,” CSUSB SAAC Vice President and women’s basketball and track and field student-athlete Tehya Burroughs said.  “One simple task can change a life forever.”

The total haul was impressive, almost 600 more items than last year’s drive.