EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 5:40 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025 (doors open at 5:15 p.m.)

EVENT: The University of Michigan Wheelchair Basketball Team is set to host its inaugural home game of the season at the Crisler Center, competing against in-state opponent Michigan State University.

This match will highlight the skill and commitment of U-M adaptive student-athletes while challenging conventional beliefs about who qualifies—and who has the opportunity—to be a collegiate athlete. This occasion signifies a significant achievement for U-M Adaptive Sports & Fitness, which has expanded swiftly to address the demands present within U-M and the broader adaptive sports community.

The U-M Wheelchair Basketball Team is led by Jessica Wynne, a former player on the Michigan Women’s Basketball team. Team members include Feranmi Okanlami, a clinical faculty at the U-M Medical School and founding director of U-M Adaptive Sports & Fitness, a division of the university’s Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services; and Erik Robeznieks, associate director of Adaptive Sports & Fitness, who formerly collaborated with Wheelchair Basketball Canada, being part of the staff for Team Canada during the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

Members of the U-M student-athlete roster consist of: Peyton Manigo, a first-year student hailing from Joliet, Illinois, enrolled in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts; Drew Dame, a sophomore from Grand Rapids, Michigan, pursuing a degree in computer science; and Jerome Montgomery, a Detroit local and a master’s student in the School of Social Work, concentrating on the welfare of children and families.

Alongside the game, the U-M Band and A2 STEAM Middle School Band are scheduled to perform musically. The halftime entertainment will feature a mini-wheelchair basketball match involving U-M and MSU ROTC members, as well as a half-court shot contest.

Entry is complimentary. Paid VIP packages are also available.