New-look events provide fans excitement on the hardwood

Crisler Arena has become much livelier this year and much of this can be attributed to the Maize Ragers and the high level of entertainment that is provided to fans during the game's breaks.

Going to a men's basketball game at Crisler Arena, you could get a free T-shirt, catch another one in the crowd, have your seats moved to the first row and win a gift certificate to the M-Den. And that's just in the first half. Granted this sequence

DHANI JONES/Daily The cheerleaders are not the only attraction at the basketball games anymore.

of events would take quite a stroke of luck on your part, but it's possible.

The man behind these contest and events is the new Director of Marketing Tom Brooks, who sets up what he calls "basically the whole game entertainment package."

"One of my big pushes here with Michigan is to increase and try to improve our overall game-day atmosphere. The venue falls into play there in addition to the entertainment, not only half-time but all of the TV timeouts," Brooks said.

Brooks has set up a series of contests for the first three television timeouts in the first half to keep the intensity high during stoppage of play. For the first timeout, two fans from the top row are moved down to front-row seats courtesy of Staples - at these seats, you might even be able to hear what Bobby Knight says to the officials.

During the second timeout, 25 Michigan basketball T-shirts are thrown into the crowd by cheerleaders. At first, fans in the lowest seats seemed to get all the attention from the throwers, but now a catapult system, along with cheerleaders coming into the crowd to toss the shirts, has given some of the higher-seated viewers a better chance at the prize.

According to the master plan, during the third timeout, two students are selected to compete in a free throw shooting contest, with the winner snagging a gift certificate to the M-Den. Competition for this contest is hard-fought and fans who don't practice their throws are sure to face the fury of the crowd - the "Crisler Crazies."

In the past, half-time shows at Michigan seemed to be a combination of highs - the Alexis Brothers; lows - country line dancing; and musical chairs (which always seemed to come down to a large, hungry adult and a small child battling for the free pizza). But now, fans can look for a combination of contests and shows throughout the intermission.

Brooks recognizes the importance of half-time to both the team and the fans. "It's really important, you want to keep that spirit up. You don't want to have a lull there because the team coming out of the locker room is going to feed off the crowd."

This year, the half-time show that seemed to strike a chord with fans was the Mascot Classic. The game, which involved mascots from a variety of teams and organizations showed fans that cheering skills and a good jumper do not necessarily go hand in hand. The game included representatives from the Detroit Lions, Elias Brothers and Belle Tire fighting for respect on the hardwood.

The Mascot Classic is just one of many new half-time shows that has captured the interest of fans this year. "We're really striving for variety with basketball and each game will have some type of entertainment either an actual show or a shoot-out or we tried to really tie our students into a number of the contests," Brooks said. "One of the things we're doing with Michigan is striving to bring some of the top national acts to our venue."

Basketball fans can look forward to a few more exciting half-time shows as the regular season winds down. A shoot-out between Michigan and Michigan State fans is scheduled for next week's tussle with the Spartans. Fans can register online at the Michigan Live website (www.mlive.com) if they're interested in embarrassing a few Spartan fans and winning tickets to next year's Michigan-Michigan State football game in East Lansing.

And at the year's final home game vs. Penn State, fans have the chance to win a 1999 Mercury Cougar with a half court shot. Those interested can register for the big shot at the remaining Michigan home basketball games.

So as the season winds down, stop by Crisler for a little b-ball, Maize Rage and quality entertainment - because you never know when Roary the Lion might be in the house.

By Matthew Barrett
Daily Arts Writer

University officials have worked to bring in a variety of half-time acts.

02-04-99