By Anthony Covino
Sports Editor
The FDU athletic department has been recognized for its positive impact on the Hackensack and Teaneck communities.
On Monday, June 22, the Knights received the 2019-2020 Northeast Conference (NEC) Building Communities Award for the first time for its dedication to service hours.
FDU’s 250 student-athletes amassed 3,275 hours of community service during this academic year at over 51 locations. Student-athletes averaged around 13.1 community service hours, which led the NEC.
Among the community service activities, the tennis team cleaned the Hackensack River multiple times, baseball hosted food drives and basketball visited the Boys and Girls Club in Hackensack to play basketball with kids.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our student-athletes that fully supported our mission of winning the NEC Building Communities Award,” said Athletic Director Brad Hurlbut on fduknights.com.
This is FDU’s first Building Communities Award in the 10-year history of the plaudit and student-athletes are proud.
“It’s an outstanding accomplishment for which we must continue to strive for. I am very proud of what we have achieved,” Christa Waterman, a women’s soccer junior defender, said.
The award was created in 2010 by the NEC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and “recognizes the institution that demonstrates the highest dedication to making an impact in the community,” the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights website cited.
Since the award was installed, Sacred Heart won it in 2010-2014. Saint Francis Brooklyn earned the honor in 2015, followed by Sacred Heart again 2015-2017. Saint Francis University took home the award 2017-2019.
Photo courtesy of @necsports via Instagram
