MANSFIELD – Head coach Brittany Hansrote and the Mansfield University field hockey program helped support our troops this fall with Military Appreciation Day at Karl Van Norman Field.
 
The salute to the troops was held on Saturday, Sept. 23 for sprint football's home opener against Navy and field hockey's home game against Shippensburg. The field hockey team sold special edition Military Appreciation Day shirts throughout the day with a portion of the proceeds benefitting on-campus military organizations.
 
Mansfield provided free admission to the game for all veterans and current military personnel and recognized our nations' finest during the game. The Mansfield University ROTC presented the colors and provided an information booth at the gate.
 
Mountaineer field hockey was also recently involved with Student-Athlete Day with Warren L. Miller Elementary School, Breast Cancer Awareness Day, the Homecoming Parade, and the support of Shippensburg's Meghan Hart who is a field hockey student-athlete diagnosed with Leukemia.
 
"Community Service is important because I want to be able to give back to the community that means so much to me," explained Hansrote. "I am an alumna of MU and cherished the experience I had during my time here as a student-athlete. That is what brought me back here to coach."
 
"Engaging the local community and bridging the gap is always important, but in this case it is very meaningful and personal to me. I want my team to be able to experience that for themselves during their time here so that they too can have those lasting memories to carry with them. Hopefully it will inspire them to continue paying it forward in the many local communities they will lay down their roots in."
 
GiveBackMU is a month long focus on how the Mansfield University Department of Athletics and its student-athletes support the local community with charitable acts and volunteerism. The culmination of the GiveBackMU campaign is on Tuesday, Nov. 28 when Mansfield holds a special Day of Giving in association with the global Giving Tuesday movement.
 
Alumni, supporters, and friends of Mountaineer Athletics are kindly asked to make a gift on the Nov. 28 Day of Giving to help provide opportunities for Mansfield student-athletes and further the mission of the university. 100% of gifts given through Mansfield's secure online portal are tax deductible.