March 13 is known as Pie Day. It came late to campus this year–April 2 to be exact.

But this pie had nothing to do with math, however–it was more Cool Whip based.

Out on the Quad, chairs were lined with coaches filling each seat, and students geared up to throw a pie into the faces of the athletic department personnel–in many cases, their own mentors.

This event was put together by students working for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Dedicating their fundraiser slot to giving students a chance to pie a coach in the face.

“This week was Division III Week,” said Dajah Berger, coordinator of student-athlete success. “We wanted one of our events to be a fundraising event for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).”

Early in the semester, SAAC was divided into subcommittees to help with some projects for the semester. One of the committees was the D3 Week Committee, which was in charge of the planning and execution of Division III Week.

This committee consisted of EJ McArthur, sophomore; Olivia Turner, junior; Brandon Jones, sophomore; Elijah Jones, senior; Camryn King, senior; Ryon Johnson, junior; Gabby Mendoza, junior; Hannah Huffman, junior; Trent Proctor, junior; and Damauri McPherson, junior.

“Our goal was to raise $200, and if the goal was met, one person (got) to pie Dr. (President Mirta) Martin at the lunch portion of Day of Service on April 4.”

They hit the goal exactly, and Ashli Wuss, junior, was awarded the dubious distinction of pushing the pie on the president.

“I was very grateful to get the opportunity to pie Dr. Martin,” Wuss said. “It was such a fun experience. I pied her good, but she got me back, so I’ll call it even!”

The lure of being able to pie a coach or possibly even the athletic director brought out a crowd to the event who donated their own money so they could join in the confectionary conflict.

“It was a hit. We knew we were going to have people come out, but we did not think it would bring the amount of people it did,” Berger said. “It was nice weather, and it was something that the campus community enjoyed. We had staff from different departments come out and support the cause .”

Student athletes saw the event as a golden opportunity–one where their coaches were at a rare disadvantage and were unable to fight back.

“I liked that I could get one free shot at my coaches after they beat me up in the practice room all the time,” mentioned Cody Agnell, freshman wrestler.

Several players on the women’s soccer team also participated.

Freshmen Jenny Ruiz and Alondra Vera-Carillo both stepped up to pie their coach Erin Saleeby.

“Pieing Saleeby was so much fun!” Ruiz said. “I was hesitant, of course, because I never thought I’d ever get to pie a coach of mine in the face. Seeing her laugh as she wiped it off her face was the best part!”

For her part, Vera-Carillo expressed enjoyment but also a little trepidation.

“It was such a cool and awesome experience to be a part of!” she said. “Pieing Coach Saleeby was such a nervous feeling because I never thought I would get to pie her in the face. Overall, It was very fun to be a part of!”

Saleeby held no apparent animosity toward her pieing protoges.

“Being a part of our pie faculty/staff SAAC event was a lot of fun!” she said. “It was really awesome to see so many people participate. It was a complete mess, and I had to shower twice before getting all the whipped cream off, but it was worth it to raise some funds for SAAC!”

Regardless of the fact that they had pie in their eyes, ears, nose, and hair, coaches were supportive of the event and even seemed to enjoy being pelted by the pastries.

“It was actually just cool whip/whip cream so no real pie! But it was a blast,” said Sarah Perry, assistant lacrosse coach. “I thought it was great how a bunch of the coaches and our athletic director got together to help raise money for a student organization! All clubs on campus are self-funded, and so fundraising is the only option. Apparently they met their goal, so I’m glad I could help.”

Several different coaches as well as the athletic director made appearances for the event, with many different teams having representation on the list of those who got creamed.

The list included Cleive Adams the athletic director; Assistant Football Coaches Cameron Clark, AJ Hopke and Anthony Konieczka; Saleeby, Perry, Head Wrestling Coach Logan Meister; Assistant Wrestling Coaches Levi Engleman and Braden Homsey; Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Dan Milloy; and Head Tennis Coach Rod Baker.

The students in charge and Berger said they were grateful to everyone who came out and participated in the event.

“We would like to thank everyone that volunteered to get pie’d, conference and events for setting up the things for the event, and the Ferrum Campus Community for coming out and supporting SAAC on this event.,” concluded Berger.