News Brief: California Dreaming

Pictured: NYIT men’s basketball player Jeffrey Hayden scored 27 points against the UCLA Bruins at an exhibition game on October 27.

From October 23 through 27, NYIT President Hank Foley, Ph.D., went on a three-city tour of California to meet with more than two dozen alumni. He made stops in San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to talk about his vision for NYIT. The former students brought up many topics, including ways they can give back to their alma mater, such as by becoming mentors and offering internships and career guidance to current students.

The five-day trip coincided with the NYIT men’s basketball team’s exhibition game against UCLA. On October 27, the Bears took on the NCAA Division I Bruins at Pauley Pavilion. Though they ended up losing 125 – 73, the Bears walked away with the experience of having competed against one of the top teams in the country.

NYIT President Hank Foley (left) talks with Coach Kevin Hamilton during a pregame reception.

“I came out and performed the way I knew I could at the highest level of collegiate basketball,” said NYIT student-athlete Jeffrey Hayden, who scored 27 points against the Bruins “We fought and played hard the whole way. I am proud of the team. I definitely wish I could do it all over again.”

“One of the biggest takeaways is talent does matter,” said NYIT men’s basketball coach Kevin Hamilton. “[UCLA is] very big. They shot a high percentage from the field. And there wasn’t much we could do on the inside. We played like a team that had only practiced for 12 days. We did what we wanted to do the first six minutes of the game. And then after that, it got away from us and became pretty much individual basketball versus team basketball.”

A pregame reception was held on UCLA’s campus. Hamilton welcomed the alumni and the players, as well as former NYIT basketball player Jermaine Hollman (B.F.A.’02, M.A.’05) and his wife Shannon. Hollman ranks in the top 10 of NYIT’s all-time points, rebounds, assists, steals, and 3-point field goals made. Since graduating from NYIT, he has become an actor and made appearances in Colony, Castle, Parks and Recreation, Law and Order: SVU, and Person of Interest.

Former NYIT men’s basketball player, Jermaine Hollman (left) meets with fellow alumni.