FLUSHING, N.Y. – The evolution of CUNY’s Inclusive and Adaptive Sports has achieved yet another milestone, as CUNY’s Wheelchair basketball team has officially joined the National Wheelchair Basketball Association for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
"The NWBA Board and Leadership Team is incredibly excited to welcome City University of New York to the NWBA Family,” NWBA CEO Will Waller said. “Not only is New York an important market to expand our Intercollegiate Division, but CUNY is an organization that has a progressive stance on inclusion for their student body, including those with disabilities. We would like to thank CUNY Leadership for investing in programs that improve quality of life for people with disabilities."
"CUNY is a great addition to the Intercollegiate Division of the NWBA. The existing seventeen member institutions welcome them to the family,” Intercollegiate President Dug Jones said. “We expect Coach Ryan Martin will field a strong team and the competition will be fierce.”
The wheelchair team was the result of a 2017 initiative, CUNY’s Inclusive and Adaptive Sports platform, providing an opportunity for 11,000 CUNY students with disabilities to participate in four sports — track and field, swimming, tennis and basketball, the first sport the University has adopted as part of this collegiate model. The CUNY wheelchair team is the first of its kind on the Eastern Seaboard.
The initiative was spearheaded by CUNYAC Commissioner Zak Ivkovic, who made the decision to provide CUNY students with disabilities the opportunity to play competitive sports at the collegiate level, following his attendance at a U.S.A Olympic Symposium on Paralympics. In just three years, his idea has turned into a reality, as CUNY will now be represented on a national stage.
"We are pleased to be continuing the development of our Inclusive Sports program within the City University of New York system and officially joining the National Wheelchair Basketball Association,” Advisor for Inclusive Sports and Head Coach Ryan Martin said. “This is an example of CUNY's commitment to universal design and our commitment to students with disabilities to have all the opportunities afforded within higher education. We look forward to continuing to build a culture of success in the classroom, on the court, and our New York City community. During these trying times in NYC and within our CUNY family this announcement is a reminder to CUNY's commitment to all students."
“We look forward to expanding the number of teams available for our students with disabilities so that they can continue to have the most robust and inclusive student experience at CUNY,” Chancellor Féliz V. Matos Rodríguez said.
Joining the ranks of the NWBA is yet another notch on the journey towards national and global prominence. The CUNY Athletic Conference has hosted several wheelchair basketball clinics across CUNY campuses, including Hostos Community College, Queens College, the College of Staten Island and LaGuardia Community College. CUNY most recently hosted a clinic in conjunction with the New York Knick-affiliate New York Rolling Knicks.
Last November, CUNY wheelchair player Christopher Saint-Remy played a game of H-O-R-S-E with former Georgetown Hoya and NBA Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning during halftime of the 2k Empire Classic, an event that benefitted the Wounded Warrior Project at Madison Square Garden.
About the NWBA
The National Wheelchair Basketball Association is the longest standing and largest Disabled Sports Organization in the world. The NWBA was founded by Dr. Timothy Nugent in 1949 to provide those with disabilities the opportunity to play and learn wheelchair basketball. The NWBA is currently in 42 states and has nearly 3,000 members and 225-plus teams. The NWBA consists of eight divisions, including: Division I, Division II, Division III, Women’s Division, Intercollegiate Men’s Division, Intercollegiate Women’s Division, as well as Junior 10’ (Varsity) and Junior Prep Divisions. For more information, learn more at nwba.org.