Rider Athletics Earns BSN Sports MAAC Community Spotlight Honors
Edison, N.J. (May 1, 2020) – The BSN Sports MAAC Community Spotlight will be a weekly feature of those giving back in an effort to make a difference in their communities. Over the last two years, the Rider University Athletic Department has teamed with Miller-Keystone Blood Center to create the Bleed Broncs Blood Platelet Challenge.
The program encourages student-athletes, coaches, administrators and athletic training staff to donate plasma and platelets. During the COVID-19 pandemic, donations continue and are needed more than ever. The donations take between an hour and an hour and a half and extract the platelets before returning the rest of the blood to the donor’s body. With the red blood cells returning the student-athlete’s bodies, the donations do not hinder their training.
Platelets are tiny cells in your blood that form clots and stop bleeding. For millions of Americans, they are essential to surviving and fighting cancer, chronic diseases, and traumatic injuries. Every 15 seconds someone is in need of platelets. Platelets must be used within five days and new donors are needed every day.
Four years ago, Rider men’s basketball signed now nine-year-old Liam Knobl through Team IMPACT. Liam was diagnosed with an immunodeficiency and undergoes weekly infusions. After spending the first two years of his life in and out of the hospital with various illnesses, from ear infections to pneumonia, Liam now gets weekly subcutaneous injections of antibodies to lessen his risk of acquiring infections.
Liam’s courage in the face of his illness inspired the program, which drew 117 donations in 2018-19 and set a goal of 200 donations for the 2019-20 academic year.
More Information regarding the Broncs’ and their program donating platelets can be found
here.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39
th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter's University, and Siena College.