With a big crowd in attendance on a perfect, clear night, Spalding University broke in its new athletic fields complex on the evening of Oct. 23 with a grand opening celebration that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

About 800 fans gathered under the lights of the 7.3-acre complex between South Eighth and South Ninth streets to watch the Golden Eagles’ men’s and women’s soccer doubleheader, as well as a grand opening ceremony and ceremonial “First Kick” of soccer ball between games.

It was the culmination of nearly six years of private fundraising for the complex and about six months of construction, which was overseen by general contractor Schaefer Construction. The finished product will be a source of pride and achievement for the university for years to come.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer praised Spalding President Tori Murden McClure, Athletic Director Roger Burkman and the entire university community for being unafraid to take on big projects.

“And this was a big project,” the mayor said.

“What I love about Spalding is that you guys work hard each and every day,” Fischer said, before alluding to McClure’s most famous individual athletic feat. “It’s kind of like rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, one stroke at a time. If there’s something to be done, you can bet on this team here at Spalding. The kind of hope that you all represent, the persistence that you represent, it’s come true here tonight with this great facility. It’s a wonderful bridge for hope for our entire community. Tori, Roger, and the entire team, thank you very much on behalf of our great city. Wonderful job.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FIELDS PROJECT AND HOW TO SUPPORT IT

VISIT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF SPALDING ATHLETICS 

Located on the site of a former unused industrial brownfield and about four blocks west of the primary campus, the athletic complex provides for the first time an on-campus home for Spalding’s men’s and women’s soccer and softball teams, which have previously had to travel to high school facilities around the city to practice and host games.  The complex includes two turf soccer fields and a turf softball field that are lighted and can be used year-round. The Spalding softball team will begin playing at the complex during the upcoming spring 2020 season.

Spalding University Athletic Fields lit up at dusk
The Spalding University Athletic Complex was lit up on the edge of downtown during the Oct. 23 grand opening soccer doubleheader.

“Now (the soccer and softball programs) have a place that they can call their own,” Burkman said. “It’s a game-changer. You think about it from a recruiting standpoint and how it’s going to level that playing field, so to speak. And you can already see on the faces of our athletes how excited they are. When you talk to them about it, they just start smiling, and they just light up. And in the prospects who come to campus, you can see their eyes light up as well.”

New Spalding sports programs are set to make the complex their home as well.

Spalding is already in the early stages of adding men’s and women’s lacrosse, utilizing the soccer field that is also lined for that sport. Though a full plan for the creation of men’s and women’s lacrosse programs is still being developed, the university recently posted job openings for a men’s coach and women’s coach.

The other soccer field is lined for field hockey, allowing Spalding to explore adding a program in that sport, too.

The complex will also be available for outside clubs and schools to rent.

Surrounded by dozens of new trees and extensive landscaping, the fields complex also helps beautify the neighborhood at a site where there was previously nothing but asphalt and weeds. It continues Spalding’s effort to green and transform urban spaces south of Broadway. In recent years, the school turned a 2.2-acre parking lot into Trager Park – a grassy public recreational space at the corner of South Second and West Kentucky – and built the Mother Catherine Square green space in the center of campus at South Third and West Breckinridge.

More photos | Look back at months’ of the athletic fields’ construction progress and the grand opening on Spalding’s Facebook page.

It’s Commencement weekend at Spalding University! Festivities kicked off Friday with the Baccalaureate service and individual college, school and program award ceremonies. There are tons of pictures from the day on Spalding’s Facebook page within the “Commencement Activities 2019” album. Please like, share and tag yourself or others in the pictures, and do the same after the university Commencement service (10 a.m. Saturday at Canaan Christian Church). Here’s a look at some of Spalding’s new grads who participated in Friday’s events.

Haitian earthquake victim now a Spalding nursing grad
Nine years ago, Witchina Liberal’s home in Haiti was destroyed by the earthquake that devastated that country.

This weekend, she is graduating with the degree of bachelor of science in nursing from Spalding and set to add a member to her young family.

Liberal attended Friday’s Baccalaureate service on Friday nearly nine months pregnant with her son, who is due on June 23 and will be named Jeremiah. She said she expects to look back on pictures from this weekend years from now with him.

“I can say I have a career now, and I will be able to provide for him, give him everything I didn’t have growing up. I’m happy,” said Liberal, who was accompanied Friday by her husband and friends from their church.

She added with a laugh: “He’s been a good boy. I didn’t have too much trouble with him while I did the nursing program.”

At the time of the earthquake, 15-year-old Liberal was at home, but she was cooking in a kitchen that was in a different part of the building.

“Fortunately, none of my family members died, but we lost everything,” she said. “None of us were in the house at the time. But it was horrifying. A lot of people died.”

Liberal moved from Haiti to Florida in 2010 to finish high school. She also attended a community college in that state before moving in 2016 to Louisville, where she had family. She picked Spalding to finish out her BSN the next year because she “liked how they were so welcoming,” Liberal said.

“It’s hard, but it’s doable,” she said of the nursing degree. “It can be done, but it’s challenging. I enjoyed it. The professors were really helpful, really helpful.”

Commencement weekend felt bittersweet for Liberal. In November, a few weeks after she learned she was pregnant, Liberal lost her mother, who was still living in Haiti. She has had her mom on her mind as she approaches graduation. Liberal said she barely slept Thursday night as she stayed up thinking about her.

“I’m proud of what I have done, but it has been rough,” she said.

Liberal plans to be a neonatal intensive care unit nurse. At some point, she’d like to provide nursing and medical care in her home country, which she has visited every year since moving to the United States.

“That’s part of my plan,” she said. “I’d like to go back and help.”

Former Spalding golfer now a mom and grad
Bachelor of science in natural science graduate and former Spalding golfer Megan Shirley Faust had a special young guest at Friday’s Baccalaureate Service – her 2-month-old daughter, Madalyn.

Spalding student Megan Faust, in blue cap and gown, holding baby, Madalyn, in a car seat
Spalding student Megan Faust and 2-month-old daughter Madalyn after Baccalaureate service on May 31, 2019.

“It’s pretty awesome being able to experience it with her and her be in the moment with me,” Megan Faust said. Years from now, “I can show her what I did, and she’ll want to do the same.”

She said attending Spalding has been “a really great experience,” citing the experience of being an athlete and a student, as well as the bond she had with the golf team.

Faust was a senior on the 2017-18 Spalding team that won the first-ever St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship for women’s golf.

“That history is pretty awesome, being one of the first people to set those standards,” Faust said.

During her final academic year, Faust has had a new experience.

“Instead of going to practices and workouts and tournaments, I’m a mom and a student,” she said.

Faust currently works as a Certified Nursing Assistant in a nursing home. She said she may at some point pursue a job in human resources.

College of Ed master’s grad: ‘I feel like I’ve gained a family here’
Destiny Nichole Livers, a teacher a Foster Elementary School who is earning the degree of master of education in teacher leadership, said she would recommend Spalding to other aspiring or current teachers.

“I loved Spalding. The staff is very supportive,” she said.

Livers, who taught fifth grade the last three years and who will move to third grade as a team leader next year, said she’s learned about methods and best practices at Spalding that she is eager to take back to her school and share with her colleagues.

“If someone is looking for a supportive family, not just professors – I feel like I’ve gained a family here at Spalding – then you would like Spalding,” Livers said. “If you want the college where you really don’t know your professors, then go somewhere else. But here, like I told Dr. (Kristen) Harris, (the Spalding program director), ‘You’re stuck with me for life.'”

Livers was the winner of the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award for her program.

 

With Commencement approaching on June 1, Spalding is publishing a series of stories and Q&A’s that highlight students from a range of degree programs who are set to graduate. Next up is Taylor Thompson, who is earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree. She is also the 2018 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women’s golf champion, and she helped Spalding to two SLIAC team titles.

What is your favorite Spalding memory?
It’s hard to choose something specifically; however, I’d choose my entire freshman year as a whole. Getting the opportunity to join a new community and meet new amazing people was something I’ll never forget.

Which accomplishments are you most proud of during your time at Spalding?
Winning SLIAC women’s golf championships with my team in back-to-back years and individually my senior year.

What’s your favorite spot on campus?
The outdoor area by the Mansion with the tulip poplar tree.

At Spalding, we like to say that, “Today is a great day to change the world.” For many of our students, Commencement is a world-changing experience. After graduation, how do you plan to change the world, big or small, and who inspires you to be a #spaldingworldchanger?
While I don’t have a specific plan to change the world, I hope I can continuously find ways to positively impact my community and the people around me. As Maya Angelou said, “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” Spalding has taught me how to embrace a diverse community, and I hope to continue to create that sense of belonging postgraduation in whatever community I end up in.

 

Boosted by a powerful offense, a steady pitching staff and a whole lot of positive energy and team camaraderie, the Spalding University baseball team has its sights set on adding to its historic season this weekend.

Spalding, fresh off clinching its first-ever share of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title, will now turn its attention to trying to win its first-ever SLIAC Tournament crown.

The Golden Eagles (29-10, 18-4 SLIAC) are No. 1 seeds from the East Division in the four-team, double-elimination tournament, hosted by Greenville, and they will open play against West No. 2 Westminster (17-13, 13-8) at 11 a.m. EDT Friday in a game at SIU-Edwardsville. West No. 1 and defending champ Webster (29-10, 18-4) and East No. 2 Greenville (22-15, 14-6) will play at noon in the other first-round game at Greenville.

Spalding, currently ranked No. 13 nationally in the Perfect Game Top 25, is playing in the SLIAC Tournament for the third straight year (and the second straight as a No. 1 divisional seed) but seeking its first championship in the event and its first NCAA Division III postseason bid.

“What it comes down to is that we can control our own destiny, and I think the players have taken that mindset, and it’s helped them walk in and know how important this tournament is going to be,” coach Matt Downs said, adding that he’s glad the Eagles got to experience the format and routine of the tournament in 2017 and ’18. “I think with that experience the last two years, the guys will feel really comfortable.”

Downs said he’s had a great time coaching the team, which he said has excellent chemistry, likes to have fun together on and off the field and never requires a command from him to bring energy and focus to practice.

“They have a lot of fun. These dudes create their own energy, and I’m just along for the ride with them,” Downs said. “They really enjoy each other. Everybody is on the same page. They know their roles, and they know what’s going on.”

In the clearest example of solidarity for this fun-loving team, Spalding’s players are literally the golden Eagles going into the weekend, with, as of Wednesday, 26 players  having dyed their hair blond. Downs said he’s promised them he’ll dye his hair, too, if Spalding can make the NCAA field.

“If you’d have told me 95 percent of the guys on the team would do it, I’d have not believed you,” reigning SLIAC Player of the Year Garrett Wilson said with a chuckle, his bleach-blond hair extending to his shoulders. “So I’m happy for it.”

The Eagles’ bright hair might draw some eyes this weekend, but it’s their bats and arms that will really command their opponents’ attention.

Spalding finished the regular season as the SLIAC leader in runs, home runs, RBIs, doubles, triples and stolen bases, and several players are among the individual league leaders.

Shortstop Eric Meyer has challenged for the SLIAC triple crown, tying for the conference league in homers (10, which are also Spalding’s NCAA-era school record), and finishing second in batting average (.396) and RBIs (41). He’s also No. 1 in runs (45) and doubles (14).

Teammate Quenton Brownlee is the league leader in RBIs (46), second in runs (43), third in homers (eight) and steals (21), and eighth in average (.372).

And Wilson is third in batting average (.395), fifth in runs (37) and seventh in steals.

“Offensively, what this team has done is nothing short of amazing,” Downs said, noting that Spalding’s results have come largely in the sizable confines of Derby City Field. “We have a clear-cut plan and message and culture on the offensive side that’s probably here to stay for years to come.”

On the mound, Spalding, which had to replace last year’s All-American ace, Jimi Keating, has gotten solid performances up and down the staff and leads the SLIAC in strikeouts.

Senior Dillon Sievert, a former catcher who is in his first season as a starting pitcher, is a key two-way player for Spalding. The right-hander is 6-2 with a 2.71 earned-run average and leads the team in innings, and offensively he’s fourth on the team in runs and steals.

Junior Zach Jones (7-0) is third in the SLIAC in wins and fifth in ERA (2.28), and sophomore Jack Parisi (6-0, 3.36) is No. 3 in the league in strikeouts (75).

“To think about how good (Jones and Parisi) are now, and how they’ll be back next year is very exciting,” Downs said.

Wilson said the Golden Eagles, who had an NCAA-era school-record 13 straight wins at one point this year and have been ranked as high as No. 9 nationally, are confident heading into the SLIAC Tournament and will be looking to take another step forward.

“I think we have a really good chance,” he said. “It’s been really fun, but everybody is really determined. We all have one goal: To get as far as we can possibly go. (After being eliminated from the 2018 SLIAC Tournament), Coach has sort of kept it in the back of our mind that we don’t ever want the feeling again.”

Kasim Alsalman doesn’t like to wait.

When faced with an obstacle, his first instinct is to run head-long into it, knocking out one stumbling block after another until his goal is achieved. So two years ago when a severe ankle sprain playing soccer led to a frustratingly long ER wait, the then-freshman at Spalding University quickly focused his major on health science and healthcare administration with a minor in business.

“I want to find a way to impact the hospital system and make it as efficient as possible,” he said.

Now 20 and finishing his junior year at Spalding, Alsalman says that his vision for his own future hasn’t always been so clear. He’s the second-oldest of five sons, born to a pair of Iraqi immigrants who worked tirelessly to ensure their children had more opportunities than they had.

“They gave us everything they could,” he said. “It gives you that motivation that you don’t want to go through what they went through.”

Still, Alsalman said that his high school experience didn’t properly prepare him for college, and that Spalding was able to meet him where he was to ensure success. He credits the block schedule, which allows students to focus on a limited number of classes for six-week periods, to helping him get acclimated to a more rigorous academic setting, and the support of both faculty and classmates for cheering him on.

“Coming from the school I came from—my first semester was rough,” said Alsalman. “Spalding gave me a chance to improve my study skills first.”

Now thriving academically, Alsalman also maintains a full-time job and plays soccer for Spalding—last year he was named Spring Captain.

Alsalman knows he’s changing the world for his family: He, along with two of his brothers—his oldest brother is currently pursuing his law degree at Northern Kentucky University, and his younger brother is a sophomore at University of Louisville—are the first in his generation to attend college, and he’s intent that his two youngest brothers, aged 14 and 15, will follow in their big brothers’ footsteps as well.

“We’re setting a better standard for my family,” he said. “My little brothers all know now that there’s a standard for them. We want to push them to be better.”

He also knows he’s destined to change the world beyond his family—he’s just not sure how it’s going to happen yet. Alsalman knows he wants to continue his education beyond his bachelor’s degree and dreams of living and working abroad one day. The rest of the details, he knows, will work themselves out.

“I haven’t really figured everything out yet,” he said. “But I feel like Spalding can help you find that opportunity (to change the world). I feel fully prepared and ready to take on whatever life throws my way.”

 

 

Spalding University’s field of dreams project is officially off and running on S. Ninth Street, with shovels in the ground and ballgames not far off.

On Friday, April 12, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and Metro Council President David James  joined Spalding President Tori Murden McClure, Athletic Director Roger Burkman and Spalding Board of Trustees Chair Jim Rissler in the official groundbreaking of the 7.4-acre athletic fields complex between Eighth and Ninth Street. All the coaches and student-athletes from the Golden Eagles’ soccer and softball programs surrounded them and helped celebrate the start of the construction phase of the project that will give those teams an on-campus home for the first time.

Spalding is building two turf soccer fields – expected to be ready for competition by mid-fall 2019 – and a turf softball field (ready by spring 2020) that will be lighted and available for use year-round.

“I want you all to think about the impact all of you are having on our university, our community and all of these young people you see standing behind me (thanks to your support of the fields project),” Burkman said. “They’re really the reason why we do what we do. … I’m so thankful that (the softball and soccer teams) will have a place to call their homes.”

To be built on the site of a former industrial tract that had long been unused, the new Spalding fields will also beautify the Ninth Street corridor while providing a community resource. The fields, which could also be used for field hockey and lacrosse, will be available for other schools and clubs to rent. Men’s soccer coach Adam Boyer said he envisions the fields being the site of future youth clinics and camps and other types of service events.

“There is no doubt about it that this will be one of the coolest Division III facilities in the country and provide a wealth of benefits to our student-athletes,” Boyer said. “It’ll be a huge boost to our overall student-athlete experience in addition to improving our ability to recruit players to our programs. We’re looking forward to seeing the impact these fields have on our entire student population at Spalding – from intramural opportunities to being a unified source of school provide.

“These fields are a dream come true.”

McClure has said that the athletic fields are, literally, a game-changer for Spalding’s student-athletes and will position them to grow and succeed.

“When you’re a Division III student-athlete, you’re truly a student first and an athlete second. But I firmly believe that college athletics is not extra-curricular; it’s extra curriculum,” she said. “You learn the persistence, the endurance, the resourcefulness that it takes to make a difference not just on the field but in the real world.”

Spalding purchased the property, located between South Eighth and South Ninth and bounded by West Kentucky and West Breckenridge streets, in 2014, and it is using raised funds to build the fields complex. Fundraising continues, and information on how to support the project is available on the Ninth Street: Field of Dreams page.

The fields complex is the latest example of Spalding’s initiative of transforming urban spaces, including ones covered with impervious surfaces, into community resources that beautify campus and the neighborhood. In 2017, Spalding transformed an unused 2.2-acre parking lot at the corner of S. Second and W. Kentucky streets into Trager Park, a public green space with 100 new trees. Other recently created green spaces include Mother Catherine Square in the center of campus.

“This is one of those projects you dream of not just as a president of a university or as a student but also as a mayor, to say, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had a great big green swath in our city, right here by Ninth Street, a gateway to the west, an extension to a college campus?’ It’s awesome, and it’s here,” Fischer said. “The persistence and the tenacity of Spalding that you all demonstrate each and every day has led to this tremendous announcement we have today. This is a wonderful thing.”

Fischer spoke at Spalding on the eve of the start of the mayor’s Give A Day week of service program, and he praised Spalding for becoming the world’s first certified compassionate university  and he noted that Spalding will be a partner with the city in the Lean Into Louisville program.

Fischer said the city celebrates “what Spalding has done for our city in terms of the soul of our city, the conscience of our city.”

“The Sisters at Spalding and the staff and faculty have really helped set the pace for so much of what we do,” Fischer said. “… Spalding is always there when it comes to making a statement, whether it comes to commemorating Muhammad Ali and the Columbia Gym, or Lean Into Louisville, or being a compassionate university, or in helping make our city an even more beautiful place. This complex is a great win for Spalding and a great win for our city.”

Schaefer Construction is the general contractor for the project. Sabak, Wilson and Lingo Inc. is Spalding’s architecture and civil engineering partner for the fields. Schaefer Construction also announced it is making a $50,000 donation to the fields project on Friday.

Other comments from Friday’s groundbreaking

*Mirza Ugarak, men’s soccer player: “The new sports facility will be a tremendous resource for current and future students to mature into adults who will make the world a better place.”

*Kayla Strehle, women’s soccer player: “Spalding has shown us all just how much it cares about women’s sports with two-thirds of this complex being dedicated to women’s teams.”

*Ally Klein, softball player: “Coming to Spalding has allowed me to build friendships with my teammates and create memories on the field that will last a lifetime. … Having our own field is honestly the one missing piece in what has been an amazing college athletic experience. … It’ll make us better students and better athletes and help bring our community together.”

 

A crowd of about 1,000 college basketball fans and friends of Spalding University packed Cardinal Stadium’s Brown and Williamson Club Monday night to get the lowdown on March Madness while supporting the NCAA Division III Golden Eagles’ athletic department.

Spalding’s 11th annual Bracketology fundraiser featured a star-studded panel of basketball analysts –  former Louisville stars Luke Hancock and Milt Wagner, former Kentucky stars Mike Pratt and Dan Issel and former U of L assistant Jerry Jones – on stage to reflect on their playing and coaching days and to make their picks for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

For those who couldn’t make it out, we’ve got you covered. Here are the Final Four and national champion picks of the panelists.

Mike Pratt
East: Duke
West: Gonzaga
South: Tennessee
Midwest: Kentucky
Title game: Duke over Tennessee

Luke Hancock
East: Duke
West: Florida State
South: Virginia
Midwest: North Carolina
Title game: North Carolina over Florida State

Dan Issel
East: Duke
West: Michigan
South: Tennessee
Midwest: North Carolina
Title game: North Carolina over Duke

Milt Wagner
East: Duke
West: Florida State
South: Tennessee
Midwest: Kentucky
Title game: Duke over Kentucky

Jerry Jones
East: Duke
West: Buffalo
South: Virgina
Midwest: Houston
Title game: Duke over Houston

Bracketology is the largest annual fundraiser for Spalding’s athletic program. In addition to fans hearing from and taking with the celebrity bracketologists, the event also featured a buffet dinner, a bar, a silent auction with a trove of sports memorabilia and other cool items and a $20,000 cash raffle.

We hope to see you next year!

DONATE TO SPALDING’S PROPOSED ATHLETIC FIELDS COMPLEX ON NINTH STREET

Table setting at Spalding Bracketology with
The Bracketology table setting. Photos by Meghan Holsclaw.

As the Spalding University women’s basketball team has surged to a school-record 12 straight wins and a trip to the conference tournament, the Golden Eagles have relied on senior Alex Martin to carry a major all-around load.

The 5-foot-6 Martin, was already a three-time all-conference player heading into 2018-19, but she has saved her best season for last.

She leads Spalding (19-6, 14-2 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) in scoring (17.2 ppg) and is tied for the team lead in rebounding (6.6), both career bests. She’s also first on the team in steals (48) and second in assists (63).

She’ll lead the second-seeded Golden Eagles against No. 3 Westminster at 7 p.m. EST Thursday in the SLIAC Tournament semifinals at Greenville. The winner will face the No. 1 Greenville-No. 4 Webster in Saturday’s title game with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament on the line. Spalding is participating in its first SLIAC Tournament in three years and will be vying for its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2015.

“If I could have written a book about how my senior year would go, this would be it,” Martin said. “This has been amazing.”

Learn more about the Spalding women’s basketball program

Martin said helping Spalding get back to the conference tournament was her No. 1 goal this season and that it’s exciting to get there with so much momentum.

The Golden Eagles were only 7-6 after losing back-to-back games by a total of six points at Westminster and at Greenville on Jan. 3 and Jan 5. But they’ve hit their stride since and avenged both league losses when Westminster and Greenville visited Louisville. Spalding’s 75-65 win over Greenville on Feb. 6 was the Panthers’ only conference loss.

Martin missed the first five games of the season with a toe injury – one of multiple injuries the Golden Eagles have battled this season. At one point, Spalding had only eight players available and was forced to have people playing out of position to fill out the lineup. But Martin said those setbacks helped Spalding in the long run because the players matured and learned new roles and skills.

Martin, for instance, played power forward some out of necessity, and she said that helped improve her rebounding in the post.

“Our coaches say every day that we’re not quitters,” Martin said “We could be down 15, and wont quit. We just don’t give up. If somebody goes down, we say, ‘OK, let’s pick up the slack somewhere else.'”

Martin certainly hasn’t been slacking in the scoring department. She reached double figures in all but two regular-season games. She topped 20 points five times, including a career-high 35 points in the loss at Westminster. She was twice named the SLIAC Player of the Week.

Though she’s Spalding’s top scorer, Martin said passing is her favorite part of the game.

The Ballard High School alumna said she has always been a fan of NBA point guard and Louisville native Rajon Rondo and enjoyed watching him facilitate the offense and set teammates up for baskets.

“Seeing other people’s success and seeing other people score (is satisfying),” Martin said. “You can always hit a three, but having that pretty pass, you might only get to do it a couple times a game, so that’s the best part.”

Martin looks back on her Spalding career fondly. She said she was drawn to stay home and play for the Golden Eagles because of the reputation of coach Charlie Just and the opportunity for her family to attend all her games.

Martin is in Spalding’s natural science and pre-athletic training program. She’ll graduate in June, then be back next school year to complete her master’s of science in athletic training. Eventually, she hopes to become a trainer for a college basketball team.

Spalding University student-athletes were treated to a quick basketball shoot-around and a pep talk from rapper and entrepreneur Percy Miller, aka Master P, on Friday afternoon at Columbia Gym.

Miller spoke to the Spalding athletes about the importance of education as well as the opportunities and relationships that can be created and strengthened through playing sports. An excellent basketball player, Miller went to the University of Houston on an athletic scholarship, later attended Merritt College in California. He briefly played in the NBA.

“Education is so important,” he told the Golden Eagles. “Without that, you’re going to make the wrong choices and decisions. …  Keep chasing those dreams and those goals and know that education is going to take you a long way. … Everybody might not make it to the NBA or the WNBA, but you can use this as a tool to get you to different places and to see and build those dreams and goals.”

Miller used the trip to Spalding on Friday as an opportunity to meet with and console two local families who have recently lost teenagers to tragedies – 18-year-old Richard Harper and 13-year-old Ki’Athony Tyus.

The visit with the families and with the Spalding athletes was arranged by Louisville community activist and anti-violence advocate Christopher 2X, who works with Miller as a community and public relations ambassador for Miller’s professional Global Mixed Gender Basketball League. In February 2018, Columbia Gym became a site of that organization’s Balling for a Cause youth basketball and leadership camps, which promote peace and life skills.

“Once (Miller) started to learn more about Spalding’s mission regarding social justice and he’s learned more about how Spalding has become a beacon of light for members of the community, he said it would be good to meet those families there,” Christopher 2X said. “‘Let me give those words of encouragement at Spalding and the Columbia Gym.’”

Last June, Christopher 2X was awarded an honorary doctorate for public service from Spalding.

Rapper Percy Miller, aka Master P, posed with Spalding student-athletes on Feb. 8, 2019
Rapper Percy Miller, aka Master P, posed with Spalding student-athletes on Feb. 8, 2019

Before last weekend, Marcus Montgomery had never scored more than 29 points in a high school or college basketball game. So after he shot way, way, way past that to a record degree on Saturday, Montgomery said he’s feeling more confident than ever to help lead Spalding University.

Montgomery, a sophomore guard, set Spalding’s school record with 51 points in the Golden Eagles’ 133-121 loss at Greenville on Jan. 5, earning him St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors. It’s the second-most points ever scored by a player from any school in a SLIAC game.

Montgomery, a former backup who was making his third start of the season, broke DeWhon McAfee’s Spalding record of 39 points, set in a loss to Indiana University-Southeast on Dec. 8, 2012. Montgomery also easily surpassed his own previous collegiate high of 25 points, which he’d accomplished twice this season and once as a freshman. He said his career high while at Butler High School was 29.

“I’ve had multiple 20-point games, but I never imagined I would crack 50,” Montgomery said. “It shows my hard work is paying off. … Now I just want our team to win the conference and make it to the NCAA Tournament. That’s all that matters.”

MORE: Find all news and information about the Golden Eagles at spaldingathletics.com

With the Golden Eagles (4-9, 3-3 SLIAC) set to return to the court on Wednesday night at MacMurray, Montgomery leads Spalding, averaging 16.9 points per game, and he’s been surging since the holidays. In his past five games, he’s averaged 26 points.

Montgomery said Saturday’s game was still disappointing because it ended in defeat. But his record-setting performance was a bright spot. Montgomery found his groove in trying to help the Golden Eagles rally against Greenville, whose pressing, up-tempo style tends to create high-scoring games.

With a combination of driving layups and jump shots, Montgomery finished 18 of 29 from the floor, including 6 of 11 from 3-point range, and made all nine of his free throws. He added five rebounds and three assists. Montgomery scored 29 points after halftime, including 21 over the final 6:36 of the game, as he said his teammates were looking to get him the ball.

“It was just going out and playing and having fun,” Montgomery said. “When we broke their press, I just kept scoring. … I felt like I could hit any shot.”

Unbeknownst to him, Montgomery surpassed 50 points on a layup with 17 seconds left on the game’s final basket. Montgomery knew he’d just completed a big game – and guessed that he’d topped at least 30 points – but he said he had no idea that he’d gotten to 51 until teammate Chance Hill informed him.

“I said, ‘For real?’ I thought he was playing,” Montgomery said. “But he said, ‘No, you really had 51.’”

Montgomery said it really didn’t hit him until the day after the game when he said he started receiving text messages and calls from friends, relatives and former coaches congratulating him on his record performance. In all, he got more than 50.

On Monday, he said, he got another round of congratulations from classmates who saw him at lunch at the College Street Café. Later in the day, he learned about the SLIAC Player of the Week honor.

“It was cool,” he said, adding that his father told him that the 51-point game was the result of the hard work Montgomery put in over the summer.

The record-breaking game suggests Montgomery has made quite a leap since his freshman year, when he averaged 6.7 points in 20 appearances, including two starts, and also battled a foot injury.

In the offseason, he said he was routinely in the gym getting up shots and working toward a bigger role as a sophomore.

Now Montgomery said his confidence his high and that he believes he’s earned his teammates’ confidence, too.

“I’m ready to play,” Montgomery said. “Any shot I shoot, I think it can go in. That’s how my teammates feel, too.”

Montgomery, a business administration major, said it’s special to have his name in the record book of a university that’s he grown up around.

His mother, Vicki, formerly worked in the Spalding financial aid office, and as a youngster, Marcus visited campus all the time and shot ball in the Columbia Gym. He also has known Spalding coach Kevin Gray for years, having played for him on a youth club team.

“I’ve been around here most of my life,” he said.

On Saturday, he left a lasting mark.