More than 100 alumni and friends gathered in December 2022 for a Virginia Tech basketball game in Blacksburg. It wasn’t all about sports. Most fans in the crowd were old friends and classmates of VT head men’s basketball coach and Emory & Henry alumnus Mike Young, ’86.
This tradition started years ago when Mike was at Wofford University. Mike’s friend Gary Jones, ’83, organized an event called “Waspers for Wofford”; when Mike took the head job at Tech, Gary focused on Hokies instead of Terriers. Gary even leads the crew in an altered version of a favorite old Virginia Tech chant: “Hokie Wasper Hokie Hy! EHC and VPI!”
Everyone gathered before the game for refreshments at Blacksburg’s Bull and Bones and then headed to Cassell Coliseum to watch VT beat Grambling State 74-48.
Tickets for the event sold out fast. Suzanne Crockett Hauschner, ’86, and BJ Humphreys Graham, ’86 (above), with their Mike Young “fans.” Mike took time after the game to speak to everyone who attended, including Greg Griffin, ’87 (below right). Alumni Jerry Reed, ’85, Mary Sue Harris Caplinger, ’83, and Curtis Burchett, ’85 (below middle), gathered at Bull and Bones.
Emory & Henry College will sponsor women’s rugby as a varsity sport for the 2023-24 academic year season. This move aligns with the increased interest in women’s rugby on the E&H campus and its status as an “emerging sport” with the NCAA.
At the 175th annual Emory & Henry commencement ceremony, Arthur “Scrapper” Broady, ’70, was honored with the William and Martha DeFriece Award. The award is made annually by the Trustees of Emory & Henry College to an alumnus or faculty member who has made some outstanding, worthwhile contribution to civilization or humanity. One of Broady’s most notable achievements is his creation of the “Friends of Copey.” Now in its tenth year, the Friends provides opportunities for E&H students to teach in Copey, Costa Rica, and for students in Copey to visit the U.S. each summer. Broady’s motto is: “Whatever I do, I want to make a difference.”