SPOKANE, Wash. – Top-ranked Gonzaga men's basketball will wear badges on their uniforms that showcases the team's pledge to unity. Student-athletes throughout the three divisional Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) and the Board of Governors Student-Athlete Engagement Committee collaborated to create the national Unity Pledge and logo, a symbolic gesture to continue generating stronger unity among the NCAA's 1,100-plus schools and nearly 500,000 student-athletes.
 
The entire GU men's basketball roster recently signed the NCAA Unity Pledge, as a way to bring student-athletes together to strive for better on their team, on-campus and in their communities.
 
"We are happy and proud to be able to wear the 'unity patch'," Gonzaga's Joel Ayayi said. "As a team I think that it was important for us to make a statement using our platform. We need to fight hate with love. We are all in this fight."
 
The logo includes three different colored hands holding one another's wrists inside a circle with "United As One" at the bottom. The mark was sent to all NCAA schools in the form of a patch to consider placing on uniforms.

"We're so excited to show our unity as a team and as a school with the unity patch," GU senior Corey Kispert said. "Hopefully we can use this as a small step in replacing hate with love and ending racism in our country as a whole."
 
The NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee released the following statement regarding the Unity Pledge: "The Unity Pledge has been months in the making. Through the challenges that student-athletes have faced in the COVID-19 pandemic, Division I SAAC, Division II SAAC, Division III SAAC and the Board of Governors Student-Athlete Engagement Committee have come together to lead and advocate for our nearly half-million peers across the country. In light of the social injustice and hate our country has experienced, we wanted a unified statement written by student-athletes, for student-athletes. We encourage student-athletes, coaches and administrators to use this statement in your conference, campus and with your teams as we push forward for change as a collective group, united as one."
 
Gonzaga opens its season versus No. 6/5 Kansas in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Thursday. The game in Ft. Myers, Fla., is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m
 
Student-Athlete Unity Pledge
I am an NCAA student-athlete and I pledge to be a Champion of Unity on my team, on my campus, and in my community.
 
I pledge to stand against all forces of division and separation.
 
I pledge to embrace differences and strive for inclusion and collaboration.
 
I pledge to stand against racism, hate, and discrimination.
 
I pledge to strive for love, care, and forgiveness.
 
I pledge to stand against silence, deceit, and obscurity.
 
I pledge to strive for dialogue, truth, and understanding.
 
I pledge to stand against fear and doubt.
 
I pledge to strive for trust and belief in one another.
 
I pledge to stand against complacency and stagnancy.
 
I pledge to strive for change and growth.
 
I commit to supporting my fellow student-athletes in all circumstances that impact them.
 
I commit to both choosing unity personally and encouraging it for all.
 
I pledge these things because we are stronger together.
 
#UnitedAsOne