McCollum's Column: Playing so some can eat

The basketball competition was somewhat of a big deal. It was a conference tournament, after all.

But there was also a higher calling.

The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, a league that stretches from San Antonio to near Lexington, Ky., to Atlanta, assembled in basketball numbers in Memphis last weekend on a benchmark occasion in its history the first postseason tournament.

NCAA bids were on the line.

DePauw even brought its pep band, including guys in funny hats with yellow shorts with smiley faces on them.

Welcome to NCAA Division III: a little sports, a little weirdness - and a purpose that transcends athletics.

Several large, gray tubs, at various stages of fullness with cans and boxes, dotted the lobby of Mallory-Hyde Gymnasium.

Unlike most conference tournaments, there was no admission charge to any session. Spectators were encouraged to bring cans and non-perishable foodstuffs for the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association in Shelby County. The MIFA is a non-profit organization seeking that tries to unite people of all cultures through projects that involve helping the homeless and life skills education for the disadvantaged.

The organization's food bank needed restocking and basketball fans were encouraged to donate as well as bid on a silent auction of autographed basketballs, proceeds of which would also benefit the food bank. Rhodes College athletes delivered the food to the MIFA.

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With all the hype and swirl that naturally accompanies tournament time in March, it was heartwarming to see those hungry for victories trying to do a little to fulfill needs of those hungry for the basics of life.

This tournament was hardly a pack-the-rafters thing. It drew from 200 to 400 people at most sessions, some of it reflective of travel problems related to weather. It took the Hendrix women six hours to bus from Conway to the tournament site Wednesday and the Warriors left in advance of the worst weather.

But numbers and attendance and bringing in big bucks have never been a priority in either the SCAC or Division III.

It's highly competitive athletics for the fun of it - often one last fling before a student goes to law school or medical school or other professional field.

Because SCAC games are scattered throughout the southeast and southwest on any given weekend, coaches and players don't get to see each other a whole lot. The fellowship when most of the coaches assembled at the same site was outstanding. Players of many teams stayed around for games other than their own, often picking out a favorite.

The colorful DePauw band, which has a Division I personality and zaniness, seemed initially out of place with the garish shorts, weird hats and big-striped stockings (and that's just the guys). It was Dr. Seuss does basketball.

But really, they were appropriate. A lot of kids and athletes were playing hard, having fun and a few more people were eating because of it.

Pretty good weekend.