The MAAC has launched the United for Justice campaign in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and various programs in the conference including Quinnipiac are supporting it. 

“The MAAC is incredibly proud of its student-athletes, coaches, and administrators who are working to make an impactful and lasting change,” MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor said. “Change comes from a movement that involves an entire collective group working towards common goals and desires, not a single moment in time.”

Quinnipiac basketball head coach Baker Dunleavy strongly backs the pursuit of change, and sees this as just as much of a learning opportunity for his players as it is for him. 

“When you recruit 17, 18, and 19-year-old young men your pledge is to make them into the best basketball players, students, and people that they can be,” Dunleavy said. “As a part of that, as a teacher and a coach, you learn as much from them as they learn from you.”

Dunleavy wants to continue to have these important conversations with his team as the season goes on, and took initiative over the summer by getting involved with the campaign. 

“I think it is important for our players, and the players who have played in this league, to understand where our coaches stand,” Dunleavy said. “We have taken the time to learn about this movement, we understand what it is all about, and we totally support it.”

The MAAC will have uniform patches as well as statements on the court indicating change and will continue to develop supportive campaigns as the season progresses. 

In addition, Quinnipiac men’s basketball had all players register to vote, and since that process can be difficult with people from all over, the team helped players properly register. 

“We understand there is a segment of our population really hurting right now,” Dunleavy said. “As coaches, we want our players and player’s families to know that we are behind them to help ease that pain.”

Dunleavy sees his job as a privilege to learn and realizes that not every job constitutes that.

“I am lucky that I get to be around these guys every day and learn from them,” Dunleavy said. “From my standpoint, what we have done well as a program is listening and learning from each other.” 

“I get to spend a lot of time with these players who come from completely different viewpoints. There are a lot of people in your day-to-day life that don’t have that.”