March Madness Challenge Sees Record Participation Numbers

March 22, 2018

With the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament as its backdrop, Christian Brothers Academy saw its third annual March Madness Giving Challenge draw a record number of alumni.

The four-day campaign featured a tournament in which each of the school’s 54 alumni classes competed to show their school pride. In total, 391 alumni participated, which is over 50 more than the 2017 Challenge.

After four days of tremendous alumni competition that raised nearly $30,000, CBA’s Class of 1984 was crowned the “2018 Challenge Champion.” It is the second time in three years that the Class of 1984 won the title.

“Thanks to all of the alumni who participated in this year’s March Madness event, and congratulations to our winners, the Class of 1984,” President Brother Frank Byrne ’75 said. “This year, we had our largest number of participants, which was good to see.  In the end, it is the students who ultimately benefit from the generous support of our alumni.”

To participate, alumni amass points for their class by donating and rallying classmates to do the same. Every alum who joins the Challenge receives a point for his class total, while cumulative donation totals and participation numbers earned each year more points once they surpassed certain designated amounts.

Tuesday served as the first round of the Challenge, with all 54 classes competing. On Wednesday, the top sixteen were entered into the Sweet Sixteen bracket, which was narrowed down to Friday’s Final Four championship round.

The Class of 1984 was followed closely by the Class of 1985. The classes of 1979 and 2011 rounded out the top four.

The winners from 1984 recorded the most individual participants with 60. The Class of 2011 was second with 51 individual participants. The Class of 1979 recorded 43 participants, while the Class of 1985 notched 42. The fifth-place finisher, the Class of 2013, was the only other class to break 40 participants.

In terms of donation leaders, the Class of 1979 raised $5,520, with the Class of 1984 totaling $4,740.

The final four classes will be honored at an invite-only Jersey Shore Summer Celebration at the Asbury Festhalle & Biergarten in June.

Christian Brothers Academy would like to thank all the alumni who accepted the challenge in 2018!