FSU, athletes help students after storm: 'We're all in this together'
Just a few hours after Hurricane Irma blew through Tallahassee early Monday morning, more than 4,000 Florida State students received free dinners from the university that night.
And that’s not even the best part of the story.
Many of the students had their meals served by FSU President John Thrasher and his wife, Jean. Then they walked over to the drink line and received beverages from Seminole defensive linemen Derrick Nnadi and Darvin Taylor II and basketball player Trent Forrest. Finally, if they wanted a Frozen Lemonade treat for dessert, they lined up at a table manned by wide receiver Auden Tate, running back Jacques Patrick and tight end Tre’ McKitty.
For three hours, those student-athletes and dozens of their teammates from the FSU football, baseball and men’s basketball teams mingled with -- and waited on -- their fellow students inside the posh Champions Club at Doak Campbell Stadium. There were star players like baseball’s Drew Mendoza and basketball’s Terance Mann, and there were lesser-known athletes from all three teams.
They were all there for the same cause -- to provide comfort and friendship to their fellow students, many of whom waited out the storm in campus housing or nearby apartments instead of returning home to be with their families.
“It’s important that we all do everything we can in a time like this,” men’s basketball coach Leonard Hamilton said. “This is a challenging time for all of us. But the players wanted to be a part of putting a smile on somebody’s face and letting everyone know that we’re all in this together. I think they’re enjoying it. It’s been a good experience.”
The Seminoles’ athletics department was not the driving force behind the event; it was sponsored by FSU's Division of Student Affairs. But as soon as the university gave the green light to the event Monday morning and dispatched an email to the school's various coaches, the three teams jumped at the opportunity to help.
Thrasher praised the “incredible work” of Amy Hecht, vice president for Student Affairs; and Kyle Clark, vice president of Finance & Administration; as well as others on the staff for pulling the event together so quickly. He also thanked Seminole Dining and food services partner Sodexo.
University officials decided to go ahead with the event once it appeared the campus would be spared any major damage from the storm.
“We thought it would be good to get the kids together and try to uplift them a little bit,” Thrasher told Warchant.com. “We hope it will help them get ready for the rest of the week and next week, when we get back. We served over 4,000 people today, and I think it’s just going to uplift the spirits of everybody.”
As Hurricane Irma approached the state of Florida as a Category 5 storm late last week, FSU and state officials took several precautions to ensure the welfare of the student body. Classes were canceled on Friday and all of this week. The Seminoles’ Sept. 9 home football game against Louisiana-Monroe also was canceled, and this weekend’s scheduled game against Miami was postponed to Oct. 7.
The storm, which several forecasters projected would head straight toward Tallahassee, created a stressful situation for many of the Seminoles’ coaches and administrators. They not only had to worry about the safety and security of their own families and property, but they also had to look out for hundreds of student-athletes.
Late last week, FSU’s administration gave each coach the option to either make sure that their athletes had safe housing in Tallahassee or to take them to another location, such as a hotel in another city. The baseball, men's basketball and football teams were among the ones who opted to stay put.
Hamilton had his players spend Sunday night in the team’s practice facility. Baseball coach Mike Martin gave his players the option of going home before the storm arrived or staying in town; if they chose to remain in Tallahassee, however, they had to stay with the team inside their clubhouse at Dick Howser Stadium.
Of the 35 players on the Seminoles’ fall roster, 13 chose to go home. The other 22 rode out the storm inside of Howser.
“We wanted them in a safe structure,” FSU assistant coach Mike Martin Jr. said. “We thought it was going to be worse than it was. … It was like a gigantic frat house -- kids laying everywhere.”
Some of the players slept on air mattresses, while others brought their actual mattresses from their apartments. A few even made do on the floor.
It was a new experience for the players and the coaches. Martin Jr., who brought a charcoal grill to Howser in case the team lost power for an extended period of time, said the Seminoles had never taken that approach during a storm before. But he appreciated that the administration let each coaching staff make their own arrangements.
“We all feel like we know what’s best for our teams and we know our guys,” Martin Jr. said.
Hamilton, who was at the University of Miami in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew ravaged South Florida, echoed those sentiments. He said all of his players expressed a desire to stay with their teammates in Tallahassee, and the coaching staff made contact with each family to let them know their plan.
“I felt very confident that we knew how to handle it,” Hamilton said. “We just kind of stuck together.”
Then a few hours later, they teamed with other student-athletes to reach out and help others.
“It shows you the spirit of Florida State,” Thrasher said. “It shows that we really are a family.”
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