The pairing of Midnight Madness and GrooveBoston into one big event is aiming to amp up school spirit on campus, according to Assistant Dean of Students for Students Activities Board Mariel Pagan.
On Oct. 12, the Richie Regan Recreation Center Field House will be transformed into a concert- like atmosphere to accommodate the GrooveBoston Viceral Tour as a part of University Weekend.
Pagan said that on the same night, Midnight Madness will take place just before GrooveBoston at 8:30 p.m., creating one big University event.
The event as a whole was planned by Seton Hall Athletics, the Student Activities Board and the Office of Advancement to encourage Pirate Pride among students, according to Pagan.
"The Midnight Madness paired with GrooveBoston was specifically added to the weekend's event line up to get students excited," Pagan said. "We are really hoping that the energy that will be created at the (event) will carry far beyond that night."
According to Pagan, other universities hold events similar to Midnight Madness to increase support for athletics, so pairing it with an already successful event on campus is a way to get students excited about Seton Hall basketball.
Seton Hall held a Midnight Madness event by itself in 2007.
The goal this time is to reintroduce it back to the students in a way that would be widely attended by combining it with a program students already showed positive feedback toward, Pagan said.
According to the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Promotions Kelly O'Neil, Seton Hall wants to get students excited about basketball with this new approach.
"Our first goal was to bring a form of Midnight Madness back to campus that would encourage most of our students to attend," O'Neil said. "And moving forward we hope to continue to grow our basketball brand and include more basketball-specific entertainment."
O'Neil said it is important to remember that although it is a collaboration of events, it is one big event specifically for University Weekend, not two. He said the addition of Midnight Madness to GrooveBoston is predicted to have a positive result.
SAB member Ricky Haluza said the two events together should create a great experience for students.
"Each event was unique by itself and would each be able to draw a crowd of students," Haluza said. "However, together they could create an experience which Seton Hall students would not be able to get anywhere else."
Mary Marshall can be reached at mary.marshall@student.shu. edu.
