The University of Dallas Men’s Basketball Team overcame major setbacks to achieve a 4-year goal: playing a game in London in front of senior Michael Kennedy’s family and friends. Coach Matt Grahn and the rest of the basketball staff make a commitment to give each player a chance to play in or near their hometown at least once during their college career. Coach Grahn and Kennedy’s teammates wouldn’t let anything – including losing $60,000 – stop them from making this dream come true.
By Rebecca Grillot, BA ’10
When the University of Dallas Men’s Basketball coaches go recruiting all over the nation, they make a special commitment: every player who comes to UD from outside the conference area will still get to play a game close to home, where their friends and family can watch. This tradition has taken the team from Washington, D.C. to Washington state, and it’s always an important moment for the player and a bonding experience for the team.
“It’s really important to me,” shares Head Coach Matt Grahn. “If we’re asking guys to come halfway across the country to play ball, I think it’s only fair that we try to get them home and let them play in front of their family and friends in their college uniform.”
A Different Kind of Trip
When Michael Kennedy came to UD from London, Grahn knew that would test the team’s commitment to their tradition. He also knew Kennedy was a great fit for the team: with a 4.0 GPA and a 7’2” wingspan, Grahn knew he could be successful at UD both in the classroom and on the court. When he came to visit during his senior year of high school, Grahn said, “it just felt right. He felt like family to me. ‘This kid’s worth it,’ I thought. ‘He’s going to be great and do great things.’ And he did.” Kennedy maintained his 4.0 GPA throughout his UD career and was named male Student Athlete of the Year three years in a row.
Despite being a great fit for the university and the team, Kennedy struggled with his health throughout all four years, suffering one injury and sickness after another that often kept him on the bench. “He handled it with tremendous grace; he was an amazing teammate,” Grahn reflected. “Even when he wasn’t able to play, he had an impact on our team. He was on the bench, yelling and screaming and cheering on our guys. You can’t put a price on that.”
From the moment Kennedy committed to UD, the team’s tradition was always in the back of Grahn’s mind, and he began thinking about how to pull off an international trip with the entire basketball team. Players traditionally fundraise for these trips, but for this trip the price tag would be higher and the logistics more complicated.
One Setback After Another
The trip started to take shape during Kennedy’s junior year, but when the players failed to fundraise enough to cover the cost, the trip was canceled. The team was disappointed, Grahn said, but he wasn’t willing to budge on the fundraising requirement. He didn’t want to add to the financial burden of any of the players’ families, and he knew it was important for each player to have skin in the game.
Kennedy’s home game was postponed til May 2026, just a few weeks after his graduation from UD. His teammates, motivated to succeed this time, raised $65,000 for the trip, which was quoted at $64,800. They worked tirelessly as ushers and ticket takers at Dallas Cowboys games and weekend concerts at AT&T stadium, selling refreshments at soccer games, and raffling off an international trip for two that had been offered to them as a fundraising opportunity by the travel company. This time, Grahn was impressed by their hard work: “Everything we did was focused on getting Michael home, and nobody complained because ultimately they knew it was going to be an amazing experience not only for Michael but also for them.”
As the final payment deadline for the trip approached, Grahn began to worry that he hadn’t heard from the travel company. He had already paid $60,000 for the trip. Six weeks before the trip, the CEO of the travel company called to reassure him that the travel details were set, flights and hotels booked. Two days later, the team held the raffle for the trip that had helped them raise more than half the funds.
Two days after the raffle drawing and four days after the CEO’s promise, the travel company notified Grahn that they were filing for bankruptcy. All the money the team had paid had been spent to pay off past bookings, and no flights or hotels were actually arranged for the team.
The Team Rises to the Challenge
With the bankruptcy paperwork still pending and no way to recover the $60,000, Grahn went back to the drawing board. After many failed attempts to gain sponsorships from local professional teams, Grahn started a social media campaign, posting videos of the players explaining the situation and asking for donations. The campaign went viral, and the team raised $13,000.
Local media outlets were now interested, and Grahn took an interview with the Dallas Morning News. Shortly after the interview, he received a call from the parent of a former recruit. She told him that she worked for Mark Cuban, who wanted to donate $30,000 to their efforts. Grahn called the Dallas Morning News back and Cuban’s gift was included in the article that ran the next day.
Immediately following the article, the Dallas Morning News editorial team connected Grahn to a donor who wanted to close the $17,000 gap. Fundraising efforts continued, and in total, over eight weeks, Grahn and the team raised $93,000 — just the right amount to cover the trip under their new, more financially stable travel company.
Kennedy, Grahn and the rest of the team took off for London in mid-August, finally enjoying their hard-fought efforts. They spent a day touring the city and the next day played an exciting exhibition game in front of Kennedy’s friends and family.
“It was an unbelievable experience for Michael to put on a UD uniform and play in his own country,” Grahn reflected.
Following the game, the team was hosted at the Kennedy family home and had the opportunity to meet Michael’s parents, extended family, and lifelong family friends. It got emotional, Grahn said, when Kennedy’s dad came over to him to say thank you. “All the stress, all the anxiety – it was so worth it.”
Over the next week, the team explored London together, and Grahn says he saw the players grow in their leadership skills as they learned to navigate a foreign country and hold each other accountable while enjoying the culture and broadening their horizons. “That part, to me, was extremely valuable to our team chemistry,” Grahn said.
