NASHVILLE, Tenn — The Vanderbilt baseball team will have some new-look footwear in 2022. And the hopes are that those that see the unique shoes take a few more moments for some reflection.
Vandy has partnered with Memories of Honor to help keep the memory alive of United States military members who have passed away. Each Vanderbilt student-athlete, coach and on-field staff member will wear cleats and/or shoes with the names of fallen service men and women inscribed on the exterior of the footwear.
“With our mission to make every day Memorial Day, it’s allowing us to be a voice for those families, to be able to create new memories for those families that their loved one are no longer here to create. So this literally is beyond words,” said Amy Cotta, founder and executive director of Memories of Honor. “How do you put a thought or a feeling or a number next to somebody acknowledging your loss and honoring and remembering your loved one?
“There really are no words to put to the magnitude of how grateful we are, not only as an organization, but how grateful we are for the families that are receiving this recognition.”
Vanderbilt has partnered with the nonprofit organization before: there was a t-shirt giveaway at a 2019 football game; the men’s basketball team wore Memories of Honor warmup shirts in 2019; and in 2021 the baseball team wore helmet decals on their USA uniform batting helmets.
Vandy baseball general manager and chief of staff Brooks Webb said that while the Commodores loved their partnership with Cotta during 2021, and both parties agreed more could be done. So Webb reached out to Cotta in the fall to brainstorm on how they could take the partnership to the next level for the 2022 season.
“Their mission aligns perfectly with what we want to do with our Salute to Service uniforms,” Webb said. “We wanted to find an impactful way to continue to honor those who served, but also paid the ultimate price for our freedom. With that, we wanted to organize it in a way that encompassed our entire group, instead of just those who may wear a helmet, which made the cleats and shoes a natural fit.”
Not only will the Commodores be recognizing service men and women who have perished, but the names on their respective shoes will also coincide with their home state – thus, senior infielder Tate Kolwyck, from Memphis, will wear the name of a fallen solder who was either born in or residing in Tennessee.
Cotta said families register names through Memories of Honor’s national database, “wanting or hoping or wishing that somebody will honor the memory of their loved ones.” The Vanderbilt baseball team will be the ones doing just that every Sunday of the season.
“We are pleased to partner with Amy Cotta and Memories of Honor,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin said. “Service and country have such great meaning to our program. The fact that we can honor a fallen soldier and salute his or her family with a small gesture is the least that we can do.
“Our relationship with Memories of Honor allows our program to create more Memorial Days to help remember these great Americans and their families.”
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
