Ethan Cox Honored for Philanthropy
It is not always the best player in a given sport that receives the most important award. There are occasions in which certain disciplines in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) award accomplishments and hard work completed outside the playing fields or ice rinks. Ice hockey is one such discipline and one of Colgate’s own has had the distinguished honor of being recognized at the national level. Senior men’s hockey co-captain Ethan Cox was named as the recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which goes to college hockey’s finest citizen, in a ceremony celebrated last Friday at Ford Field in Detroit during the Frozen Four.
The BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey Humanitarian Award does not discriminate by gender or division; it can go to any ice hockey player in the country at the collegiate level. The award, instituted in 1996, recognizes “a player that embraces humanitarian efforts that help out a community, a certain philanthropy, or a cause”. This was the third straight year that Cox had been named a finalist for the award.
“It is a pretty surreal feeling, being recognized as this year’s Hockey Humanitarian recipient,” Cox said. “Gaining recognition for community service is not something that I ever sought to do, but recognition for this award is a statement and reflection on not only me but the entire Colgate community and their commitment to the town
of Hamilton.”
Ever since he arrived at Colgate in the fall of 2006, Cox has been involved with diverse philanthropic causes. That, however, is not something that he took on at Colgate. It has always been a part of him, because his parents insittled in Cox and his siblings a sense of involvement. Thus, a great part of the credit goes to the Cox family from Richmond, British Columbia.
“Philanthropy is something that comes naturally to me and is part of my identity,” Cox said. “Coming to Colgate, I really wanted to step outside the boundaries as to what it meant to be a Colgate Student Athlete and become a part of the Hamilton community. I have always thought that community service is a great way to connect with your local community. Extending me to become a part of this town’s community was logical and came naturally.”
At Colgate, Cox has practiced this philosophy throughout the community. As a first-year, he organized a week-long fundraising event in honor of eight-year-old Miranda Hadlock through the Make a Wish Foundation. During the holiday seasons, Cox has organized canned food drives before Thanksgiving and toy drives before Christmas to help families from Hamilton and the extended Madison county community.
This past season’s drive raised 1,000 pounds of non-perishable food items, 150 toys and $650 in donations from fans over just one weekend. The proceeds went to the Hamilton Food Cupboard and the Interfaith Holiday Council. Throughout his career at Colgate, Cox and the men’s hockey team have raised over $14,000 in cash and donated items for many charities around the country.
In his four years here, Cox also helped raise $25,000 that went towards the American Cancer Society. He was the leader of the “Face Off Against Cancer” campaign during the men’s hockey season, where fans would donate a certain amount of money for each face off won by the Raiders.
In addition to his work with cancer research and the Madison county community, Cox helped raised money towards Multiple Sclerosis by captaining the Colgate “MS Walk” team. The university raised a total of
$5,702, which ranked 29th in the state of New York and second in the Utica area. According to Cox, much of the credit also goes to the people working
behind the scenes.
“I have to thank the entire Colgate Administrative staff, our coaching staff and my teammates for enabling me to put on charity events around and during our hockey games,” Cox said. “More importantly, however, I would like to thank the entire Hamilton community for supporting our team’s endeavors in charity. This recognition speaks wonder to the dedication and sense of awareness that the Hamilton community has to helping one another.”
The senior also offered words of advice towards Colgate student athletes that may want to become involved in philanthropy and are looking for a way to get started.
“Community service is really easy and simple to get involved with,” Cox said. “It is, however, more about applying yourself to a certain cause or committing to a certain process.”
While Cox will be graduating with the rest of the Class of 2010 on May 16, his legacy will live on in the athletics department and in the Colgate community as a whole. He has put the school in the national spotlight in the best possible way. He will move on to future responsibilities, but his philanthropic spirit will remain present and remembered on campus, as there are team members ready to take over carrying his philanthropic torch.
Contact Jaime Heilbron at