The long, painfully-slow process of rebuilding decimated Lake High School has begun in earnest since a series of nightmarish tornadoes ripped through Lake Township and the neighboring community June 5.

On another campus 25 miles southwest of Lake, there are 30 Bowling Green State University students who are reaching out to lend a hand to the displaced Lake students. 

Students in the Telecommunication 4390 Sports Broadcasting class are organizing the “2010 Fast Break for Lake 3-on-3 Charity Tournament,” which will be held at the BGSU’s Perry Field House on Nov. 13 from 2:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. The BGSU students are participating in a service-learning course that stresses the importance of hands-on learning in real-world environments.

“This is a full-blown sports media project,” offers Dr. Lori Liggett, the instructor of the course. Liggett teaches interdisciplinary courses in media and sports studies and is spearheading the project. 

“It requires a lot of discipline and dedication to get something like this accomplished, because it’s not like, ’Hey, let’s throw a party on Saturday night and see who shows up.’This project involves a lot of hard work from a lot of different people who have come together to make it happen for Lake. And I think the real learning for these students has been, as a class, we know what the ultimate goal is, and that’s to raise money for our friends over at Lake. And we know what the vehicle is, and that’s a ‘3-on-3’ basketball tournament. But the enduring question throughout the semester has been, ‘How do we make this all happen? How do we get there? What’s the process?’.

The class is made possible through a grant from BGSU’s Office of Service-Learning, which encourages faculty to connect what is taught in the academic classroom to community needs.  

Explains Liggett, “I applied for a grant through the office, and I knew I wanted to do a service-learning project with my sports broadcasting class this fall, but I wasn’t sure what that project should be.  When the tornadoes hit Lake Township in June, of course heard all about it. I read about it, and I watched the coverage on TV.   It was really quite devastating, especially since it hit so close to BGSU. I realized that we have so many great resources here. We have a beautiful campus, and we’re around 20,000 students strong. And I know that almost everyone is interested in sports, so I thought maybe we could somehow help Lake High School through this class, using sports as a catalyst.

“At the beginning of the semester the students submitted project proposals, and they really came up with some phenomenal ideas, including a wrestling promotion and some other really good projects.  But when we examined the idea of the ’3-on-3’ almost everyone in the class just kind of looked at each other, and said ‘Okay. This is it. Let’s do this.’ Then we voted on it, and it was pretty much unanimous.”

Adds Liggett, “You have to break a project of this magnitude down into smaller steps and come up with a timeline, so you can figure out what needs to be done and when to make it successful.  We set up several committees, such as the ‘Lake Outreach Committee,’  the ‘Tourney Organizing Committee,’ the ‘Finances Committee,’ and several others. The students considered their own interests and then selected the committees they wanted to serve on, and they’ve taken it from there.”

“There have been quite a few students who have really stepped up and been proactive and passionate about making this project their own in a hands-on kind of way,” she reports candidly.  “And then there have been others who are not used to a non-traditional classroom setting in which we don’t do many readings, or take lots of notes. But everyone has contributed in his or her own way. And I think in the end, if all goes well, we as a sports broadcasting class, a team, and a family of students, are going to be able to look back, and really be proud of what we’ve accomplished for Lake High School by working together and using our various talents.”

The “Lake Outreach Committee” has been instrumental in keeping open the lines of communication with Lake Superintendent Jim Witt, Principal Lee Herman, and athletic director Dave Shaffer via e-mails and even a few trips to LHS’s temporary home at Owens Community College that nearly 400 Lake students affectionately call “the Hangar.” On November 5, BGSU students sat down with Flyers at lunch and registered those high schoolers who want to participate in the tourney.

The tournament is also being promoted through flyers hung at the university and promos on BGSU’s student-run radio stations WBGU and WFAL.  The day of the event the BG Radio Sports Organization will broadcast the tournament, and there will be music entertainment provided by WFAL. There will also be plenty of hot grub and cold drinks, free t-shirts for the players, prize donations from area businesses, and other contests throughout the day.

Superintendent Jim Witt extends “thanks to the BGSU students for caring about Lake during this time of turmoil.”  

Says Liggett, “I’ve always been interested in how sports help bring people together, and also keeps them from coming apart. And that’s what we’re hoping to convey through this service-learning project, and this class.”

For information or to register contact BGSU students Ronnie at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Elijah at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the tourney on Facebook “The 2010 Fast Break for Lake 3-on-3 Charity Tournament.”  For information about the service-learning course contact Dr. Lori Liggett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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