Tragedy, commemoration and support
In the face of tragic loss, the men’s basketball team found a new purpose. More than 40 years later, that legacy continues to support student-athletes.
The sudden death of Mike Moser, beloved member and reigning national scoring leader of the 1974-75 Waterloo Warriors men’s basketball team, brought his teammates together in a way that will be forever remembered.
“When we lost Mike, it gave us more purpose. It really drew everyone in together. We had a commitment to win it for Mike,” says Phil Schlote (MSc ’78), a Faculty of Applied Health Sciences alumnus who played alongside Mike, both with the Warriors and at Kitchener’s Forest Heights Collegiate Institute.
After Mike’s death, the Warriors finished their regular season with 11 straight league victories and another Ontario championship. Then came two decisive victories in the national quarter- and semifinals, setting up a national championship showdown with the University of Manitoba Bisons. The Warriors took the win.