Nearly 45 years after graduation, Jay Kirksey, Jay Horton, and Eric Reinhard have the type of “old college friendship” that people dream about. The three Michigan natives met as undergrads, became brothers through the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, graduated, and moved out to Colorado, where they’ve stayed in regular communication—and shared many good days on the ski slopes.
Challenging themselves to ski a ridiculously high number of vertical feet in one day had been a goal in the back of their minds for awhile. To put this in terms a flatlander can understand, 15 – 20,000 vertical feet is considered a good day on the slopes. An ambitious recreational skier might do 30 – 40,000 vertical feet in one day.
But Eric, Jay and Jay thought 70,000 sounded like fun. They just needed the right moment and the right motivation.
That came in February of 2023. Seeing their campus and their fellow Spartans in need turned their casual athletic goal into an opportunity for some very important, very heartfelt grassroots fundraising.
“We felt compelled to give something back to the school that had been so good to us,” Jay Kirksey said in an interview with the Vail Daily.
They called their effort the Vertical Challenge. The goal? Ski 70,000 vertical feet each while rallying family and friends to give to the Support Our Spartans (SOS) Student Emergency Needs Fund. They were successful on both counts in 2023 (in fact, they exceeded their goal, skiing 73,000 vertical feet each) and, in the process, a tradition was born—one that they expect will last the same way their friendship has.
“We’ve always stayed together and never had periods of more than a week or two where we haven’t connected, talked or gone skiing,” Kirksey says. Reinhart adds, “We are passionate about the university, and there are a lot of students that still need support.”
This year, the trio skiied 81,000 feet each and raised $5,600 to help students through unforeseen financial circumstances.
Just like Kirksey, Horton, and Reinhart, alumni across the country network and strengthen the Spartan community by supporting the MSU’s mission on campus and in their own region.
Fellow alums across the country have consistently jumped on opportunities to support their alma mater—including through their local alumni clubs—especially when there’s a cause to rally around. For many, that cause is Give Green Day, and funding for scholarships that support future Spartans from their home communities.
During Give Green Day 2024 alone, Alumni clubs gave over 1000 gifts totaling $198,465 for scholarships that help create a bright future for Spartan students.