Hartland resident CJ Meckes plays for the Rollin’ Pistons in Pi Kappa Phi’s wheelchair basketball event at the Sports Coliseum on Wednesday Delaney Ryan/Daily
The event in the University’s Sports Coliseum featured two games: one pitting the fraternity against the Pistons, and the other mixing members of each organization together to form new teams.
The Rollin’ Pistons are members of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association and travel and compete throughout the Midwest. The team is made up of kids with physical disabilities ages six to 18 from across the state.
John McSween, a sophomore at Father Gabriel Richard Catholic High School in Ann Arbor, said he enjoyed the event because it was a way for him to display his athleticism despite his disability.
“I couldn’t really play any school sports,” he said. “This was a way to show my competitiveness.”
A portion of the event’s proceeds will go to the Rollin’ Pistons to cover travel costs and help the team buy new jerseys. The wheelchair basketball game is part of a series of fundraising events put on by the fraternity this week, called “War of the Roses.”
LSA junior Zachary Robinson, Pi Kappa Phi philanthropy chair, said it was important that his fraternity host the basketball game to raise awareness for people with disabilities.