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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - The summer of 2003 was a historic one for a group of young men from The City University of New York Athletic Conference, as an all-star team made up of the conference’s best basketball players embarked on the inaugural CUNY Goodwill Tour to the Dominican Republic. The tour sent the team on an 8 day excursion to the Caribbean nation in August, where they competed in exhibition games against Dominican teams. The squad also did clinics for local children in several Dominican cities.

The tour was the brainchild of Dr. Harold Merritt, Director of Athletics at the College of Staten Island and former head men’s basketball coach at Northern Arizona, who also served as head coach of the all-star team. “This is the first time something like this has been done in the CUNYAC,” said Dr. Merritt. “The tour not only showcased the student-athletes of CUNY to the world, but also served as a valuable learning experience for all those involved. Our goal was for this team to serve as CUNY ambassadors, and to show the world the value of a CUNY public education and what it has to offer its students. The program is an initiative to place our student-athletes more clearly in the public spotlight.”

Players from each of the 15 member schools were nominated to try out for the team last spring. After selecting the final roster, nine of the conference’s schools were represented among the players and coaching staff. The entire contingent met before the trip and learned that this was not going to be strictly about basketball. There was an educational component as well. The team was given basic lessons in Spanish as well as information about the Dominican Republic in general. Each participant, including staff, was required to keep a daily journal of their experiences. There was also a videographer and photographer documenting the entire week’s experiences. “The idea behind the journals and video was to keep this experience alive long after the trip was over,” commented Jason Fein, Associate Athletic Director and Sports Information Director at the College of Staten Island, who served as the team’s publicist and statistician. “We plan on putting together a video presentation which will include footage of the trip along with excerpts from the players’ journals. Then we’ll be able to show this ‘living history’ to members of the City University Administration and our conference Athletic Directors so that they can see for themselves the type of experience this can offer other CUNY teams in the future.”
The team included some of the best CUNY basketball players in the conference, including last season’s Player of the Year, Michael Stewart, from the College of Staten Island. Stewart, who averaged nearly 20 points per game for the Dolphins, was one of two players on the tour who had never been on an airplane before. “It was an exciting experience,” commented Stewart. “It was an honor for all of us to be the first to represent the conference in something like this. We got to experience another culture and work with the kids over there, who really appreciated what we were doing for them.” Another CUNY All-Star was Lehman College’s Luis Chavez, who came to the United States just 5 years ago from the Dominican Republic. When the all-stars arrived in Santo Domingo, they were given a celebrity welcome, as members of Chavez’ friends and family greeted the team with posters and cheers. “We were really treated like celebrities over there,” said Baruch College guard Joe Longobardi. “The trip really put things into perspective for us. We often take for granted what we have over here, but when you see the way that these kids live over there, it really makes you count your blessings.”

The team played four games during the trip, going 3-1 in the process, but basketball took a back seat to the experience of being immersed in a different culture and getting to know the people in the Dominican Republic. The team toured the historic capitol of Santo Domingo, the first settlement of the New World dating back to the 1490’s. Walking down a cobblestone street over 500 years old was an experience in itself, but nothing like watching the basketball finals of the Pan American Games being held in the same town. The host Dominican Republic Team was in the finals against Brazil, and more than 20,000 people, including the CUNY team, packed into the Palacio Deportes for what was arguably the most important game in the nation’s history. “It was nice to get a feel for the culture here and get into the city to see how the people live outside the resort areas,” said Hunter College point guard Lorcan Precious. “The game was just incredible, with the crowd in a frenzy and so many people packed in there. It was also great to see a sport that I am so familiar with in a different setting since international basketball is played quite differently. The fans were also different from many U.S. fans; they really exhibited the pride in their country. It was deafening in there every time their team touched the ball. We were overwhelmed a little at first, but the fans were really good natured and everyone realized after a while that we were safe despite the loudness.”

The team’s first game was in La Romana, and was preceded by a clinic for the local youth. The CUNY squad taught them drills and presented gifts provided by the NBA, the New York Knicks, and USA Basketball to the participants. Then the team got down to business and defeated the town’s club squad by a score of 79-77. The squad’s next stop was the capital city of Santo Domingo, where prior to their next game, the all-stars distributed food to local residents and children in a depressed area of town. After defeating the Banco Reservas team, 94-67, in Santo Domingo, the team was able to catch a glimpse of Sammy Sosa’s Santo Domingo mansion. The next day’s activities included a visit to San Pedro de Marcoris, where the all-stars distributed gifts and played with local children. San Pedro is the hometown of many of the best baseball players from the nation, including the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa and Alfonso Soriano of the New York Yankees. The team then played a friendly exhibition game against a local San Pedro team, El Invi. CUNY won, 110-52, to improve to 3-0.

The all-stars wrapped up their schedule of games with their final contest in San Cristobal, a 91-86 thrilling overtime loss to Madre Vieja, the defending state champions of the Dominican Basketball League. The game, which was televised on Dominican television, drew a capacity crowd.

”This was the perfect way to end the tour,” commented head coach Harold Merritt. “We may have been on the losing end of the final score, but this trip was about way more than basketball. The people of the Dominican Republic opened their country to us, and I think our guys have really made an impression on them. I could not be more proud to have been associated with this team and this trip.”
The team was treated to many examples of Dominican hospitality throughout the week, as was the case before the last game in San Cristobal with a capacity crowd cheering their team on every step of the way, complete with drums and music. Some people who couldn’t get into the game watched from surrounding rooftops, balconies, and even trees. After the game, coach Merritt was interviewed on Dominican television while the team handed out gifts to the local children.

”I think that the tour went exactly how we had envisioned it from the beginning,” commented executive director of the CUNYAC Zak Ivkovic. “Combining CUNY student-athletes, their chosen sport, and putting them into a whole new culture and environment. Thanks to the great success of the first one, we certainly hope to do this every single year, and open it up to other CUNY sports teams. It’s only appropriate that our diverse student body, with origins around the world, should take on such a positive project. Of course, an undertaking of this magnitude does not come without significant costs. A combination of university sponsors as well as support from public and private sources will continue to be solicited for this truly spectacular global event.”
The all-stars headed home after their week-long goodwill experience, leaving the Dominican Republic with a record of 3-1, as well as a better understanding of the world outside New York and the CUNY Athletic Conference. “This trip has opened us up to new experiences and allowed us to meet people from all over the world,” commented Hunter College point guard Lorcan Precious. “We were honored to have been the first CUNY group to have this experience. I hope that other teams get to have the opportunity in the future. We’ve gained valuable experience in the ways of the world outside of the United States.”