Grand Rapids, Mich. - For one Sunday afternoon, 29 AQ teams became one.

Nearly 700 Aquinas College student-athletes filled Coach Bo Court inside the Sturrus Sports & Fitness Center for the annual All Student-Athlete Meeting, joined by their coaches, athletic administration and members of College leadership to celebrate what had been accomplished and set expectations for what comes next.

Some arrived as conference champions and national qualifiers. Some as All-Americans and NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Others were first-year Saints experiencing one of the largest gatherings in Aquinas Athletics for the first time.

Different sports. Different teams. Different goals.

One Maroon and White.

"There is something pretty special about seeing nearly 700 Aquinas student-athletes and our coaches together on Coach Bo Court," Athletic Director Damon Bouwkamp said. "We have 29 sports, each with different goals and expectations, but days like this remind us that every one of us is part of something bigger."

That was the message Sunday.

Celebrate what came before.

Understand the standard.

Recognize the people sitting beside you.

Then get ready to build what comes next.

A Lot to Celebrate

Before Aquinas Athletics could officially turn its attention toward 2026-27, there was quite a bit of unfinished celebrating from 2025-26.

The Saints earned the NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Award at the Gold level with a perfect score of 100 points, continuing an extraordinary Aquinas tradition. The honor marked a fifth consecutive Gold designation and another year in which the College demonstrated its commitment to the NAIA's five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

It provided an appropriate backdrop for a meeting that repeatedly emphasized that success at Aquinas is measured by considerably more than wins and losses.

But there were plenty of those to celebrate, too.

Aquinas finished 25th nationally in the Learfield Directors' Cup standings and third among WHAC institutions, while also earning another top-three finish in the conference's Fred Smith Commissioner's Cup standings.

Four teams captured conference championships during the year, continuing a five-year stretch in which 25 of Aquinas' 29 athletic programs have reached national championship competition.

There were All-Americans to recognize.

National qualifiers.

Conference award winners.

And 171 NAIA Scholar-Athletes whose success provided another reminder that the word student comes first in student-athlete.

Women's volleyball provided perhaps the clearest example of that balance. After completing another undefeated WHAC season on the court, the Saints were recognized for winning the Gary Karasinski Athletic Team GPA Award for the second consecutive year after producing a 3.653 cumulative team GPA.

Different sports.

Different accomplishments.

The same Aquinas name attached to all of them.

Charles "Chuckles" Anderson, a two-sport student-athlete in basketball and baseball, appreciated having the opportunity to look backward before everyone rushed forward.

"It was exciting feeling the anticipation for the upcoming year," Anderson said. "It also was cool to honor the student-athletes and teams from last year."

That balance between appreciation and anticipation ran throughout the afternoon.

Bouwkamp made clear that Aquinas is proud of what its student-athletes have accomplished.

He also made clear that the College expects more from them than trophies.

"We want our student-athletes to compete at a high level, succeed in the classroom and do things the right way, but most importantly, we want their time at Aquinas to make a difference in their lives," Bouwkamp said. "Seeing that room filled with Saints makes us proud of where we are, grateful for the people who got us here and incredibly excited about where we're going."

The Right Way to Play

For Aquinas President Sister Maureen Geary, O.P., the gathering was an opportunity to reinforce why those expectations extend well beyond the scoreboard.

"It was a pleasure to meet with our student-athletes, athletic administration, coaches and athletic support staff to start off our new year," Sister Maureen said. "We fully embrace the NAIA's approach of 'the right way to play,' and we emphasize both academics and competition that builds character and develops the whole person."

Develops the whole person.

That is a much bigger assignment than developing an athlete.

And Sunday's meeting reflected it.

Throughout the afternoon, student-athletes heard from individuals across the College whose work touches virtually every part of their Aquinas experience.

There were conversations about academics and student success.

Health, wellness and athletic performance.

Faith and service.

Communication and the responsibility that comes with representing Aquinas.

Policies, resources and expectations.

There was recognition of what previous Saints accomplished and reminders that the opportunity to wear the Maroon and White carries responsibilities extending well beyond competition.

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Terry Keller saw the gathering as a physical representation of the role athletics plays within the larger College.

"The All Student-Athlete Meeting is one of those moments that reminds us just how special the Aquinas community is," Keller said. "To see nearly 700 student-athletes together in one place, alongside their coaches, athletic staff and members of the College community, is an extraordinary reflection of the energy, commitment and sense of belonging that athletics brings to Aquinas."

That representation doesn't stop when the final whistle blows.

"These young men and women represent our College in so many meaningful ways: in the classroom, through competition, in service and in how they support one another," Keller said. "Sunday's meeting was more than the beginning of another athletic year; it was a powerful reminder that while they compete on many different teams, they are all part of one Aquinas Community."

Athletes Supporting Athletes

Junior Evan Doan knows something about belonging to more than one team.

The clinical exercise science major from Evansville, Indiana, competes in both hockey and lacrosse at Aquinas.

For him, the annual gathering has become one of his favorite parts of the year.

Not because of a presentation.

Because of the people.

"It's one of my favorite times of the year," Doan said. "Getting to see all of my friends and catch up on what we did over the summer was a blast, and seeing all the different teams mingle together."

Soon enough, those teams will head their separate ways.

Basketball players will return to the court.

Hockey players to the ice.

Runners to the course.

Swimmers to the pool.

Baseball and softball players to the diamond.

And the list continues across all 29 Aquinas programs.

But for a few hours Sunday, the usual boundaries between teams disappeared.

"Seeing athletes supporting athletes really shows how tight-knit Aquinas' community is," Doan said.

Senior Brooklyn Kozminski, a kinesiology major from Grand Rapids, Michigan, shared that same appreciation for the opportunity each student-athlete has at Aquinas.

"It was so cool to sit there knowing that everyone in the room gets the opportunity to do the sport that they love just like I do," Kozminski said. "I could feel the passion from everyone, and getting to experience that firsthand through Aquinas is something I will never take for granted."

Those relationships will continue to matter long after everyone leaves Coach Bo Court.

There will be championships won this year.

There will also be heartbreaking losses.

Someone will become an All-American.

Someone else may spend an entire season working behind the scenes without receiving much public recognition.

There will be career-best performances and difficult practices. Bus rides and study halls. Early mornings and late nights.

For some, 2026-27 will be their first experience with all of it.

For others, it will be the last.

But on Sunday afternoon, none of it had happened yet.

The entire athletic year was still sitting in front of them.

One More Thing

After an afternoon filled with celebration, information, expectations and reminders of what it means to represent Aquinas, the annual meeting was coming to an end.

Mary "Tak" Takas had one more item for the agenda.

This one wasn't in the PowerPoint.

With Assistant Athletic Director - Director of Athletic Communications Joey Sutherlin celebrating his birthday, Takas enlisted nearly 700 student-athletes for one final assignment.

"Happy Birthday."

For a meeting that spent much of the afternoon talking about community, belonging and supporting one another, perhaps it was appropriate that it ended with nearly 700 Saints doing something together that had absolutely nothing to do with athletics.

No championships.

No GPAs.

No rankings.

Just people celebrating one of their own.

And then, almost as quickly as the singing ended, the bleachers began to empty.

Twenty-nine teams were about to head in 29 different directions.

But graduate student Reyna Dominczak left Coach Bo Court thinking about what it felt like when all of them were together.

Something Bigger

"Sitting in the bleachers surrounded by so many other Aquinas student-athletes felt surreal," Dominczak said. "It was a feeling of togetherness and excitement and hopefulness for all the possibilities of the upcoming seasons. It felt so amazing to be a part of something so special and so impactful."

A psychology major and grad student from Grand Rapids, Dominczak has been around Aquinas long enough to understand that the experience isn't defined solely by what happens during competition.

"Being a part of Aquinas Athletics is such a special opportunity and so much more than just a college," Dominczak said. "We're one big family with a shared goal. When looking around at the other student-athletes, you could feel and see how lucky we all are to call Aquinas our home academically but also athletically."

Soon, practices become games.

Scores begin appearing beside Aquinas on schedules across the country.

Some seasons will stretch deep into national competition. Others won't end the way anyone hoped.

Records will be broken.

Champions will be crowned.

Another class of Saints will eventually compete for Aquinas for the final time.

And somewhere along the way, the accomplishments celebrated at next year's meeting will begin taking shape.

But before any of that happened, Aquinas brought nearly 700 student-athletes together Sunday and reminded them that no matter where their particular season takes them, none of them is traveling entirely alone.

Dominczak could feel that from the bleachers.

"You could feel the energy within us all and how special it is to be a part of something bigger than ourselves."

Twenty-nine sports.

Nearly 700 student-athletes.

One Aquinas Community.

And one new year waiting for them.

It's a great day to be a Saint.