Union Catholic hosted a great event recently when the New Jersey State Police played members of the Notre Dame University alumni in a charity basketball game.  

The event was held as part of the Troopers United Foundation (TUF) and benefited their 2024 Food Drive Operation Thanksgiving Blessings.

Rey Cruz, a NJ State Police officer and the Director of Community Relations for Troopers United Foundation (TUF), a non-profit within the New Jersey State Police, said Union Catholic was the perfect place for the game, which was won by the NJ State Police, 75-67.  

"Our organization makes it a point to partner with various entities to positively affect the lives of others through different initiatives,'' said Cruz. "Considering Thanksgiving was upon us and the Notre Dame football team was scheduled to play Army at Yankees Stadium, Trevor Morris, a Notre Dame alum, and I planned on spearheading several community outreach initiatives throughout November. Since we aspired to involve the youth, Union Catholic was the ideal venue for to us to play our game, especially since UC exemplifies similar traits to that of Notre Dame University, with its alumni willing to give back and provide the most for their students, along with the school community obtaining a great education.''

Cruz said the event couldn't have gone any better. 

"It was a great success,'' said Cruz. "Since we were engaging in the community and youth our mission involved multiple facets, where we wanted to ensure the event had a purpose. Despite having spearheaded numerous events in the past, this was a first, as we had Union Catholic and their ambassador students, Notre Dame Alumni, and the New Jersey State Troopers. This was essential because we wanted to showcase the great work performed by Union Catholic daily and why the groups involved would benefit from such a partnership. Another reason the event was successful is we were able to collect food for local food pantries, the community witnessed Troopers engage the community through positive engagement and the youth participated in a quality event with people who care. I appreciate everything that everyone associated with Union Catholic has done. We look forward to spearheading a few more initiatives.'' 

The game was very competitive and highly entertaining.  

Notre Dame brought a team that consisted of several former football players for the Irish, including Javin Hunter, who played in the NFL, Trevor Morris and NJ native Terrance Howard. ND also featured former Irish basketball star Torin Francis, who played professionally in Greece, Israel, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, and Italy. 

Howard, who played running back for ND from 1998-2001 and was a star at Rancocas Valley High in NJ, was very excited to be reunited with his college buddies and play for a great cause. 

'It was a great event for a great cause,'' said Howard. "I was happy to be part of it.''    

Union Catholic Athletic Director Dave Luciano said UC was thrilled to serve as the host for this memorable event.   

"We are always looking to help any way we can in the community, so when we had the opportunity to link up with the NJ State Police and the University of Notre Dame it was a great chance for us to give back a little,'' said Luciano. "We have a lot of students from Union Catholic go on to have great experiences at Notre Dame and the New Jersey State Police have always been here to support Union Catholic and they donated turkeys and hams to our Food Drive, so it was nice to host this charity events as we warm up for the upcoming basketball season, and it was great to see firsthand all the players on both teams showcasing their talents. I was impressed with the teams they both have and I look forward to working with them for possible events in the future.''