Tennessee-Martin racked up a huge off-the-field assist last week when the athletics department and campus community lent a helping hand to the Union University softball team after the campus was ravaged by a tornado.

An F-4 tornado with winds up to 260 mph hit Union, an NAIA school in Jackson, Tennessee, on February 5, destroying 40 percent of the campus' buildings and leaving another 40 percent badly damaged. Nearly 85 percent of the cars on campus were wrecked or totaled, while 51 students were hospitalized.

After climbing unscathed from the rubble, the 14 members of the Union softball team found refuge 52 miles north on the campus of Tennessee-Martin, where first-year Union head softball coach Heather Hall formerly served as a graduate assistant.

The Union contingent was met by Tennessee-Martin Athletics Director Phil Dane and his wife Debbie. Each player received a welcome basket with Gatorade, granola bars, popcorn, toiletries, boxes of Valentine's Day cards and Frisbees, which had been donated by the athletics department, housing staff and the First Baptist Church in Martin.

Hall initially had arranged for her team to stay in a rental house in Dresden, a neighboring town, and she called Tennessee-Martin about a place for her squad to practice. Tennessee-Martin not only offered athletics facilities, but also furnished dorm rooms and access to the dining hall.

"I'm glad that coach Hall felt like she could call on her former co-workers for help when she needed it," said Dane. "We are more than glad to do all we can to help coach Hall and the Union team while they are in need."

Tennessee-Martin and the surrounding community contributed to the outreach effort in other ways, too. Head softball coach Donley Canary and his wife invited the Union team to their home for dinner and gave the players socks and sweatshirts. One business provided indoor training shoes while another provided time for the squad to use its batting cages. The parks and recreation department offered its softball fields for practice.

Union is scheduled to open its season with a double-header at home February 21 against Jackson State Community College. The school's softball and baseball fields were left untouched by the tornado.