Instagram post highlighting a personal testimony from AIA MU’s president,
Finian Tran
@AIA_MANHATTANU / INSTAGRAM
Joshua Reichard, Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor / Asst. Social Media Editor
With the start of the fall 2026 semester, Manhattan University (MU) welcomed Athletes in Action (AIA), a new club dedicated to building a faith-based community for student-athletes on campus.
According to the nationwide organization’s website, it aims to help athletes find their purpose through faith and use their faith to serve others.
“Athletes experience brokenness both personally and as part of sport-culture,” the website states. “They also have unmatched influence in their communities and around the globe. Since 1966, we have been helping athletes experience the hope and purpose that comes from following Jesus, and equipping them to use their platform to be part of God’s mission in the world to make disciples of all nations.”
In early September, the MU chapter began sharing information about its mission and individual member’s testimonies on its Instagram Account.
“Athletes in Action MU exists to create authentic community while being a resource for athletes wherever they’re at in their faith journey,” one post reads. “There is an abundance of resources to help athletes develop physically, mentally, and socially, but one component lacks – a way for college athletes to develop spiritually. We aim to fill the gap by being a place for athletes to wrestle together with questions about God, life, and sport.”
The Quadrangle spoke to Finian Tran, a junior finance and economics double-major, who plays on the men’s lacrosse team and serves as the president of the club.
“We want to have this club so we can help student athletes and help them think about the intersection of God and sport,” Tran said. “Ultimately, it’s an environment where we can consider how God wants us to use our talents that he’s given us and see how we can steward that to others.”
The Quadrangle also spoke to Nathaniel Alvarez, a junior civil engineering major and member of AIA. The club’s formation on campus was in part inspired by his experience at an AIA summer camp in Colorado.
“I went to a summer camp that Athletes in Action runs in Colorado, and just seeing the impact and support that there was and having so many athletes have this focus at the same time and use that for the good of one another, I think that was super cool.” Alvarez said. “I was talking to friends, just thinking about how we can continue to give athletes a space to think about how to use faith in sport, and tie it together. Over the summer we talked about it, and said, ‘hey, let’s get it going.’”
Since its formation, AIA’s main focus has been establishing Bible study groups across MU’s athletic teams. Tran gave insight into how these groups function.
“We have one to two [members] on certain teams throughout the campus, and we all meet on Sundays and learn how to hold a Bible study, then we see these one to two people per team invite more [teammates] who are curious, into a safe space like a Bible study,” Tran said.
According to Tran, the club’s expansion has been swift, since members are inviting more of their teammates to become involved.
“So now we have about seven or eight team Bible studies going on, with some even having 15 people,” Tran said. “We’re seeing an explosive growth on campus in that sense.”
For Tran, the opportunity to connect with his teammates outside of sports is another benefit of the group.
“I think it’s really interesting when you can talk to your teammates about something other than just sports,” Tran said. “When you can genuinely share how you feel about certain things with your faith.”
Tran added that the benefits of creating a community like this for student-athletes extend beyond campus.
“When you influence athletes, and students, you can influence the neighborhoods that surround [MU] and the communities that are intertwined,” Tran said. “Inviting something like that into a team can be challenging at first, especially if it’s not well received, but overcoming that, you’re really able to see who wants to get out of their shell and be a part of something greater than themselves.”
Students can learn more about the MU chapter of AIA through the club’s Instagram @aia_manhattanu.