PORTLAND  – The NAIA Conference Commissioners Association Champions of Character Team Award is awarded each year to a team that demonstrates exemplary character on the field, on campus and in the community. It is given to a team that demonstrates the core values of the NAIA – integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

If you know the Warner Pacific University women's basketball team, you know the Knights embody all that and more, so it doesn't come as a surprise the Knights were named the 2020 NAIA Conference Commissioners Association Champions of Character Team of the Year, announced Tuesday.

"I couldn't be more proud of and happy for Coach [Matt] Gregg than I am in this moment," commented Director of Athletics Mike Wilson. "This is the kind of thing I want our athletic programs to be known for – demonstrating compassion and love for all people, on and off the court. Coach Gregg and his team do that and truly, I can't think of somebody more deserving of this than him."

"This is such a special award for our team," added WPU women's basketball head coach Matt Gregg. "We are teaching and practicing what empathy really means. It is important that we act in empathy and don't just talk about it.  I am so thankful for this award because it shows these young people can put their phones down, get outside of themselves and make a difference."

One Sunday of every month – whether in the blistering Portland August heat or the soaking wet PNW winter – you will find the WPU women's basketball team serving hot meals to the Portland homeless community under the Hawthorne Bridge.

When Gregg moved from Spokane, Wash., to Portland to take over the program in 2008, he was taken aback and blown away by the homeless population in Portland. It was something he hadn't seen a whole lot of prior to his arrival and as the years progressed, and the homeless population grew, something in Gregg's heart began to ache for the community.

"It actually really hurts me to see families and kids living in tents, under bridges, or on street corners," said Gregg.

Feeling a deep conviction to serve the community, Gregg got connected with Potluck in the Park, a local non-profit organization that every day since 1991 has been serving free hot meals to anybody who needs them.

For the last four years, Gregg and his team have met on Warner Pac's campus before driving downtown to serve hot meals to the inner-city Portland homeless community. Each year, the newcomers to the team are often initially apprehensive, not being totally sure what to expect. As the team debriefs on the ride home, the women express the impact and the gratitude received by those they served has on them and Gregg begins to see their perspectives shift. The monthly outing, Gregg notices "helps [the team] develop a sense of empathy for the homeless community here."

Gabby Bruno, the Knights' leading scorer and one of two 2019-20 captains, is set to graduate with a degree in criminal justice in May 2021. In her major courses, the very issue of homelessness is often a topic of discussion.
"When you go out into the community, it becomes much more human," said Bruno. "We aren't just talking about a structural issue, we're talking about a human experience."

The shooting guard, who grew up in the Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, is not shy to admit the fact that growing up in Lake Oswego with security and safety was a blessing. As a criminal justice major, Bruno has to put herself in other people's shoes and Potluck in the Park gives her an opportunity to see another side of life.

"Putting myself in a position to hear people's stories, is necessary so I can try and understand, and do better for them," said Bruno.

In addition to serving meals downtown, WPU puts on a sock drive every February called 'Hoopin' 4 the Homeless' in which the admission fee for a Warner Pacific Women's Basketball game is three pairs of socks. Gregg later collects and drops the socks off at the Union Gospel Mission, just down the street on Burnside from the iconic Portland sign.

"It actually makes me very emotional when we drop off the socks and see the pure joy on the worker's faces," said Gregg. "They know more than anybody how important socks are to the homeless, especially in wet Portland."

Serving the homeless has definitely helped homeless people, but it has also taught Gregg and his team lessons along the way.

"They are humans," said Gregg about the homeless people. "They need to be treated with love and respect. We can't just throw money at them and think that is fixing anything. We must show compassion more than anything else."

Coach Gregg doesn't just talk about showing compassion, he lives it out and teaches it to his players.

"Doing something for someone, or giving something when we are able, is one of the most important things Coach instills in us," noted Bruno. "I think that something I've learned over my time serving the community with Coach and my team, is you need to live your life with compassion."

Aside from serving the locals, WPU has adopted a "Sixth Man" in Lexy De Los Reyes. De Los Reyes is a 17-year-old with an inoperable brain tumor that has left her blind and has become an integral part of the squad.

It was 2013 when Gregg received a phone call from Team Impact – an organization much like Make-A-Wish. Team Impact places sick children with sports teams and Lexy was matched with WPU.

Lexy, who sits the bench and is announced with the starting lineup for every home game she is healthy enough to attend, has taught Gregg and his team that "if she can still smile after everything she has been through, then so can we. The wins and losses don't mean as much."

For Gregg, his favorite part of game days is the 15 minutes that he gets to sit with Lexy on the bench to chat and "trade candy bars."

In her three years being with the Knights, Lexy has celebrated her Sweet 16, attended every Christmas party and sat the bench for nearly every home game. She has become a member of the family.

Darbi Pink, a four-year starter for Warner Pac and is set to graduate in December with an early childhood education degree, will always remember Lexy and the impact she's had on every single person she's been around.

"Lexy is the sweetest, most caring and positive person I have ever encountered," said Pink. "She lights up any room she steps foot in and has the most contagious laugh. Lex has taught me numerous things but the most important one would be that no matter how hard things may get, never give up and never stop fighting."

When the Knights score a bucket, the gym might be packed with screaming fans, but it's Lexy's cheer that is heard above everyone. It is her bright smile and loud cheers at the games that "really brings energy to the team" as Bruno puts it.

Lexy is entering her seventh year as the Knights' "Sixth Man" and it's evident, things wouldn't be the same without her.

Gregg wants his team to be difference makers and through the Knights' community service, they are doing just that.

No matter what happens on the court, Gregg knows his players will leave WPU better than they arrived: women of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

The full list of awards announced for the 2020 NAIA National Awards Day can be found here.