Special Olympics names Wingate national champion

Wingate University has been recognized as national champion by Special Olympics North America.

Wingate topped the field of 30 schools that competed during the 2025 Unified College National Championship. The recognition was announced on Tuesday during a live ceremony held over Zoom and co-hosted by ESPN personality Victoria Arlen.

San Diego State University was the runner-up to Wingate, followed by the University of Wisconsin. Other schools in the competition included the University of Nebraska, the University of Florida, the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia.

The competition graded colleges on how well they brought students and Special Olympics athletes together on the field, presented displays of inclusion, and creatively used social media to spread the word about inclusion around campus.

Last fall, Wingate launched Julia's Learning, in which five young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities live in dorms, take classes, and participate in extracurricular activities on campus.

In addition, as part of the annual Day of Giving and Service, for the past three years Wingate has hosted a pair of baseball games featuring clients from Union Diversified Industries in Monroe, all of whom have IDD. Wingate students serve as buddies and fill the stands during the games.

Wingate also graded highly because of several other activities throughout the past year, including a bowling exhibition featuring members of the school's acrobatics & tumbling team, Julia's Learning students and UDI clients; the Wingate softball's team's close work with UDI to create the Union Bulldogs unified softball team; and other partnerships between UDI and Wingate's nursing program, women's basketball team, occupational therapy department, and Collaborative for the Common Good.

"This recognition illustrates the commitment that Wingate University has to the well being of all people, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities," says Michelle Lancaster-Sandlin, executive director for IDD initiatives at Wingate. "These types of activities are just who we are as an organization."

In the competition, schools were given 18 challenges during the Unified College National Championship week, with either 10 or 25 points awarded for each challenge completed, depending on the challenge's difficulty level. All challenges were judged based on Instagram posts made by the schools.

Wingate was one of only seven schools to complete all seven challenges. A panel of judges broke the tie based on creativity, execution, connection to the Special Olympics mission, and school spirit.

Learn more about Julia's Learning.

April 24, 2025