UCPD and Campus Rec partner to host scholarship basketball tournament
UCPD Police Officer Chad Goodpaster meets with the team he coached during the UCPD 3v3 Scholarship Basketball Tournament on March 1, 2025. Photo by Paige LaFever.
The University of Cincinnati Police Division held a basketball tournament for UC students on March 1, 2025, sending the winning team members home with a $1,000 scholarship.
“This is what community policing is about,” said UCPD Police Officer Greg Valerius, a member of the department’s Community Engagement Unit.
The event, which UCPD put on in partnership with the Campus Rec Center, allowed for 16 teams in two brackets, an open bracket and a women’s bracket. Each team had a UCPD Officer as a coach.
“The big appeal behind this is our officers are the coaches of the teams. The students get to interact with our officers, get to see them outside the uniform, interact with them, ask them questions and hopefully feel more comfortable with them. That way they will talk to them more in the future and they won’t hesitate to reach out to us if they ever need anything,” Valerius said.
A player attempts to make a basket during a game at the UCPD 3v3 Scholarship Basketball Tournament. Photo by Paige LaFever.
The Community Engagement Unit is continuously seeking outreach opportunities and came up with this idea after attending an event at the Rec Center. When the unit reached out to the Rec Center with their idea for this tournament, the Rec Center staff provided a lot of support and helped make their vision a reality.
“I am so grateful to partner with UCPD and Network for Hope to bring such an excellent event to the students at UC. Campus Recreation is happy to host and help increase community with the UC Police Officers and raise awareness for organ and tissue donation. When you can bring people together for some common goals, that is something worth fighting for (and the students sure fought for it on the court),” said Will Nordquist, Assistant Director of Intramural Sports and Events at the Campus Rec Center.
The event was free for students to enter, and all participants were given a shirt, provided by the event’s sponsor, Network for Hope.
“This has been a really good experience. We want our students to feel comfortable talking to us and we’ve really enjoyed this opportunity to build relationships with our students,” said UCPD Police Officer Maurice Milton, one of the officers who volunteered to coach a team.
Featured image at top: A group photo of the coaches, players and volunteers for the UCPD 3v3 Scholarship Basketball Tournament on March 1, 2025. Photo by Kelly Cantwell.
Each team who participated in the UCPD 3v3 Scholarship Classic was coached by a UCPD Police Officer. Top row from left: Carra Sparks, Greg Valerius, Kevin Ellison, Tom Trabel and David Brinker. Middle row from left: Darryn Chenault, Maurice Milton, Matthew Kackley, Bransen Panzeott, Joshua Thomas and Chad Goodpaster. Bottom row from left: Bradley Schultz, Randal Perry, Eric Frey, Victoria Bennett, David Lindenschmidt, Robert Walker and Adam Hubbard. Photo by Paige LaFever.
An overhead shot of one of the games during the UCPD 3v3 Scholarship Basketball Tournament. Photo by Kelly Cantwell.
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