Mountaineer fans hope the luck of the Irish will be upon the men’s basketball team as it prepares to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis during the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday, March 17, at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich.

The WVU Alumni Association, the Mountaineer Athletic Club and the WVU Foundation will host a pep rally from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Holiday Inn Select in Auburn Hills , Mich.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature appearances by the Mountaineer, cheerleaders and the WVU Pep Band, as well as limited snacks and a cash bar.

We are looking forward to another exciting run in the NCAA Tournament,said Steve Douglas, president and CEO of the WVU Alumni Association.Alumni are very proud of this team, and we expect a great crowd to be in attendance.

Hundreds of WVU alumni and friends are expected to be on hand for the St. Patrick’s Day tournament game which begins at approximately 2:45 p.m. Friday.

The Motor City Chapter of the WVU Alumni Association also invites alumni and friends to stop by O’Malley’s Pub, also located at the Holiday Inn Select, prior to the game to join fellow Mountaineers in cheering the team on to victory.

The WVU Alumni Association, chartered in 1873, represents more than 165,000 University graduates residing in every county in West Virginia , every state in the union and approximately 60 foreign nations. With nearly 100 registered chapters and constituent groups, the Association’s 26,000 dues-paying members support Homecoming Weekend, the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni and dozens of other social and philanthropic programs. For more information about the WVU Alumni Association, visitwww.wvu.edu/~alumni/.