A man suffered a heart attack with 58 seconds remaining in overtime during the Men’s Basketball game against CSUN in Mott Gym Jan. 12.
The man was sitting in the alumni section when he went into cardiac arrest. Surrounding fans picked him up from his seat and brought him down to the side of the court, right behind the Cal Poly bench.
Once they got him down to the court, one man started performing CPR on him as the crowd went silent and in shock.
Both teams carried and placed their bench chairs into a circle onto the middle of the court. Each team separately huddled around with their heads down in disbelief.
After approximately 10 minutes, an ambulance and paramedics arrived at the scene. After using an AED multiple times, the machine gave confirmation that the man was alive and breathing.
As the paramedics carried the man off the court, he put his arm in the air to let everyone know he was OK as the crowd cheered in joy. He was transported to French Hospital.
President Jeffrey Armstrong tweeted his appreciation for “health professionals in the stands” who sprung into action when the fan was in need.
Special thanks to health professionals (fans in the stand), Cal Poly athletic staff, UPD and SLO fire for saving the life of a fan. Proud of our Men’s Basketball team, and CSUN for how they played and reacted professionally during stoppage of play.
— Jeffrey D. Armstrong (@CPPrezArmstrong) January 13, 2019