Carroll College men's basketball players have spent part of their summer on their knees with paint rollers, restriping parking lots around Helena as a way to earn money for the program and stay connected to the community during the off-season. Head coach Dan Pearson came up with the idea, and the players — nicknamed the "painting saints" — have been taking on lots across the area.
Father Marc Lenneman, director of the Cathedral of St. Helena, described the arrangement as a win for everyone involved. The cathedral is among the clients the players have worked for. Players staying in Helena over the summer earn money that benefits the program while providing a service that is genuinely needed — parking lot striping is unglamorous work that tends to get deferred — and they are doing it under the Carroll name, which carries weight in this city.
The fundraising effort reflects a broader reality for NAIA programs like Carroll: budgets are tight, and creative approaches to generating revenue and keeping players engaged in the off-season are part of what makes small-college athletics work. Carroll's basketball program has a long tradition in Helena, and the parking lot project has already earned the team some goodwill around town before a single game is played this fall.