Davidson Partners With Ferencz Institute, Set for Trip to Germany This Summer
1/27/2026 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DAVIDSON, N.C. – In conjunction with The Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights, and the Holocaust, the Davidson men's basketball team is announcing its team trip to Berlin, Germany for a week in August of this year.
The trip will coincide with the 90th anniversary of the 1936 Olympic Games, and this announcement comes on International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27, 2026), which commemorates the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The Ferencz Institute also organized and facilitated the team's 2018 trip to Auschwitz, and this summer will provide the program with a historically grounded exploration of the intersection between sports, politics and human rights.
At the conclusion of the program, the team is extending the trip to participate in several overseas exhibition games.
Matt McKillop: Head Men's Basketball Coach
"At Davidson, we talk about developing the whole person — leading with trust, commitment and care. This trip is about helping our players understand that their voice matters, that their platform can be used to push back against antisemitism and all forms of hate and that their growth and development off the court is just as important as how they improve and perform on the court.
This trip will provide our players and our staff an opportunity to have a hands-on experience of what history can teach us to promote good in our world. It is something that will stick with our program long after seasons and playing days end."
The Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights and the Holocaust introduced the Athletes Against Antisemitism and Discrimination (AAAD) Consortium in July 2023 to engage athletes — both at the student level and beyond — and empower them to use their platform to help raise awareness regarding the Holocaust, antisemitism and other forms of identity-based hate.
Scholar-athletes and staff will participate in site visits and guided discussions that will examine how athletics has been utilized as an instrument of exclusion and oppression, as well as how it can serve as a platform for resistance, equality and moral courage, reinforcing the enduring responsibility of athletes to act as agents of change.
Stacy Gallin: Founding Director, Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights and the Holocaust; Director, Athletes Against Antisemitism and Discrimination
"This trip is about understanding the power of sport to shape values, narratives and lives. The 1936 Berlin Olympics demonstrated how athletic platforms can be manipulated to promote hatred and exclusion, but also how courage and fortitude can challenge injustice. By engaging with this history in Berlin itself, student-athletes gain critical insight into the moral responsibilities that come with visibility, leadership and competition — an experience that aligns directly with the Ferencz Institute and Davidson College's commitment to integrity, inclusivity and the development of ethically grounded leaders."
The men's basketball program took a similar trip to Poland in 2018 with the Ferencz Institute and was guided through Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor, a victim of Josef Mengele's inhumane experiments. For more, check out this article HERE.
Sam Brown: Davidson Junior Guard / Merion Station, Pa.
"This trip provides my teammates and I with a meaningful opportunity to become more educated on what went on during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and it gives perspective to our role as scholar-athletes moving forward. It is a privilege to represent Davidson Basketball, and experiences like this will instill the responsibilities we hold even beyond the court. We try to live by our motto (trust, commitment, and care) in everything we do, and I have no doubt this will be another stepping stone for the team to further that identity."
The trip will coincide with the 90th anniversary of the 1936 Olympic Games, and this announcement comes on International Holocaust Remembrance Day (Jan. 27, 2026), which commemorates the 1945 liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
The Ferencz Institute also organized and facilitated the team's 2018 trip to Auschwitz, and this summer will provide the program with a historically grounded exploration of the intersection between sports, politics and human rights.
At the conclusion of the program, the team is extending the trip to participate in several overseas exhibition games.
Matt McKillop: Head Men's Basketball Coach
"At Davidson, we talk about developing the whole person — leading with trust, commitment and care. This trip is about helping our players understand that their voice matters, that their platform can be used to push back against antisemitism and all forms of hate and that their growth and development off the court is just as important as how they improve and perform on the court.
This trip will provide our players and our staff an opportunity to have a hands-on experience of what history can teach us to promote good in our world. It is something that will stick with our program long after seasons and playing days end."
The Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights and the Holocaust introduced the Athletes Against Antisemitism and Discrimination (AAAD) Consortium in July 2023 to engage athletes — both at the student level and beyond — and empower them to use their platform to help raise awareness regarding the Holocaust, antisemitism and other forms of identity-based hate.
Scholar-athletes and staff will participate in site visits and guided discussions that will examine how athletics has been utilized as an instrument of exclusion and oppression, as well as how it can serve as a platform for resistance, equality and moral courage, reinforcing the enduring responsibility of athletes to act as agents of change.
Stacy Gallin: Founding Director, Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights and the Holocaust; Director, Athletes Against Antisemitism and Discrimination
"This trip is about understanding the power of sport to shape values, narratives and lives. The 1936 Berlin Olympics demonstrated how athletic platforms can be manipulated to promote hatred and exclusion, but also how courage and fortitude can challenge injustice. By engaging with this history in Berlin itself, student-athletes gain critical insight into the moral responsibilities that come with visibility, leadership and competition — an experience that aligns directly with the Ferencz Institute and Davidson College's commitment to integrity, inclusivity and the development of ethically grounded leaders."
The men's basketball program took a similar trip to Poland in 2018 with the Ferencz Institute and was guided through Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor, a victim of Josef Mengele's inhumane experiments. For more, check out this article HERE.
Sam Brown: Davidson Junior Guard / Merion Station, Pa.
"This trip provides my teammates and I with a meaningful opportunity to become more educated on what went on during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and it gives perspective to our role as scholar-athletes moving forward. It is a privilege to represent Davidson Basketball, and experiences like this will instill the responsibilities we hold even beyond the court. We try to live by our motto (trust, commitment, and care) in everything we do, and I have no doubt this will be another stepping stone for the team to further that identity."
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