MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State head baseball coach Pete Hughes and his Wildcats are excited for another year of 19 Ways, kicking off the 2021-22 campaign by volunteering at the Manhattan Just Tri It Triathlon (August 14), Alzheimer’s Association welcome event (August 21) while holding the annual Manhattan Catbacker Club youth baseball clinic (August 24).
Hughes, entering his fourth season, and his team are winners of the last two Wildcat Cup awards, given to the K-State Athletics program who makes the largest impact on the community through service. Hughes installed 19 Ways when he arrived at Manhattan as a community service initiative designed to have a positive impact on the community on 19 different occasions.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Hughes and his team were still able to connect and support the community last year through signature events such as Shave for the Brave and the ALS Awareness Halloween Game.
Shave for the Brave culminates the program’s fundraising campaign for College Baseball Vs. Cancer to benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The Wildcats are three-time defending national fundraising champions, raising over $93,000 in that span. Last fall, K-State’s players and coaches raised $38,019 – nearly $10,000 more than any other college baseball program.
“I love it because it tells me I have the right guys in my clubhouse,” Hughes said. “Kids that care about the right things. Kids that aren’t entitled and feel truly privileged to have their health and get to play baseball at a great university. To be proactive and raise that amount of money in back-to-back-back years, speaks volumes.”
This season’s Shave for the Brave is scheduled for Sunday, November 7 following the finale of the annual Fall World Series at Tointon Family Stadium.
Another marquee event is the ALS Awareness Halloween Game, scheduled for Saturday, October 30. The players and coaches dress in costume for a fun, entertaining game of baseball while also raising money for ALS. Fans are encouraged to come in costume and support a worthy cause.
The 19 Ways program is named in honor of his late mother, Alice, whose favorite number was 19. For K-State student-athletes and staff, this is a platform to give back to the Manhattan community that gives such tremendous support throughout the course of the year.
Hughes developed the program while service as head coach at Virginia Tech in 2009 and continued the initiative at Oklahoma. Now, several teams across the country have adopted 19 Ways, including Notre Dame, Northern Illinois, Northeaster and Virginia Tech, among others.
“At Kansas State, our student-athletes will be privileged, not entitled,” Hughes said. “We will be extremely active in our great community and give back to the community that supports us so well. It is an honor to the selfless and charitable life that my mother led to now have her legacy attached to another program and community.”
Hughes encourages members of the community to send suggestions on how the K-State baseball program can help organizations or individuals in the Manhattan area. Please send requests and suggestions to the K-State baseball staff at [email protected].