MORGANTOWN — A 2018 award-winning attendance promotion is returning Saturday to the WVU Coliseum as the women’s basketball team welcomes any and all people to its game against Oklahoma.
WVU Athletics will celebrate diversity and inclusion at the second “iBelong” game to make anyone who may have ever felt excluded from sporting events feel welcome.
The “iBelong” event begins at 2:45 p.m. and will feature booths with activities, informational sheets and giveaways.
The game tips off at 4 p.m. Admission will be $7 at the door, $5 online, $3 for groups of 10 or more.
“So often we hear that people of a different race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., didn’t know if they should attend a sporting event. We have chosen to use our platform in athletics to engage the community to eliminate these stereotypes and educate the community of the different races, cultures and religions right here in Morgantown,” said Patrick Biondo, director of Basketball Operations and assistant to the head coach. “Our iBelong event brings all of this together.”
In its inaugural year, the iBelong game vs. Baylor won a gold award from the National Association of College Marketing Administrators for best event attendance promotion.
“We’re thrilled with the turnout at last year’s event and hope to see everyone again,” said women’s basketball head coach Mike Carey. “We’re proud to be a part of an event like this, and as someone who’s from West Virginia, I think it’s a great way to showcase the people of this state and this city. It was a great atmosphere in 2018 and I hope we can repeat that for years to come.”
The idea came from the women’s basketball office, which worked in collaboration with the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“We value the beauty of diversity on our campus, on our athletic fields (and) courts and most importantly in our communities,” said Meshea Poore, vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “Here at WVU, we are proud of our student athletes and the iBelong campaign is a big win for our campus. We look forward to people joining us as we cheer on our amazing women’s basketball team.”
WVU Director of Athletics Shane Lyons is also proud of the event, as well as the women’s basketball team.
“I’m proud of Coach Mike Carey and his program’s efforts in working with the university and the community in sponsoring this event,” Lyons said. “It was great to see their ideas come to fruition in the inaugural event last season, and I look forward to this year’s iBelong game against Oklahoma.”
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