Let's get ready to rumble |
| Posted by Administrator on Feb 04 2009 at 2:45 PM |
Photo by Cody Riedel
UNK students enjoy the Super Bowl game on a big screen projector Feb.1 at Cushing Coliseum. The Super Bowl Bash gave the students an opportunity to watch the game, eat and win prizes.
By Sara Quisenberry
Antelope Staff
Each year, millions of people turn on their TVs for one of the most highly anticipated events of the year. They stock up their fridge with various foods and drinks and get together with friends to cheer on the team of their choice. The Super Bowl is the biggest day in professional football, and most people plan their Sunday activities around it.
UNK students have plenty of options as to where to watch the big game every year, but this year they had one more option to add to their list.
The UNK Super Bowl Bash kicked off in full swing on Sunday afternoon at Cushing Coliseum. With games, free food, soft drinks and flat screen TVs, UNK students didn't have to look very far for a place to cheer on their pick.
Dr. Cliff Summar, department of health, physical education, recreation, and leisure studies, was the mastermind behind this big event.
"We're always looking for something for the students at UNK to do that steers them away from the influence of alcohol. The Super Bowl is a unique event here in America, and some students from Japan, China or other countries may not be familiar with American football or why it is such a big deal. So we initially wanted to host an event for our foreign students to see why people get so excited for it. Then it evolved into something for all UNK students," Dr. Summar said.
Dr. Summar feels a need to offer more on campus activities to residential and foreign students that promote free entertainment without the influence of alcohol. He pitched the idea to his sports marketing class and to Recreation Supervisor Scot Fransk. The group worked together to brainstorm about how to turn the bash into a successful event.
Chartwells and the Pepsi Co. were asked for donations for the food and drinks, and numerous businesses throughout Kearney were asked to provide prizes for students. Donations were also given in the form of money from some faculty and staff at UNK, and an iPod was purchased for the grand prize of guessing the final score of the game. The group also came up with game ideas to entertain students before and during the football game with prizes to be won after participation.
Briana Duncan, junior public relations major from Wisner, helped with the event and had positive thoughts about the bash.
"When Dr. Summar brought the idea to our sports marketing class, we all thought it was a great idea to give students on and off campus something fun to do for the Super Bowl. So we spent class time coming up with ideas of how to market the event and what steps were needed to make it successful," Duncan said.
After a good turnout and an event-filled evening at Cushing Coliseum, students at UNK can hope to see more fun events like this in the future.
"No doubt there will be more events in the future but it is up to the students too. We hope we can continue giving them something to look forward to," Dr. Summar said.
