McNeese State Athletics Takes Part in "Toys for Tots" Competition
LAKE CHARLES, La. - McNeese State's soccer team won the "Toys for Tots" competition among the university athletic teams in a recent Southland Conference "Twelve Days of Christmas" contest to see who could bring in the most toys for the local program. The competition is a community service project coordinated by the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in an effort to reach out to their respective local communities.
Travis Pickering, the athletic department's coordinator of athletic mentoring and the project chairman, said that the soccer team of 22 players brought in the most toys per player. That beat out the women's basketball team that had won the contest a year ago.
The soccer team also won the university-wide collection for toys among the school's organizations, that event sponsored by the local Fox 29 television station.
More than 350 toys were collected by the Cowboy and Cowgirl athletic teams and support groups, the top six being the soccer team, women's basketball, the training room, the baseball team, the volleyball team and the track and field team.
"I'm really proud of our girls," said soccer coach Scooter Savoie. "Through their own initiative they organized themselves and won not only the competition within the athletic department but also that on campus. This is indicative of the support our girls give to the community."