In spring 2020, Emily Pape was a high school sophomore in Park Ridge, Illinois, with dreams of playing college basketball. Pandemic restrictions made it impossible for Emily to participate in the usual recruitment process-playing games and getting seen by coaches. Instead of giving up, Emily dug in.
Emily (right) with her younger sister Ally. Ally is a current high school senior committed to Cornell for basketball-meaning the sisters will play together for the Big Red in 2025-2026.
"I decided to focus on what I could control," she says. "And that was how much I trained on my own. I would do basketball workouts in my driveway and in my basement-sometimes alone and sometimes with my sister."
Emily explains that having so much time to focus on her game (she practiced 3-5 hours a day), ended up transforming her game. Her skills and playing improved, and, looking back now, she thinks this time was in many ways a blessing.
During the spring of her junior year, she sent her upcoming game schedule to the Cornell women's basketball coaches and told them about herself, her love for the sport and training regimen, and her interest in pursuing environmental studies. They responded and ultimately offered her a spot on the team.
Fast forward five years and Emily is now playing Division 1 basketball at Cornell. She has founded a new club-Cornell Student Athletes for Sustainability (CSAS). And, she is rallying the entire Big Red community to participate in a fun challenge from March 10 through April 22 (Earth Day). Students, staff, alumni, and friends are invited to join the Cornell team as it competes against 28+ peer institutions in the EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup.
Workouts for coral reefs
Emily's club, Cornell Student Athletes for Sustainability, hosted a Green Game on November 9, 2024 at Lynah Rink, during the men's hockey game. Club members helped divert waste from over 4,000 fans.
This is Cornell's first year participating in the third annual EcoAthletes Collegiate Cup Powered by Protect Where We Play, which is hosted by a nonprofit organization called EcoAthletes. Emily, an official EcoAthletes champion as of July 2024, registered Cornell in the event and has been appointed 'captain' for the university. The Big Red team has already surpassed the participant count of last year's winner, Clemson University. Clemson had 72 participants last year, and Cornell has 100+ participants signed up for this year's competition.
Participation is free, and not only do your workouts benefit your personal health, they also count toward the effort to do greater good and protect endangered reef ecosystems. The project is sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy and Earth Day Network. At the end of the competition, these sponsors convert the winning team's points into dollars-to fund the work of Coral Gardeners, a non-profit group working to rebuild coral reefs.
Starting March 10th, participants track their physical activity on Climategames, an app that gamifies climate action. The greater the participation, the more coral is planted.
Evan Sims '26 proudly wore his CSAS badge as he helped out at the Green Game on November 9.
"We've got more than 100 people registered right now (at the end of February). The second highest team has 20 people registered, so we're ahead of the game right now. I think we're in a good spot," Emily says.
To bring some celebrity vibes to the competition, Emily has also recruited two professional athletes, Brent Suter, a pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, and Napheesa Collier, a forward with the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, to join the Big Red team. Both professionals are also EcoAthletes champs, with a shared passion for the planet and a significant fan base.
Emily invites everyone to sign up for the Cornell team, log their time working out, and earn points. She also invites Big Red participants to share photos of their workouts via Instagram at @cornellsas_
