The life of a student-athlete at Illinois is more than just excelling in the classroom and in their sport. Each individual is a representative of the University of Illinois. This representation is, now more than ever, a unique opportunity to showcase the best of the university in public settings outside the more traditional court or field.

Student-Athletes interacting with the community is one of the most important things they do. In fact, many times, they are the ones who initiate it.

"I really love coming out and hanging with the kids."
The Irwin Academic Services Center leads the charge in community outreach. Kathy Kaler, Assistant Director of Academic Services, Student Development, works with student-athletes in all areas of development, but especially with community outreach.

 "I think it's important to give back to the community living here in Champaign-Urbana," Kaler said. "We know how supportive the entire community is to all of our teams. I think it's important to give back in that way. Our student-athletes are certainly impacted as well."

One of the more popular outreach programs is with the Tom Jones Challenger Baseball League.

Over the last several years, Illinois Director of Athletics Josh Whitman, several DIA administrators, coaches—including Head Football coach Lovie Smith and Men's Basketball coach Brad Underwood—have taken part in Illini Night with the Kiwanis Tom Jones Challenger League at AMBUCS Park in Urbana.

Former Fighting Illini football student-athlete Nick Alegretti at the Tom Jones Challenger League.

The Tom Jones Challenge League focuses on children, ages 6-21, with varying degrees of physical or mental challenges and works to provide a safe environment for kids to play baseball.

The Challenger League is an organization the student-athletes are drawn to with many of them participating in the annual All-Star Game at Eichelberger Field where the Illinois Women's Softball team plays. Currently, two student-athletes are serving on the Challenger League board, Rae Balthazor from Women's Gymnastics and Justice Williams from Football.

Williams, in an interview with WCIA 3 Sports, talked about his experience with the Tom Jones Challenger League, "When I got here in the summer of 2015 I hung out with a former player of ours, Nick Allegretti, now with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he brought me here and showed me, and I really loved it. So now it's my turn to be on the board. I really love coming out and hanging with the kids."

"100% pushed by the students to raise money for charity."
Organizations reach out to Illinois Athletics for special events and fundraisers.

"We're in the schools a lot, our student-athletes probably participate in more than 100 events in the community during the year," said Kaler. "It's a nice way for them to get away from the stress of being a student-athlete, going out, and for a short time impacting the lives of the people they come into contact with. We wanted to develop that lifelong interest in serving others.

Fighting Illini baseball visits a local elementary school.

"We work with a national organization called Special Spectators that provide opportunities for kids who are undergoing a tough time, usually a medical issue, to come to the game as our guest. We have a tailgate party for them, so the student-athletes are tossing the football around or playing a bags game, and then they get to go to the football game. The whole family, for maybe a few hours, can get away from some of the things that they're dealing with and enjoy a game."

Food insecurity is an area the student-athletes have made a priority in their outreach efforts.

"We work with the Eastern Illinois Food Bank," said Kaler. "We've done repacking events to bring the student-athletes and staff together. There's a local program called Feeding Our Kids that our students really feel strongly about. It provides backpacks on the weekends full of snacks and healthy food that the kids can take home to make sure they're getting something to eat."

Another one of the more popular outreach programs is Jock Jams. The talent show-themed annual fundraiser is wholly run by the student-athletes.

Fighting Illini men's track and field performs at the 2019 Jock Jams event.

Dr. Brian Russell, Associate Athletic Director, Academic Services and Student-Athlete Development at Irwin Academic Center, was impressed the first time he saw the event.

"As an outsider and seeing it for the first time in my first year here, I was incredibly impressed. This is student-driven, student-run, and 100% pushed by the students to raise money for charity. There aren't student-athletes at a lot of universities where they're doing an event like this with all the proceeds and everything going directly to charity."

In the 10 years of the event, Jock Jams has raised more than $100,000.

"Could we maybe do some community service?"
Student-athletes see community outreach as a way to give back even in a small way and sometimes not even in their own community. Two former softball players had a simple idea to bring a smile everywhere they went.

"Nicole Evans and Jill Nicklas, who have since graduated, came to me three years ago with an idea," Kaler said. "They realized when the team travels, they usually leave on Thursday, play Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, and so they have Friday morning free. They went to Coach Perry and said, 'We could take batting practice, but could we maybe do some community service?' So, we've set out some things on the road for them. They visited an animal shelter and helped out, they're going to nursing homes and senior assisted centers, they've gone to schools, and just did it quietly."

Kaler said her calls to these places across the country were often met with a lot of skepticism. Sometimes she would have to get the home school involved to vouch for their authenticity.

"The people are always amazed when these student-athletes come in, and the impact they make in a concise period," Kaler said. "I love that they could sleep in, but instead they're up and in the community. And not even our community just wanting to help out."

The Highest Caliber

Fighting Illini wrestling puts on a free youth clinic after a meet.

Student-athletes work hard to be a part of a successful team. Leadership on the field translates into leadership off the field. At the University of Illinois, there is a commitment to producing successful programs as well as successful student-athletes.

The combination of Division I athletics and unparalleled academics with student-athletes of the highest caliber create one an elite public institution in the University of Illinois. By supporting Illinois Athletics today, you can be assured the University of Illinois continues to be at the forefront of both academic and athletic success.