“We have the saying at WIU, ‘Once a Leatherneck, Always a Leatherneck,’ and one needs to look no further than the Senior Games to see this motto in real life,” said Tammi Bories, Senior Games coordinator and exercise science professor.
A few of Bories’ former P.E. teacher education and exercise science students – some as far back as 2008 – returned to campus to help with the games, and several other WIU alumni used the Senior Games as an excuse to come back to WIU to meet up with friends and roommates.
“It’s not only about the competition, it’s about getting back together at their alma mater,” she added. “This speaks volumes not only for this annual event, but that Western grads have a real connection to WIU and want to be involved.”
One such alumnus was back on campus for the first time in 40 years to take part in the pickleball competition, and another dozen returned because the games were held at their alma mater. Alumnus James Bragado, who is new to the games – in fact, he didn’t know they existed until he saw the games advertised in the WIU Alumni Programs newsletter, took part in cornhole and the swimming events at the Y. He swam over to the side and called Bories over.
“’Do you see that?’ and pointed over to the bleachers. It was filled with other alumni, his friends, fraternity brothers, and roommates, who were just talking together and there to cheer him and other participants on,” Bories shared. “James and his friends used the Senior Games as a chance to reunite This event is not only important to our alumni, it’s important for our university and its connections with its former students. It’s a homecoming for so many.”
Bragado, a 1979 alumnus, and his friends from WIU, who stay in touch regularly and get together when they can, said he told them about taking part in the 2026 Senior Games, and they said they’d come watch him. To his surprise, they did.
“I didn’t think they’d follow through! But they came to cheer me on,” Bragado said. “We’ll be back next year, and I think a few of them are going to take part. These guys are like brothers to me, we’re close, so we’ll definitely come back for the games. We had a great time.”
Bragado swam the 25 free, 50 free and 500 free at the Senior Games, but he’s been a long-distance swimmer all his life … and that started at Western. One of his instructors, Paul Hutinger, had written a paper about people who swim live longer. Bragado took that to heart and used that as his roadmap.
“I couldn’t study in my dorm, so after I’d study in the library or somewhere, I’d go to Brophy Hall to swim,” he explained. “I’ve been swimming most of my life now.”
