The FGCU men’s and women’s basketball teams held a block party on Wednesday, Oct. 30, to get fans excited for the upcoming season at the Recreation Outdoor Courts in North Lake Village.
The kick-off allowed people to claim their home-opener tickets. The men’s basketball home-opener game will be against the St. Bonaventure University Bonnies on Wednesday, Nov. 13 while the women’s home-open will be against former ASUN rival New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders on Sunday, Nov. 17.
The band played “Hey Song” while both the cheerleading team and dance team, known as the E’Gals, performed to get the crowd into school spirit. Later, the teams walked through an inflatable entrance to signify the beginning of the block party.
There were plenty of fun activities at the event.
Prizes could be won throughout the night, including a $75 gift card for Target. Each team put on a 3-point challenge for a selected student to win the gift card.
Tanner Siegall, a first-year student majoring in business management, was selected for the women’s team challenge. He managed to get two out of the three shots in the net, to win the competition.
“I have a friend on the dance team, so we came to support her,” Siegall said. “We’re going to be at the home openers on Nov. 13 and Nov. 17.”
The Dirty Birds had a table set where students could sign up for a membership. There were opportunities for students to receive FGCU goods and merchandise. The highlighted feature was the home-opener tickets for the teams.
The purpose of the event was to introduce both the men’s and women’s basketball teams to the student body. The plan was to create some engagement for the upcoming home games and get more students out to the games to support them.
“It’s a time where they’re able to meet the teams, they’re able to interact with us, and they can spread the word to their friends,” Maddie Antenucci, vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and redshirt senior guard said. “That way, they’re able to know how to claim their tickets, and they can come and support us easily.”
The block party benefits both the athletes and the students who enjoy this sport. It allows for a more personal connection. Students at this event were given flyers and were encouraged to go up to the athletes to get them signed by the teams.
“We want to create a tradition, which is having the block party every year,” Melanie Tavarez, a FGCU Athletics sports marketing student worker, said.
Head coaches of both teams spoke about how thrilled they are to have fans come out and pack Alico Arena for this season. They are proud of the hard work that student-athletes dedicate to their sport and are excited for the upcoming season.
“What I’m looking forward to the most this season is just having fun with it and enjoying my last year with all the girls,” Antenucci said. “We have a really special team filled with a lot of talent, and I’m just excited to see all the things that we can accomplish this year together.”
