91�ȱ���

A sea of purple and gold rippled with cheers from more than 500 fans as two teams of Catamounts stormed the court. Each player’s face was alive with excitement as they exited the tunnel to thunderous applause, an audience of their peers, their families and their community, beaming with pride.

Western Carolina University’s Unite UP basketball game brought students from the University Participant program and Catamount student-athletes together for a first-of-its-kind face-off in the Ramsey Regional Activity Center this past March.

Founded in 2007, the UP program at Western Carolina University helps college-aged individuals with intellectual disabilities prepare for independent adult living. Participants choose their course of study and are paired with student mentors to attend classes and develop essential life skills over the course of two years.

The combined efforts of UP program leaders, 91�ȱ��� Athletics, the Division of Advancement, University Communications and Marketing and the Student Event Coalition brought new attention to a program that has innovated special education for nearly two decades.

Nine UP students of the 12-member program split up for the game, dribbling beside student partners and volunteers from men’s and women’s athletics in two teams as audience members streamed inside.

Devin Crisp, Jamaal Dion, McKenna Priebe, Grace Lee Oak and Kylie Andrews of the UP program played for team purple.

Emma Wright, Spencer Neil, Lucas Atencio and Ellie Black competed as the white team.

Alison Rathbone, Payton Hepler and Kai Price stood alongside 91�ȱ���’s cheer team, livening up the crowd with shouts of “purple and gold!”.

The excited roar of the growing audience only quieted when Alison Rathbone, a first-year student of the program, took center stage to perform the national anthem.

“I was really excited to hear about this unified basketball game,” Rathbone said. “We did one when I was in high school, and I got excited because I knew I was going to be reliving that day… I've never got to do that in front of a basketball game before. I’ve always wanted to.”

Audience members wept for her soulful rendition before filling the arena with cheers again as the voice of announcer Ryan Hipps ushered players back on the court.

Tip-off began the moment after, and the sound of applause, squeaking sneakers and bouncing rubber served as the soundtrack for an incredibly tight and spirited night on the hardwood.

“Being out there, being a student-athlete for a day, that was probably one of the coolest experiences in my life that I will never forget,” said Lucas Atencio, a second-year student of the program. “It was just an electric feeling. I just felt like I was connecting with the crowd. They’re out here anticipating what I'm going to do next, what shenanigans I'm going to pull out… It’s mind-blowing to me that so many people on this campus actually listen and care. They’re actually being there to show up for us, which to me and all of them (UP students) means the world.”

Atencio’s sentiments were echoed by his peers, and those privileged to work with students in the program.

Nic Knox, a special education major and male support for the UP program, has volunteered with students since the beginning of his academic career at 91�ȱ���. He emphasized his love for his job and friendships.

“Getting involved with the UP program my freshman year really opened my eyes to how inclusive transition planning can be and how important it is to the students in the community,” Knox said. “Seeing how incredible they are and just how much life transformation happens after college, it's really made me want to pursue that further.”

To Neil, a second year UP student with plenty of basketball experience, the court “feels like home.”

“I felt a lot of excitement, but you just go with the flow. This game means a lot to us,” he said. “We want to make a good impact. We want to make more students feel welcome here, and I want to make that happen.”

Each half of the game was packed with action, 3-pointers, free throws and layup combinations that exuded skill and Catamount pride.

As is at any other 91�ȱ��� game, the fan experience was only complete with performances from the Pride of the Mountains pep band and the Purple Thunder drumline. By the buzzer, the white team just edged out the purple team with a final score of 25-21.

Family and fans gathered in the Ramsey Center lobby afterward; hundreds lined up for autographs and a press conference.

The teams’ monumental success was felt all around, and those responsible for organizing the experience were proud to watch their community come together to support them.

Alex Mathis, program coordinator and adjunct instructor, has served in nearly every role in the UP program. Its emphasis on true inclusion, said Mathis, is how it became the first of its kind to be accredited by the Inclusive Higher Education Accreditation Council in 2023.

“When Dr. Kelly Kelley started the program in 2007, one of the first things that really made the program was it was designed by practicing teachers who knew what was needed in special education,” Mathis said. “Eighteen years later we still practice that.” “It’s an individualized program, and I think that’s really the thing that sets us apart from all the other programs that are out there. If a student wants something, it’s their decision. They run their schedule, they run their classes, they run their job sites. It’s all their decision at the end of the day.”

Proud parents were among those cheering loudest in the stands on game night.

“She’s busy enjoying her college life, and likes the independence that she’s gaining, so she’s doing great,” said Hepler’s parents, Philip and Linda. “We have so much trust in the program and the faculty and the staff, and we know she’s taken care of and in good hands, so it helps us not worry so much.”

In addition to cheering during the game, Hepler also designed all marketing materials displayed to advertise and showcase players.“The support of the students and that partnership is just huge, for Emma, and all the kids in the UP program,” said Barbie and Brad Wright about their daughter, “but I think for the students that are here that are fixing to go and be teachers, it’s just as big if not bigger… It’ll help them help another kid someday.”

Data demonstrates the facts of UP students’ success from participating in the program. Ninety percent of UP students are employed in a paid community job by the end of their time, and 55% live in their own home or apartment. This is in sharp contrast to the national average, with 17% employed and 13% in their own home.

The Unite UP game was only possible with the inspired efforts of the Student Event Coalition. Their flagship event was a wild success.

Ben Howard and Abigail Howerton, president and vice president at its helm, coordinated with multiple academic departments and rallied 125 volunteers to make the dream reality. Their hard work was visible from the locker room to the arena.

“It truly took a village to put on,” Howerton said. “I feel like we were just a small portion of it.”

Running the show from the courtside to the locker rooms of the Ramsey Center, organizing music, food and scheduling, Howard and Howerton saw the success of their event as a clear demonstration of 91�ȱ���’s selfless sense of community.

“This was seeing different departments, all with different goals, all have the same question of ‘what can we do?’” Howard said. “It brought the university and these departments together in a way that I personally haven’t seen.”

Howard and Howerton are already looking to organize next year’s events, overwhelmed by the public support the university received from current students and decades of alumni alike.

91�ȱ��� Chancellor Kelli R. Brown described the game as “just one of the many things the UP program does to help bring all of our students together.”

There was never a truer, louder exclamation point of Catamount spirit.