UDM will host a screening of the “Game of Change” documentary followed by a panel discussion on race relations and sports on Friday evening in Calihan Hall. The event begins at 6:00 p.m., and is free of charge to the public.
The “Game of Change” features the story of two teams playing in a 1963 NCAA basketball tournament game in East Lansing, a game that literally changed the fabric of American society. The “Game of Change” reaches far beyond sports, demonstrating this particular event's significance in the battle for race equality.
Then documentary was produced by Pathway Productions and Jerald Harkness, the son of former Loyola Chicago All-American Jerry Harkness. It details events surrounding the game that was named one of the Top 25 Defining Moments in the first 100 years of the NCAA.
The game featured Loyola, with four African-American starters, and Mississippi State, an all-white team. The documentary centers heavily on Mississippi State, a three-time Southeastern Conference champion that was bound by Mississippi state law from playing integrated basketball squads. The film details how Bulldogs coach Babe McCarthy, university president Dean Colvard and athletics director Wade Walker risked their personal safety and jeopardized their jobs by sneaking the team out of Mississippi during the night so it could play Loyola, despite protests from the governor and state police officials, threats from the community and a pending court injunction. In the Regional game, which many doubted would take place, Loyola defeated Mississippi State, 61-51, en route to claiming the 1963 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
The discussion portion of the Friday's event, scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m., will include five panelists – UDM Professor Dr. Roy Finkenbine, Chair of History/Director of Black Abolitionist Archives; Dr. Ike McKinnon, UDM professor and author; Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano; UDM head men's basketball coach Ray McCallum and Titans junior basketball guard Woody Payne.
The 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship will culminate at Ford Field in Detroit, April 4 and 6. The Final Four is hosted by UDM.
-Detroit Titans-
