Community Service The Hatter Basketball squad is very active in the DeLand and Stetson communities, which is the primary reason why Stetson repeatedly boasts some of the largest crowds in the Atlantic Sun Conference. As a tribute to the student body for maintaining the highest percentage of student attendance in the Atlantic Sun Conference for the seventh straight year, the coaching staff again placed a bounty on their heads when they challenged the students in the Sixth Annual 3 on 3 Coaches’ Challenge. For the seventh year in a row, 30 teams participated in the tournament, which had over 300 observers in attendance. The tournament consisted of two divisions, an open division and a coed division, and the coaching staff played each division’s champion for a cash prize at the end of the tournament. The proceeds raised from the 3 on 3 tournament benefit the Stetson Chapter for Habitat for Humanity. In addition, the Hatters’ community service includes working with local youth during several basketball clinics and camps as well as spending time at local retirement homes. The most notable basketball clinic is done in conjunction with Bright House Communications, Sunshine Network and Subway as a part of Bright House’s Excellence in Sports Youth Program. In the past, the free clinic has averaged over 200 local youth.
(Above) The Hatter coaches and players teach basketball fundamentals to area youth during free clinics held each year in conjuction with Bright House Networks.
(Above) The team gathered in September 2009 to help with a landscaping project for ‘The House Next Door’, a local charity.
(Above) On September 23, 2008 the team ran the 2nd annual Alpha Xi Delta 5k run to benefit the charity Choose Children. (Above) Group photo from the first 3-on-3 Coaches’ Challenge that took place in 2003.
(Left) 3-on-3 Coaches’ Challenge... Let the games begin! Proceeds benefit the Stetson Chapter for Habitat for Humanity. (Right) Hatters ring bell for the Salvation Army. Stetson University
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