With the Bo Campbell Auditorium transformed into a Christmas wonderland with decorated trees and a stage full of presents, representatives from more than 20 athletic organizations came together to distribute gifts to underprivileged children.Led by Mike Mallet, Academic Center for Student-Athletes director, athletes from football, baseball, softball and gymnastics and representatives from the men’s and women’s basketball among others distributed 25 gifts Tuesday night to children selected by the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge. About 14 children were present at the event, and the additional children will be contacted Wednesday to arrange for the delivery of the gifts, Mallet said.”We like to spread the love throughout the community, and [the participants] have done just that,” Mallet said. “You did some things that you didn’t have to do.”Each year, “Christmas with the Tigers” partners with a different Baton Rouge organization, Mallet said. Once the partner is chosen, they are responsible for selecting children and gathering Christmas wish lists.Each child is then partnered with a sports team, who is then responsible for purchasing the gifts on the list. According to Mallet, the teams make every effort to purchase every gift on the list.The holiday celebration is organized through the Champs/Life Skills program in the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes. Each year, the program hosts a golf tournament to provide funding for the majority of Champs programs, including Christmas with the Tigers, Mallet said. “This is something that the kids look forward to [every year] — especially the athletes,” Mallet said. Gifts presented at the program ranged from bicycles to toy cars, and Mallet said larger gift bags with the majority of wish list items waited for each child after the event.- – – -Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]