Published on July 15, 2024 by Dakota Rice  
Samford Collegiate Dream Team

In 2022, a group of student-athletes were inspired to form the Samford Collegiate Dream Team, a student group aligned with Dream on 3, a national organization committed to fulfilling sport-themed “dreams” for kids with life-altering conditions, including developmental disabilities.

After a successful first year, the Samford Collegiate Dream Team was introduced to Zach Byars, a middle schooler from Homewood, Alabama, who lives with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that causes intellectual developmental delays.

A huge fan of Samford basketball, he dreamed of having a VIP game day experience.

In February, his dream came true. Along with his family, Byars sat courtside for both a private practice and a basketball game—wearing his own Samford basketball jersey. He was named the honorary captain, which meant presenting the game ball to the referee. And as a trumpet player himself, he was thrilled to spend time with members of the Samford band in attendance at the game. The student-athletes even gifted him and his family a weekend stay at Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa.

But the fulfillment of his dream went beyond the game day activities. The student-athletes ensured that his “dream weekend” would be forever remembered for the friendships he made. From spending the afternoon shooting hoops and playing volleyball to getting pizza with the student-athletes who led the Samford Collegiate Dream Team, Byars' time on campus was marked by intentionality and camaraderie.

Ella Simpson ’23, a member of the Samford soccer team and a Dream on 3 team captain, shared that planning this experience for Byars was worth every minute and every meeting.

“There has always been a passion in my heart for children with special needs,” Simpson said. “For the entire fall semester, we worked on constructing the perfect dream for Zach. Being a Dream on 3 captain was such an incredible experience because of the joy that I was able to see in Zach that weekend. The highlight was eating pizza with him on Friday night and getting to know him and his family. Everything that we had planned was worth it and truly made him feel so special.”

This story was first published in the summer 2024 issue of Seasons magazine.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.