After a year hiatus from California Lutheran University’s event calendar, the official kick off to the 2013-2014 basketball season is back. Midnight Madness is happening on Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. in Gilbert Arena where there will be black lights, games, prizes, performances, a mini basketball tournament and a dance off between the Kingsmen and Regal basketball teams.

“We are excited to bring back the CLU tradition this year,” said Benjamin Melano, a senior student life programming intern. “We wanted to bring this event back because there was a lot of student interest in previous years.

Oct. 25 at midnight officially starts  the Kingsmen and Regals new season.

“This is a good opportunity for both the Kingsmen and Regals basketball teams to be introduced to the CLU community and to signify the start of our season,” said Geoffrey Dains, CLU’s assistant men’s basketball coach.

Before the midnight practice begins, a preliminary two on two tournament with CLU students will take place in the Soiland Recreation Center from 8-9 p.m.  With only 12 spots available, the teams must be co-ed and students have until Oct. 23 to sign up in the student life office. The top two teams in the tournament will then go on to the next round during the Midnight Madness event. During the event, they will be paired with a CLU Kingsmen and Regal co-ed team for a final four on four round. The two student winners will have a chance to win two Disneyland tickets.

In previous years, Midnight Madness has paired up with the CLU Community Service Center to collect cans from students who are entering the event. This year, the CSC will again be asking students to donate either two cans or to bring $2 as their admission into the event. The cans and money will then be donated to FOOD Share in Oxnard, Calif., according to Karen Schomaker, coordinator for the Community Service Center.

“This event is a great way for CLU students to have fun and to give back to their community,” Melano said.

Students will receive a raffle ticket upon entering the event. They have  chances to win prizes, such as Disneyland tickets, an iPad Mini, a new pair of Beats by Dre and CLU gear. In addition to the raffle tickets, the first 200 students to arrive at the event will receive a free glow in the dark 2013-2014 Midnight Madness T-shirt.

During the event, each of the Kingsmen and Regal basketball players will be announced and introduced. Students in the audience will also have the opportunity to participate in a shoot around contest on the basketball court. There will be performances by the CLU dance team and the H2O club.

The CLU cheerleaders will also be there to support the basketball teams and help pump up the crowd to get ready for the official season kick off.

“There was a fall sports kick off this year and typically homecoming weekend revolves around football,” senior guard Collin Knudsen said.  “So this our way to get the CLU aware and excited for basketball’s new season.”

Emily Behrs
Staff Writer
Published Oct. 23, 2013

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, this article incorrectly stated the start time of the event. It has been updated to reflect that the actual Midnight Madness event begins at 10 p.m. The preliminary tournament begins at 8 p.m. and required registration by Oct. 23.