On April 14, the Oregon Unified Basketball team won the NIRSA national basketball championship in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Ducks’ Unified team defeated the University of Louisiana, Lafayette by a score of 39-32 in the championship game.
Special Olympic athlete Shanti Gonzales and UO senior Luis Roman were named to the NIRSA all-tournament team.
Each unified team consists of a mix of athletes with intellectual disabilities and college students to build community through sports on campuses nationwide. Unified sports has been on campus at UO since 2018.
Roman has been playing Unified sports since fall term of this year. Roman said playing Unified basketball was bigger than just basketball.
“The sense of inclusivity and teamwork that was always present within our team was one of my favorite things,” Roman said. “Regardless of ability, we were there to support each other and bring each other up.”
Unified Sports is a partnership between the University of Oregon PE and Rec and Special Olympics that brings together UO students and local Special Olympic athletes to play with one another. Unified sports play on Sunday mornings, with indoor soccer being offered in the fall, basketball in the winter and outdoor soccer in the spring.
Unified sports offer a chance for athletes with and without intellectual disabilities to compete in organized sports through a university setting.
UO’s Assistant Director of Intramural Sports and Youth Camps Sean Graninger has worked with Unified Sports on campus since 2018.
“Oftentimes [for special olympic athletes] there’s not a next step for these athletes to continue to be involved at a collegiate level,” Graninger said.
The team representing the Ducks in Madison has been competing with each other in different sports all year, but formally became a basketball team in winter term. UO had previously been represented at nationals in 2019, reaching the final four that year.
Because the team representing UO was one of many Unified basketball teams on campus, Roman said the support for their team was strong.
“We were representing an entire community of people that supported us and shared our vision of what sports are meant to be,” Roman said.
Special Olympics athlete Brandon Schmit has played Unified sports for eight years and was a part of the 2019 team that went to the national tournament.
For Schmit, the experience wasn’t completely new. “It was different for me, because I was on the first team that went [to nationals]. It was still really cool — I was really excited to compete for it,” Schmit said.
A majority of the team that traveled to Wisconsin has been involved with the program for more than five years.
Graninger said that the team growing together and creating friendships has been the most rewarding aspect of his role with special olympics.
“I think we enjoyed most of the moments of flying together, hanging out in the hotels [and] going to dinner together,” Graninger said, “I think those memories will last just as long as the on court games.”
For those wanting to get involved with unified sports at UO, registration for indoor soccer will open in the fall.
