by April Barton
"The better the mustache, the more points you'll score."
That's a prediction from Kevin Hummer, St. Mike's Marketing staff member and creator of a first-of-its-kind 3-v-3 charity basketball tournament hosted by Saint Michael's College on November 19.
Hummer's statement was in response to whether there is a correlation between awesome 'staches and skills on the court.
What do mustaches and basketball have in common, you might be asking. The combo may be a bit silly, but it is in support of a cause that is serious.
The upcoming tournament will benefit "Movember," the international men's health organization whose name is also a portmanteau of the Australian "mo" for mustache and November – the non-profit's primary fundraising period. Movember raises funds and awareness about men's mental health as well as prostate and testicular cancers.
Saint Michael's College students, faculty, and staff can put together teams to compete to win swag and a cash prize.
Hope Happens Here (HHH) – the St. Mike's homegrown foundation, which focuses on student-athlete mental health – is putting on the event in partnership with Hummer. It's a special one for HHH, which just hit a major milestone: its 10-year anniversary.
Hope Happens Here and Movember: Counterparts in a shared mission
Hope Happens Here is a student-athlete-run organization. It started at Saint Michael's College in 2015 and has since branched out to include chapters at other colleges and even local high schools. Movember is an international movement that began in Australia in 2003 and is characterized (along with another similar group, No Shave November) by men growing facial hair in solidarity to increase awareness.
The two organizations are reaching their particular base – whether local or worldwide – with complementary missions.
"Ending the stigma about talking through mental health struggles is a daunting task, and HHH and Movember are both playing their part to make it more okay to talk about your mental health," said Hummer, who is himself a former college athlete. "Both these organizations are founded on the principle that it's okay to not be okay, and promoting that we should be able to talk about mental health like it's a broken bone is an important step in making that change."
Nick Wracker '26, men's hockey player and one of HHH's tri-chairs responsible for putting on the event, said he has witnessed others' struggles with mental health and has sought understanding and ways to help.
Athletes are accustomed to pushing limits – whether reaching new heights or pushing through physical ailments. So, it can be natural to also push away mental health issues when they arise, Wracker explained, particularly for those constantly in pursuit of being the best.
"Mental health-wise – you can be at your best by seeking help, not by keeping it in," Wracker said. "I think that's the more important thing to really understand."
Ten years and counting – HHH reaches major milestone
Hope Happens Here was started by St. Mike's hockey players Danny Divis '17 and Justin McKenzie '17. For each, the inspiration was deeply personal.
"I had opened up to Justin about my previous struggles with depression and anxiety," Divis said.
"I had previously lost a family member to suicide," McKenzie said. "In the summer of 2015, a friend of mine from high school, Timothy Hamlett, who was a track and field athlete from UPenn, also took his life."
The pair were compelled to do something.
"There wasn't really a ton of chatter about mental health in the sports space, and it felt like it could really make a difference," Divis said.
On November 3, 2015, encouraged by the Athletics Department, they put their idea into action during a women's volleyball match.
"We rushed over to the local CVS that afternoon, bought a bunch of Sharpies and posterboard, printed out a few pamphlets we found online, and set up a table with a small bucket to raise funds for another organization," Divis said. "It's fun to look back on that moment and see how we grew from there."
It certainly did grow.
At one point there were more than 20 chapters between NE10 and northeast colleges and high schools across the area.
The current group on campus has been very active.
HHH puts on signature events including one for Movember – for this year, it's the basketball tournament – and they bring in the Vermont chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) to speak to student-athletes. Each team turns at least one of their home games into an awareness game which includes students giving speeches beforehand and tabling with mental health resources.
Some events raise money for other organizations including Project HOePpnEr and Morgan's Message – the latter is supported by a spring Pie-in-the-Face event. A Home Run Derby raises funds directly for Hope Happens Here materials, such as shirts, stickers, temporary tattoos, and gear. The group also provides "circle" opportunities for groups of student-athletes to share what's on their minds with one another.
Now a senior, Wracker has been involved with Hope Happens Here since his first semester, including in a leadership role since he was a sophomore. It's been important to him to help grow the organization's reach, and he feels honored to follow in the footsteps of Divis and McKenzie – fellow hockey players.
"It's super cool to be part of a legacy like that. To see something that was created 10 years ago…To be able to kind of shape the brand moving forward and now have my legacy be part of that legacy," he said.
Divis and McKenzie didn't know 10 years ago just how much the group's mission would resonate with future student-athletes.
"It's really awesome to see how the organization continues to make a difference," Divis said. "It always blows us away when we log onto social media and see how active the program is at SMC, given how far removed we are from our time there. All credit goes to the students, coaches, and faculty at St. Mike's and beyond for continuing to spread the message."
Reflecting upon their time at St. Mike's, the pair are grateful for how their idea was received and how, as students, they were encouraged and supported in growing it into a vibrant campus organization capable of helping others.
"We have always said that we don't believe HHH would have been able to evolve into what it became had we not started it at St. Mike's," said McKenzie. "There were so many different parts of the campus that either helped us or rallied behind our message that we will forever be grateful for – The Athletics Department (Chris Kenny '86, Shannon Bollhardt, Josh Kessler '04, Damian DiGiulian), Faculty & Staff (Dave Landers, Paul Olsen, Catherine Welch '10), our fellow students, even all the way up to President Neuhauser. SMC is such a special place to Dan and I, and I wouldn't trade my experience there for anything else in the world."
How the tournament works
The event is Wednesday, Nov. 19 from 5 to 9 p.m. Teams of three pay a $40 entry fee and will compete in a double-elimination, March Madness-style bracket. Winners get a $150 cash prize.
The triumphant team won't necessarily be the only winners – a raffle will take place with prizes from places such as Phoenix Books, the Saint Michael's College Campus Store, Frankie's, Celly Hockey Co., Sleepy Hollow, The Scale, and Quill Supply Candles. Each player gets 10 raffle tickets to enter, and each spectator who meets the recommended $5 donation receives five tickets to enter the raffle.
Hummer, the event's creator, recognizes the need to talk about mental health more openly. He said advocating for a movement like Movember has brought him joy and a sense of working toward something bigger than himself.
"Helping raise funds for things like therapy, programs that challenge harmful masculine stereotypes, and community mental health initiatives is something I take great pride in and look forward to every year," Hummer said.
He is grateful that the College and Hope Happens Here saw an opportunity to do good by partnering with him to put on this event.
Registration for the basketball charity event has closed, with 11 teams in the running. They'll need spectators, though, to cheer them on in the Tarrant Recreation Center on Nov. 19, Hummer said.
While mustaches – real or fake – are encouraged for the tournament, facial hair will not be given preferential treatment by officials, Hummer cheekily explained.
"All points will have to be scored properly, no mustache advantages."
