On Fri. Oct. 21, students kicked off the start of the basketball season in the CU Arena with the annual Midnight Madness event.

Mason Dalbeck, a Hunt Coordinator, said that the Hunt coordinators and cheer coaches worked together to plan Midnight Madness, and their main goal “was to host an event that got everyone involved and primed to support the men’s and women’s basketball teams this season.”

To prepare for the event, Hunt Coordinator Juliann Johnson said that it “was mainly brainstorming different games to play inside and outside” and “the bouncy house and inflatable obstacle course were a must, along with the Shooting Stars game on the inside.”

Max Bo, a senior on the men’s basketball team, said that before the event, “the basketball team prepped by getting hyped in the locker room listening to [their] favorite music.”

All the players on both the women’s and men’s basketball teams were introduced to the audience, and Dalbeck said that the crowd got “pretty electric” and “it was hard to not be energized with the cheer and stunt team tunnel, the strobe lights and the walk-out music.” Dalbeck added that there were about 350-400 students who attended the event, so the gym was filled with spirit.

The first 100 students got free Midnight Madness shirts that glow in the dark, and Johnson said that the most memorable part of the night “was seeing the students’ faces when they walked into the gym and saw how cool it looked with the lights, fog and glowsticks.” Johnson added that “the crowd definitely went craziest for the free T-shirts, raffle prizes and the different games that were played inside.” A few of the prizes included $100 gift cards to Chick-Fil-A, a 40-inch TV and an Apple Watch.

The students were determined to win prizes and points for their Hunt teams. During the game of beanbag musical chairs, the students went crazy to win the free 40-inch TV. 

Along with the fun games, the men’s basketball team showed off their skills in a dunk contest, and Bo said that it was exciting “being able to watch all the amazing dunks done by [his] teammates.” For the dunk contest, there were three judges rating the dunks out of ten points, and Bo said that the judges “were also fantastic, making it such an exciting experience for everyone.” Graduate student Brendan Harrick won the dunk contest.

There were also performances from the cheer/stunt team and the dance team. The spirit teams “have been prepping for weeks,” said Dalbeck. Their performances got the students excited and full of energy.

Now that Midnight Madness was a success, Hunt Coordinator Johnson said, “In this upcoming [basketball] season, students should be excited for a rowdy Flight Club, themed games, free giveaways like T-shirts and The Habit coupons, and Concordia wins.”

Bo added that he is excited to “play in front of the student section” and “the team cannot wait to give the fans a season full of excitement and great basketball.”

For information on upcoming men’s and women’s basketball games, visit https://cuigoldeneagles.com.

 

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