The West Virginia University community is welcomed to help kick off the 2011 fall sports season at the Mountaineer Maniacs tailgate party on Friday (Sept. 2).
The festivities will begin at 5 p.m. in the marching band area of the parking lot beside Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. The event will take the place of the previously announced Fan Fest pep rally, which had been scheduled for 5 p.m. on the Mountainlair Plaza.
The WVU football team and head coach Dana Holgorsen will not attend Friday’s (Sept. 2) celebration due to scheduling conflicts. On Friday, The Mountaineer football team will be busy preparing for its season opener against Marshall.
“The most important thing is for the football team to properly prepare to beat Marshall,” said Mountaineer Maniacs Director Steve Staffileno. “We will cheer them on proudly at Sunday’s game.”
Appearances will be made by the Mountaineer mascot Brock Burwell, men’s soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc, women’s soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, Staffileno and others.
“All of our fall sports here at WVU are extremely successful programs. The women’s team is the defending Big East champions and the men’s team is currently in the top 10,” Staffileno said. “This will be a great opportunity to celebrate the success of our other fall sports teams. We have extremely talented and well-coached teams here at WVU, and they thrive on support from their fellow students and fans.”
At the event, incoming students will have the opportunity to learn some of WVU’s traditions and cheers on football game days from the speakers. A new cheer developed by the Maniacs and Burwell will be introduced and taught, as well. Staffileno and Burwell will also go over many of the Mountaineers’ traditional cheers like the first-down and the “Let’s Go Mountaineers” chants.
“It’s important for all of the students to know and understand our traditions and cheers, especially the new kickoff cheer we are debuting this year,” Staffileno said. “I can’t wait to hear it on game day.”
In addition, Maniacs officials will be handing out t-shirts starting at 5 p.m. in the parking lot near the tailgate. Students must bring their Maniacs wristbands and a valid WVU ID to receive their shirts.
Students may pick up a friend’s Maniacs t-shirt with the friend’s valid WVU ID. T-shirts will not be handed out early.
Those in attendance will receive a variety of exclusive giveaways. Free food and drink will be offered. The event is open to students and the public.
Following the tailgate, fans are encouraged to attend the WVU men’s soccer team’s game against Binghamton at 7:30 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, which is part of the WVU NIKE Classic. Admission is free for WVU students with ID, $5 for adults, $3 for youths 18 and under and seniors; tickets are $2 per person for groups of 10 or more.
“We’ve got to make sure that we fill the stadium and give our team a home-field advantage,” LeBlanc said.
In addition, at Friday’s men’s soccer game, there will be pre-game fireworks and a 50th anniversary of WVU men’s soccer celebration.
“I’m very excited for this Friday’s game, and it’s been a while since we’ve played at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium,” said senior defender Ray Gaddis. “We want to get a result for the alumni and Mountaineer Nation. We’re excited to see everyone there.”
The WVU women’s soccer team plays at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Ohio State to kick off a weekend filled with sporting events. The WVU football team kicks off the season at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday against Marshall at Milan Puskar Stadium. The men’s soccer and women’s soccer teams also play at home doubleheader on Sunday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.
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CONTACT: Matt Wells, Sports Marketing
304.293.3086, Matt.Wells@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.