2007 CUNYAC Goodwill Tour Filled With Overseas Relatives
New York, N.Y.— The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) is truly an international conference. Not only does the CUNYAC have more student-athletes from more countries than any other conference in the United States, but the CUNYAC saw many of their American friends in Italy during their Goodwill Tour to Italy from June 22 to July 5.
On numerous occasions the conference Goodwill Tour was stopped by fellow Americans touring Italy who had attended or graduated from one of the ten senior colleges or five of the community colleges.
"It was phenomenal to have our Goodwill Tour members stopped every day in a different city in Italy by CUNY alumni,” said CUNYAC Commissioner Zak Ivkovic. “It gave all of us huge smiles and made them proud as alumni to see our group so far away from home."
During the 12 day tour the CUNYAC Goodwill Tour members, which featured 17 baseball players from the five senior colleges and four community colleges who sponsor varsity baseball, wore the same clothing that featured the CUNYAC Goodwill Tour logo making the tour members stand out easily.
As a result the CUNYAC met alumni at nearly every stop on the tour including Rome, Florence, Parma, and Venice.
In addition the CUNYAC Goodwill Tour made a stop at the American University of Rome, a small campus that is home to 600 plus American college students studying abroad.
The college president, Robert Marino, and provost Richard Reush, both have ties to CUNY. Marino was a 1964 graduate of CCNY and later worked at Hunter College in various roles, while Reush spent 11 years at the College of Staten Island.
The CUNYAC also bumped in to a notable name while in Italy, Saul Katz, president of the New York Mets, while visiting Venice on July 1.
Katz stopped the group and shared a few words of wisdom with the team, who went 3-1 in four games on the trip.
“It was especially nice to have Mets President Saul Katz meet our baseball players,” said Ivkovic. “Particularly the CCNY guys since he helped in the fundraising effort to bring back the sport to CCNY."
The team also had a meeting with Don Landolphi during their stay in Florence.
A 1962 graduate of Brooklyn College, Landolphi spent nearly 40 years with his Alma Mater as a professor in the physical education department. Now retired Landolphi serves as the head baseball coach of a professional baseball team in Florence, who the CUNYAC defeated 11-3.
“I was extremely pleased with the quality of character and the extreme professionalism of these kids, “Landolphi said of the CUNYAC team. “I hope this shows the quality and importance the role of athletics plays in the educational experience within CUNY.”