AU will have its annual Phil Bender event at the game between the Men's Basketball team and Patriot League rival Holy Cross. It will be televised live on DIRECTV at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20.
Phil Bender is an AU school spirit celebration, now in its third year. The event is an occasion to "fill" Bender Arena, and to play on words, the AU students organizing the event chose to name it "Phil Bender." This year, the event is being planned by senior Kristen Parker.
"I really enjoyed the event my first year, so I decided to talk to the athletic department to see if I could help," Parker said. "When I discovered that no one really knew who was planning it, I chose to take it on as my honors capstone."
An honors capstone is a final project that is mandatory for seniors to graduate with honors.
Since Phil Bender raises money for the Eagle Endowment Fund, the event is centered around a community service aspect.
"This year we decided to raise money for Hoop Dreams, which is a scholarship fund sponsored by AU alumni," Parker said.
Once again, "I did Phil Bender" T-shirts will be on sale as an incentive to get students to attend the game. The men's game will be preceded by the women's game against Holy Cross at 5 p.m.
"We will also be having class wars as a way to get people to the game," Parker said. "The class with the most amount of people at the game will be given a monetary prize that will go toward their Senior Class Gift."
The event also promises to offer plenty of raffles and prizes. More detailed information about the event will be released closer to date.
Last year, 2,407 people were in attendance for the match between AU and Lafayette, but many left before the women's game, according to www.aueagles.com.
