UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State Men's Basketball Program hosted a first-of-its-kind event last weekend. The Christopher Jacobi Roundball Club Season Tip-off Event was held on Saturday, October 19th inside O'Neill Arena and featured a Red vs White Scrimmage and Roundball Luncheon, all prior to SVSU Football's homecoming matchup versus Grand Valley State.
The event was kicked off with the annual Red vs White Scrimmage that saw the Cardinal squad split in two and go head to head. Seniors Freddie McIntosh and Maurice Anderson led the Red Team to an early lead, but they couldn't hold off the White Team led by Senior Toodles Seal and Junior newcomer Elijah Mattingly. The White Team got the win in a competitive intrasquad scrimmage, which featured live music by DJ Woo Beatz! Following the scrimmage, four members of the team participated in a dunk contest. Freshman Niko Newsome, Maurice Anderson, and Elijah Mattingly all gave a great effort, but it was not enough to beat the high-flying Toodles Seal. Toodles caught a pass off the side of the backboard and punched home a dunk that earned a near perfect score to crown him the 2024 Dunk Contest Championship.
Next, the team and all families, friends, and supporters in attendance headed to East Arena for the Roundball Luncheon. Pizza, pasta, desserts, and drinks were provided free of charge by the Men's Basketball Program. Coach Baruth kicked off the event with acknowledgment of last year's team and four seniors: Tre Garrett, Dylan West, Maurice Barnett, and Student Assistant Coach Mason Kochanski. The Luncheon was highlighted by Oakland University Men's Basketball Head Coach Greg Kampe being a guest speaker. Coach Kampe told stories of their 2024 March Madness upset win over Kentucky, but primarily focused on the challenges of college coaching and the importance of fundraising in today's landscape. Before joining the Horizon League at the Division 1 level, Oakland and Coach Kampe were members of the GLIAC and played against Chris Jacobi's SVSU Cardinals; Coach Kampe, a Saginaw native, spoke highly of the program and our efforts to raise funds.
Mike and Kathy Anderson, brother-in-law and sister to Chris Jacobi who passed away in 2021, took the mic and really stole the show when they announced they would make an incredible $50,000 gift to SVSU Men's Basketball, broken up over the next ten years.
"The entire Program cannot thank Mike and Kathy enough for this generosity!" said Coach Baruth. "What an incredible day for our team. We are so thankful that Coach Kampe was willing to come up and be a guest speaker for our Luncheon. He has always been a class act to me and so professional ever since I got the job here. It was fitting that part of his message was about the importance of fundraising, and then Mike and Kathy made that amazing financial contribution. We really appreciate them, and all the behind-the-scenes help we had to make this event happen."
Coach Baruth concluded the event by introducing this year's team members and thanking everyone for coming out. The 2024 Chris Jacobi Roundball Season Tip-off Event was a huge success and the Cardinal Men's Basketball Program wants to thank everyone who joined us and continues to support our mission of winning championships and graduating student-athletes!