-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
Bronco basketball introduces ‘Fan-Fest’
Archive
Comments
Story
Without a football game on the last weekend of October, the Boise State Athletic Department decided it was a perfect opportunity for its other athletic programs to gain some local face time.
On Thursday, Oct. 26, the men’s and women’s basketball teams will present the first annual “Fan-Fest” in Taco Bell Arena. The event is an introduction to Bronco basketball through 3-point shooting contests, dunk competitions and even some light scrimmaging.
The event is the first annual basketball meet-and-greet at Boise State. The concept of a team introduction night isn’t new to the rest of college basketball, however. Many Universities around the country have similar functions to kick off the hoops season. Some extreme basketball schools even host a “midnight-madness”, which kicks off at midnight of the opening night of practice. According to BSU Men’s Basketball Head Coach Greg Graham, Fan-fest should be a good middle ground for Bronco faithful.
“I think it’s a big plus,” Graham said. “Hopefully the turnout will be good and we can do it every year. I think “Midnight Madness” has kind of run its course. This is something, for me, is a little better for our players and for the fans. It’s not so late. People can bring their kids to it. Hopefully it will turn into an event we do every year and it’ll get bigger and bigger each year.”
Perhaps the biggest attraction of the event is a competition for a big screen television. Fans will be given the chance to compete for the rights to a sports-fans dream TV. It isn’t just fans and students that are excited for Fan-fest though. It seems the Boise State basketball players are equally as excited to compete for season-long bragging rights.
“I know our guys have gotten excited about it,” Graham said. “They’ve seen a lot of (publicity) on it and they’re excited. (We’re) starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. So I think it’s good for them. It’s good for the staff too. We can get out and play and see where we are at.”
Both teams open their preseason schedules next week with home scrimmages. The men host Western Oregon Thursday Nov. 2 and Cascade College Saturday Nov. 4. The women open their season officially on Sunday Nov. 5 when Lewis and Clark State College travels to Taco Bell Arena.
With tough preseason schedules rapidly approaching for both teams, Fan-fest may provide the last light-hearted test for the
Broncos this season.
“I think every time you have an event in between it helps,” Graham said. “I think we’re doing well. We just need to play a little bit. We’ve done enough drilling and working at it.”
Fan-fest kicks off at 7 p.m. in Taco Bell Arena. The event is free of admission and fans of all ages are encouraged to attend.
Jake Garcin
