Wednesday, September 23, 2015 // The Statement 7B LSA senior Dominic Jamett, president of the Student Athlete Advisory Council, said the administration reached out to him and other student-athletes for feed- back on the apparel companies. He said he appreciates the way the athletic department is receptive to input from student-athletes. “We are pretty lucky that we have an athletic department that cares so much about our opportunities,” Jamett said. “The gear that we get provided is second to none and students recognize that, and we definitely do not take that for grant- ed.” Student athletes are not the only ones pleased with the athletic department’s decision. Though the athletic department did not reach out to the Alumni Associa- tion in a similar way, Dave Schueler, vice president of alumni engagement at the Alumni Association, said he noticed posi- tive reaction among alums across their social media platforms. “Sometimes just something new is exciting in general, I think people rallied around having something new or differ- ent to talk about,” he said. Schueler speculates the deal brought back memories from when the Univer- sity previously signed with Nike, as the company worked with beloved Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr. Because the University signed with Nike for a lon- ger period of time than with Adidas, he says more alumni felt connected to the “swoosh.” With the recent hiring of Jim Har- baugh and contract deal with Nike, alum- ni can’t help but feel hopeful for the next chapter in University athletic history, Schueler said. “All of the things that are new are exciting and, perhaps, some of the new things remind us of the success that the athletic program, specifically football, had in years past,” he said. For Jamett, however, the gear does not make or break wins. He said not only are student-athletes unphased by the size of the deal, fans will not be impacted by the Nike deal because they came out for the student-athletes — not the jerseys. “I do not think the brand of gear is the biggest thing right now,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is going to have the block M and I think that is what people love.” System and plenty more expressed inter- est. He also learned quickly that with a group of competitive and well-rounded individuals, he had no problem getting stu- dent athletes interested in helping, either. In fact, slowing them down proved to be the toughest challenge. *** The University Athletic Department established the Rachael Townsend Community Service Award in 2009. Hoping to push student athletes to carry that one more rep mentality into helping others, the idea was to reward the teams that performed the most community service throughout the year. It worked, but with a cost. Hours and interest in service soared, but when Moore switched the award from a quan- tity-based team honor to a quality-focused individual one in 2013, Michigan was admit- ting it had lost what it was after. “We found that everyone was so caught up in hours and putting up big numbers, the ser- vice wasn’t that effec- tive,” Moore said. “We’d rather see fewer hours and participation than people just in it for the hours if it increases the value and impact.” Michigan is the only school to Moore’s knowledge that no lon- ger has an hours-based reward or quota, and taking the competition out of community service did come with a drop in participation. But the support was there. “You can’t make these things manda- tory, you have to really value it,” said Kine- siology junior Sophie DuPhily, a member of the lacrosse team who is also serving as the SAAC Community Engagement Chair. “It’s important to get people to find value in it themselves, not just add it to practice, school and everything else.” Moore makes resources and events known and helps when needed, but has eliminated enforcements, counting on teams and student-athletes to motivate each other. For DuPhily, whose team was all fresh- men when the new system took over in 2013, the toughest hurdle is the first one. “I was a little slow to start on communi- ty service,” DuPhily said. “We didn’t really have anyone to show us the way, but once I got started, I was hooked.” “We don’t make it mandatory, but I will try to get people who haven’t gone before to go with me. The first time is usually the hardest, after that they can’t wait to go back.” In addition to the shift away from man- datory service, Michigan has tried to modernize the way its student-athletes go about service. Reaching out to the Ginsburg Center, SAPAC and other campus-based resources, Moore has set out to increase the educa- tional component of service. Though it’s admittedly tough to manage full training and reflection sessions when balancing the priorities of student-athletes, Moore says it never hurts to get creative. “We might not get hours with (the stu- dent-athletes),” he said. “But on the way to and from campus we can discuss why they get involved in the community and what they get from the opportunity through identification, through reflection, through exploration of themselves.” While the service may be helpful today, the true impact will be seen down the road. *** Once Martin’s bus pulls into the Pioneer High School parking lot to begin his youth camp, he’s at home. The Big House may be across the street, but as he’s greeted by over a dozen other NFL players volunteer- ing their time, a wide grin covers his face. That grin grows to make his 6-foot-2, 306-pound frame look small as the kids get off the bus and sprint to the field. Many hail from the area of Detroit where he grew up. Martin knows the impact his camp can have on the kids, because he once was those kids. “We can relate to a lot of the things they’re saying because we know the area and a bit of what they go through,” said Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Brandon Graham, a former Michigan football player. “You might have gone to the same schools or know some of the same people. The conversation and connection is there because you’re from the same place.” The same can be said for current Mich- igan athletes. When DuPhily and 30 other Michigan student- athletes volunteered at Camp Catch-A- Rainbow — a YMCA youth camp for cur- rent or former can- cer patients — during spring term, many were reminded of times getting to know athletes in the past, and reminded why they go to Michigan. “That’s our biggest goal, to find something for everyone,” Moore said. “Not everyone wants to work with kids, so it’s about finding what kind of work you do want to do — what you’ll get passionate about. Because when you have that passion, it shows.” Despite taking away the scorebook, rules and trophies, Michigan student-athletes continue to give back. Despite everything else they have to worry about, the student- athletes feel socially responsible. “I think there’s an obligation to give back,” DuPhily said. “You’re not getting a reward for doing it, but you’re a part of the Michigan family, and that does create a moral right to give back to the community and to strengthen that connection in any way you can.” The gear that we get provided is second to none CONTRACT From Page 4B LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily Members of the Michigan Men’s Soccer Team greet kids and Johntez Williamson and his father John Williamson after their 3-0 victory over Northwestern on Sunday.