Some of our most important classrooms

Manchester's athletic fields and courts are some of our most important classrooms. That's where student-athletes learn life lessons about sportsmanship, teamwork and the power of a positive attitude.

Manchester doesn't award athletic scholarships. What students gain from participating in collegiate athletics is far more important than sports for entertainment's sake. That's why Manchester strives to maximize athletic opportunities for all students, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender.

More than 450 Manchester student-athletes participate in 21 intercollegiate sports through the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC). On a modest budget and with the help of a dedicated coaching staff, they accomplish extraordinary things:

• Our women's athletic teams won the HCAC Women's All-Sports Trophy for five consecutive years, 2005-2009. 

• The men's basketball team finished at the top of the HCAC in 2011 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Jordan Moss was named to the All-American third team. 

• Junior Mariah Jordan qualified for the 2015 Outdoor Track & Field and 2015 Cross Country NCAA Division III National Championship. 

• The 2013 Men’s Cross Country team qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championship. 

• Baseball has qualified for the NCAA Championship six times, and participated in the NCAA Division III World Series in 2013 and 2004. 

• Swimming & Diving sophomore diver Ally Roskos qualified for the NCAA Division III Regional meet in the teams’ second year of competitive competition.

And that's just to name a few.

Your gifts to Manchester athletics perpetuate Spartan pride. They not only support our intercollegiate athletes, but benefit the 75 percent of all Manchester students who participate in 14 intramural sports that provide a healthy release from academic pressures and encourage students to develop lifelong fitness habits.

You can support Spartan athletics in a variety of ways:

• Join the M Association. Manchester's intercollegiate athletes who earn a letter and have completed at least 30 academic hours are eligible for induction. Members have special lifelong opportunities to help MU athletes. 

• Participate in the annual Friends of Manchester Golf Outing in Auburn, Ind., which has raised more than $1 million since the event's inception and accounts for about 75 percent of the non-building donations to MU athletics. Friends of Manchester gifts have paid for film-editing equipment for the coaching staff, press boxes and bleachers for several athletic fields, and much more.

• Give a gift directly to Spartan athletics. You can give online or contact a development officer to help you best determine your options. Step up to the plate and support students who wear the Black and Gold – give to MU athletics today!