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Student-athletes Ty Clemons (Football), Athena Tomlinson (Women’s Basketball), Bryce Copeland-Del Toro (Men’s Soccer), Janis Espinoza (Softball) – along with athletics administrators Michael Harris and Josh Beekman – will represent the Eagles from June 19-22, with stops in Montgomery, Selma, and Tuskegee, Alabama. This is the fourth annual Unity Tour that includes student-athletes and administrators from each of the league’s 18 member institutions.
Each ACC member institution is invited to send six representatives – four student-athletes and two coaches or staff members – to take part in the 2025 ACC Unity Tour. This immersive educational experience will include visits to historical sites and opportunities to learn from local leaders about history, culture, and community engagement. This year’s tour will stop in Montgomery, Selma, and Tuskegee, Alabama, and will center on the theme: Legacy of Unity: Elevation, Equity, and Empowerment.
This year’s Unity Tour is made possible through the continued support of Ally and Gatorade, two of the ACC’s official sponsors who have demonstrated a commitment to empowering communities and fostering inclusion. The Capital One Orange Bowl, a longstanding partner in this initiative, once again joins the ACC in championing this cause. To kick off the tour, Doris Crenshaw and Sheyann Webb-Christburg – both prominent figures in the Civil Rights Movement – will address the group at the Orange Bowl Welcome Event.
Among the tour’s highlights this year:
- Visit to Tuskegee University
- Tour of the Tuskegee Airmen Museum
- 60th Anniversary of the March from Selma to Montgomery
- Community Engagement Project – Collecting School Supplies at First Baptist Church in Selma
- Memorial Walk across Edmund Pettus Bridge
- Visit the National Memorial for Peace & Justice Museum
- Visit the Legacy Museum
The ACC Unity Tour began in 2022 when ACC student-athletes and administrators embarked on an immersive education journey to Selma and Montgomery. In 2023, the tour continued in Washington, D.C., where participants visited key civil rights landmarks and joined in commemorating the 50th anniversary of Title IX. The 2024 tour brought the group to Charleston, South Carolina, for an educational experience in “The Holy City.”
This transformative and educational tour is reflective of the ACC’s continued commitment to empowering student-athletes through meaningful, real-world learning opportunities. As a key initiative of ACC UNITE, the Unity Tour provides student-athletes, coaches, and administrators with the opportunity to explore history firsthand, connect with local communities, and participate in immersive educational experiences.
“We are proud to once again provide this meaningful experience that brings our entire membership together,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “We are grateful for the support of our outstanding partners – Ally, Gatorade, and the Capital One Orange Bowl – who continue to support our student-athletes, administrators, schools and conference at the highest level.”
ACC Unity Statement
“We, the ACC, are committed to seeing each other as equals and treating each other with respect and dignity at all times; recognizing that our differences don’t divide us, but they make us stronger.”
