University of Dallas basketball team finally heads to London after fundraising push
After two years of talking and planning a trip to London, it's finally happening for the University of Dallas men's basketball team.
The team flies out on Thursday, but getting to this point has been a whirlwind.
Back in April, the team lost more than $60,000 after the travel agency they went through, GoPlay Sports, filed for bankruptcy.
"It took us a whole entire year just to get to the roughly $55,000, so when we had to try and raise that money, plus roughly $20,000 more in a two-to-three-month span, it was really hard to stay faithful," said basketball player Gian Carlo.
Through the ups and downs, one person who kept persevering was Coach Matt Grahn.
"I remember the first day I walked into coach's office and he said, 'I'm going to try to see if I can get in contact with Mark Cuban,' and honestly, that just kind of went over my head," said basketball player Tommy Fleming.
To everyone's surprise, the team got the attention of Mark Cuban, who donated $30,000. Grahn says that the donation gave the team a ton of motivation to keep going.
"The fundraising took off and we got a $10,000 anonymous donation. A lot of very kind and generous people donated even $20 to $25, and ultimately in eight weeks we did $93,000 in fundraising," said Grahn.
The trip is especially meaningful for basketball player Michael Kennedy, who is from London. Grahn promises players who come from afar that they'll get the chance to visit and play in their hometown. Kennedy is already in London, preparing to welcome the team.
"We get to go play basketball, something that we love to do, and to get to do it with some of your best friends, your college buddies. You know, it's once in a lifetime," said Fleming.
At the end of the day, everyone is walking away with a valuable lesson on why you should never give up.
"We go through those situations on the court where our backs are against the wall, where we're tired, where we feel like we can't come back, but sometimes it's not always about coming back to win, but it's coming back to show that you're capable," said Carlo.
