The student-athletes at Hobart College continue to expand their support of the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a non-profit organization committed to supporting severely injured U.S. military personnel upon their return home from service in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas around the world.

The fourth Statesmen program to embrace this cause, the Hobart basketball team will wear camouflage uniforms on Fri., Feb. 12, when they host Liberty League foe Clarkson. In addition to wearing the camouflage jerseys, the team is selling Hobart basketball/WWP apparel online at shopgraph-tex.com, and will conduct a 50/50 raffle at the game, with proceeds benefitting the WWP. 

Senior captain Tim Ivory and junior Michael Barlow organized Friday's event. Both feel it is important to involve the athletic program with the WWP. When asked why they were motivated to get involved, Ivory stated, “Basically, we wanted to do anything we could to help out those who sacrifice the most for our country.” Barlow added, “I work with the Wounded Warrior Project to make sure these men and women will always be remembered. I value the courage and dedication of these Americans; they deserve our honor and support.”

Former Hobart hockey player Ryan Adler '09 first made the HWS campus conscious of the WWP in 2007, when he founded Hockey Helpers. He and the hockey team wore camouflage uniforms, auctioned them off, and sold additional apparel to raise money for the WWP. Since then, many athletes have followed in Adler's footsteps, increasing the involvement of Hobart Athletics in the WWP's cause. This includes Ivory, Barlow, and senior Angelo Catalano, who facilitated a fundraising event with the football team last fall, as well as senior Dan Miller, who helped raise awareness with the golf team.

Adler and junior forward Danny Organ, who took over the reigns of Hockey Helpers after Adler's graduation, have also spread their influence and ideas to other teams in the college hockey world. Recently, Division I Notre Dame wore special edition uniforms at a game and auctioned them off. The Fighting Irish raised over $41,000 for the WWP. Adler and Organ aided the team with the event, using their previous experiences at Hobart as a blueprint.

The basketball Statesmen and Golden Knights will tip off at 8 p.m. on Friday. The following afternoon, Hobart will celebrate senior day before squaring off against St. Lawrence at 4 p.m. Fans unable to make it to Bristol Gym can listen to both games live on WHWS-FM (105.7), watch live streaming video, or follow along online with Live Stats.