On Sunday, members of our men's basketball team accepted the Pittsburgh
College Basketball Officials Association Sam Schoenfeld Award as the team from
the AMCC who best exemplified hard work, passion, and great sportsmanship
throughout the season. Sam Schoenfeld was a former college basketball great who
possessed a great deal of energy, impeccable honesty, a charismatic
personality, and was one of the CBOA's founding fathers. Sam espoused integrity
and strong character, which set him apart from most men. A brief illness took
Sam's life in early 1956 and as a result CBOA decided to memorialize Sam
through an award that would be annually presented to a person who exemplified
the principles and characteristics so prominently displayed by Sam Schoenfeld.
Accordingly, the award is presented to the college or university, which in the
judgment of the CBOA membership, best exemplifies "the highest degree of
sportsmanship, character, and ethics among their players and coaches.
This award is a great tribute to the efforts of our players. Our
goal isn't just to win basketball games, but it is to represent ourselves, our
families, our community, and our University in the best way possible. This
award recognizes them for accomplishing that goal.
As student-athletes, they know that they need to hold themselves
to higher standards on and off the court. They realize a lot of the times they
are the "face" of the campus, especially when they are traveling to
other Universities and cities. So it makes me extremely proud to know that not
only do they demonstrate the highest of standards for others to see, but that
they are also recognized by others for their efforts.
This is a great award to receive not just for our men’s
basketball program and athletic department, but for the University as a whole.
It is great recognition of the type of student-athletes we have here on this
campus.
Yours in hoops,
Coach Strick