GU Alum Builds Community Through 9 Square in the Air

Published: October 03, 2026

Author: Liz Dowell

When Steve Otey ’99 noticed students separating into the same groups after youth group each week, he wasn’t trying to invent a game.

He was trying to solve a problem. “I was simply trying to solve a problem in my own youth ministry,” Steve said. “The problem was that students were segmented, and I was trying to get everyone involved in the same activity to build community and include everyone.”

Some students grabbed volleyball. Others played knockout or four square. Still others stood on the sidelines.

His solution combined pieces of those familiar games into something new: 9 squares raised into the air, with players working their way toward the coveted center position.

When Steve tested the prototype at a 2009 back-to-school event, the response was immediate. By the end of the night, about 100 students were waiting to play.

Parents joined in, too.

“We literally had to start taking the game apart to get kids [to leave],” Steve recalled.

That experiment became 9 Square in the Air, a company Steve now operates alongside his wife, Sara “Zimmer” Otey ’00.

Today, the game is used by at least 30,000 organizations, with customers in every U.S. state and at least 25 countries. The Oteys estimate roughly four million people play each year.

The path was not one they anticipated as Greenville College students. Steve studied pastoral ministries and spent years in youth and family ministry. Sara studied biology education.

Neither graduated expecting to become an entrepreneur.

Yet Sara sees a direct connection between what they learned at Greenville and the company they eventually built.

“A lot of our experiences at Greenville were beyond just our majors,” she said.

Sara remembers former President Robert E. “Ish” Smith's emphasis on servant leadership and said that philosophy continues to influence how the couple treats employees and customers.

Their liberal arts education also taught them to think critically, keep learning, and approach unfamiliar challenges without being intimidated.

“When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re actually simply a problem solver,” Sara said. “Greenville taught us how to be problem solvers and to better our world.”

For Steve, Greenville also taught him to ask questions rather than simply memorize answers — an approach that proved valuable when an unexpected idea required him to learn about patents, manufacturing, marketing, and business.

The game has since become more than recreation.

Churches have taken it on mission trips, using play to build relationships across language barriers before sharing the gospel. The Oteys have received photos and stories from communities worldwide.

“It’s not just a game. It’s a community builder,” Sara said.

Sixteen years after its first test, Steve recently brought 9 Square in the Air back to the same church patio where it debuted.

Once again, students did not want to stop playing.

Once again, he had to start taking it apart.

For the Oteys, the moment reminded them how far an idea born from one small problem has traveled—and of the value of staying open to wherever God may lead next.

“Stay curious,” Steve advised current Greenville students. “If you keep learning, you’re going to be in a position where the Lord can continue to use you in some really amazing ways.”