Springfield, Ohio — The Wittenberg University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will host its first-ever Take a Kid to the Game Day on Saturday, Feb. 14, part of a daylong celebration of basketball and community in Wittenberg's Pam Evans Smith Arena.

Wittenberg's Take a Kid to the Game Day event is scheduled for the men's basketball game against North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Wooster at 7:30 p.m. that day. Children under the age of 18 will be admitted free of charge in the company of a parent or guardian, who will be charged the standard admission price of $8.

Entertainment - aside from a basketball game between two of the top men's basketball programs in NCAA Division III history - will be provided by J.J. Jumper, the official mascot of NCAA basketball. J.J. Jumper will interact with the crowd, give out prizes, perform skits during timeouts, pose for pictures and sign autographs during both the men's game and the women's game against Wooster, which is set for a 3 p.m. tip-off, also in Wittenberg's Pam Evans Smith Arena.

While the evening event caters to the under-18 crowd, the women's game offers a very different special event in the afternoon. The Tigers are hosting their second annual Pink Zone, a program started in 2007 under the name Think Pink that is a global effort to assist in raising breast cancer awareness by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

The annual event pays tribute to former women's basketball head coach, professor and associate director of athletics Pam Evans Smith, for whom the arena in the university's HPER Center was named on Feb. 2, 2008. All gate receipts from each year's Pink Zone game are donated to Wittenberg's Pam Evans Smith Memorial Fund, which has raised more than $75,000 to provide scholarships to deserving female senior students who demonstrate leadership and academic abilities.

In addition, T-shirts will be sold throughout the event, and a breast cancer awareness information table will offer literature. At halftime, a tribute ceremony featuring breast cancer survivors will take place at center court.

Written By: Ryan Maurer

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