On Saturday, Feb. 22, the UTM students, faculty and staff took part in a white out game during the basketball double-header.
Students and student organizations who arrived to support the Skyhawks were not disappointed by the action on the court as the women went on to defeat Murray St. 84-67 and the men were defeated by SEMO 77-74 from a half-court buzzer beater.
The event was in conjunction with UTM Faculty Appreciation Night in which faculty were honored and players invited faculty members to take part in game introductions. The first 500 students who swiped their Skyhawk card received a free UTM basketball shirt. Student organizations were encouraged to provide entertainment during halftime and timeouts. Among the festivities were former players for both men and women’s teams honored at halftime of both games. Both Athletic Director Julio Freire and Chancellor Tom Rakes showed their Skyhawk pride by sitting in the student section during both games. Student Housing, Sodexo and other campus and non campus organizations gave away prizes to the loudest fans in attendance.
Both games set attendance records for the season as less than 4,000 fans attended the women’s game and less than 3,000 attended the men’s game.
But I want to know what you think. What did you think about the white out? Should the Athletic Department do more events like the white out?
If there were more student events like the white out, would you attend?
Is there anything the Athletic Department could do to boost student involvement during sporting events?
If you have any comments or suggestions, leave them in the comment section below.
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