“MSU has been a supporter of our program for more than 25 years,” said Anne Goudie, area director for Ingham and Eaton County Special Olympics. “The student population has always been extremely supportive in various ways.”

Shannon Mulally, director of the Master of Science in Accounting program, said the students’ involvement in the Special Olympics stemmed from a challenge from Sanjay Gupta, chairman of MSU’s Department of Accounting and Information Systems.

Gupta asked the students to participate in community service, and in response, the students organized a student activity board, accounting graduate student Craig Riffel said.

“Basically, we started the Masters of Accounting Board to put together some social activities,” Riffel said.

“All of the masters students were really busy working toward their degrees, and we just wanted to give them a break and give back to MSU.”

Friday’s event was one of several activities organized by the board, attracting more than 150 student volunteers to help with the event. Students also stood in as timekeepers, scorekeepers and referees.

“We want to give students not only the academic aspect, but at the graduate level, be able to give back to the community,” Mulally said. “We wanted to put on an event that’s one day and everyone could commit to.”

The event included a basketball tournament, hosting 26 teams from surrounding areas, and a Young Athletes program for those too young to play in the tournament.

About 250 2- to 7-year-olds participated from Ingham County, working on skills such as dribbling and shooting.

“We had everyone run sections at the Young Athletes program,” said Heather Buerger, an accounting graduate student and member of the MSU Student and Activities Board.

“We decided to partner with Special Olympics because we’d be able to be giving our time back and volunteer all day. I participated as an undergrad and I wanted to be able to continue the tradition of giving back.”

To raise the funds needed to meet the cover event costs, the students hosted a fundraiser at BD’s Mongolian Barbeque, 2080 W. Grand River Ave., in Okemos, on Feb. 17. Accounting professors were guest grillers and the event helped raise $400.

“We did a fundraiser to be able to give a score clock to be used for next year’s games and future tournaments,” Buerger said.

The board had been planning the event since December, working to get students to volunteer as referees and scorekeepers.

“It’s been great getting all of our students out here to participate,” Riffel said. “I enjoy seeing the results and just being able to interact with the students, see how they’re doing and brighten their day. The event ran really smoothly and we’re hoping future Masters Boards will make this a tradition.”