Festivities highlighted Family Weekend victory Saturday
9/26/2010 7:52:00 AM | Football
Huntsville ItemSat Sep 25, 2010, 09:59 PM CDT
At long last, college football has returned to Huntsville.
With plenty of pregame activities at their disposal, fans didn't have a shortage of things to do before the Bearkats' first home game of the season Saturday night as Sam Houston hosted its 26th annual Family Weekend game at Bowers Stadium.
"This was a chance to reset the program with Willie Fritz as the new head coach and we're all pretty excited about having him here," Sam Houston State associate athletic director David Paitson said. "We know we're going to build toward having a really good program, so we wanted to kick it off in style a little bit.
"That was one of the main missions, but also to elevate the event and throw as much at it as we can to give people every reason to come out. That's why we have so many activities like the Texans cheerleaders, the band march and postgame fireworks. It's a pretty good value for $15 general admission seats. We want to kick the season off right and present this event as well as we can."
Among the activities that fans could participate in were viewing and touring Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, courtesy of the U.S. Army, on the intramural field just west of Bowers Stadium. The fly-over and equipment tours were part of the "Hillcrest Ford Heroes" celebration that saluted Walker County veterans and police and fire department emergency service personnel.
"You don't even realize how big it is until you see it up close," said Jacob White, a sophomore at SHSU and got to sit in the Apache's pilot's seat. "It was pretty crowded in there. There were lots of buttons. It was pretty cool, though."
Even the rain falling didn't damper the spirit of tailgaters who filled Bearkat Alley.
"I was kind of surprised to see so many people here," said Erika Wright, who is studying sociology in the graduate program at SHSU. "I almost didn't come by because it was raining but I'm glad I did. It's better when everybody comes out. It's a real good experience and really gives you some Bearkat pride."
Along with plenty of tailgaters setting up canopies, there were plenty of organizations who set up shop and gave away food and water.
"Today went really well," SHSU Student Activities Director Leah Mulligan said. "We went with a fiesta theme so we are handing out some Mexican food. We also had turkey legs and handed out more than 800 in the first 30 minutes.
"We also had our spirit programs put on a performance after the march from the mall."
With more lots available after the north parking lot was repaved during the summer, Mulligan said that every tailgating lot was taken up.
"This is as many lots as we've had. We've got more lots now and we're full," she said.
The activities didn't stop once the game kicked off, though.
During halftime, military veterans and Walker County police, fire department and emergency service personnel were honored as "Hillcrest Ford Heroes" for their service. The helicopters flew over the stadium as the heroes were honored.
Houston Texans cheerleaders were also on hand to sign autographs before the game.
"I think a lot of people are paying attention right now," Paitson added, "so we want to make sure to give them a reason to come back out for Bearkat football games."
The festivities will continue as Sam Houston hosts three more contests at Bowers Stadium this fall. Next up is Homecoming as Southeastern Louisiana visits the Kats on Saturday, October 16 for a 2 p.m. game.
Tickets for Homecoming, the "Bearkats for the Cause" Pink Out game with McNeese Saturday November 5 and the regular season finale with Texas State November 19 are onsale now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets or at the SHSU athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone is 936 294-1729.
