Kudos to the athletic department for last night

[historybill]

I went, and it was a pretty cool scene at Hawkins Field last night.

The best part was seeing kids get to run and play on the baseball diamond.

Vanderbilt doesn't have to open the gate and do that, but they did, and I appreciate it.

[DS2001]

Ditto to what Historybill wrote. Even though we lost the game, I was heartened by seeing all the kids playing games on the infield and the games that were setup down the right field line. Sitting in the dugout. The cheerleaders were there, Mr. C was mugging for pictures, There were giveaways and door prizes. Concessions were $1.00.
I spoke with a marketing person who said Malcom Turner wants to do more "Community" events to get more fans on Campus. Those kids are the future of the VU fanbase. What better way to get them interested than to open up the athletic facilities for some fun and games. Most appreciated. I`ll be there again tonight.

[admin]

This is great to hear. I assume they had the jumotron showing the game.

[Haptown]

Getting ready to head that way in just a few minutes. The kids were having a blast, and some were running around the whole time. Many brought baseball glove and played catch, or played catch as well as 4-5 y/o can play catch.

The free food for the early arrivals was from Moe's and white t-shirts with the VandyBoys logo were given away.

[EagleDore]

This is good to hear and a cool development. It will make a lot of postive memories and stories and bring good will to the school. Nicely done!

[DS2001]

Great turnout for the celebration at the Indoor practice facility on Thursday afternoon. I think the players were a little taken aback by the size of the crowds yesterday. It looked like Nick Zeppos was basking in the glow of one of his last official acts as VU`s Chancellor. Governor Bill Lee made some nice remarks about how both of his parents attended VU and he`s been around Vandy sports most of his life as has Mayor Briley. AD Malcom Turner thanked the players for representing the University in such fine fashion. As usual, Tim Corbin had the perfect remarks, blending his affection for the players, Vanderbilt and the Nashville community.
The line to get autographs was very long, but the players seemed to be relishing their day in the Sun.
Once again, many thanks to the marketing department for all of their efforts this week with the watch parties, and the celebrations yesterday. They went above and beyond to make the fans comfortable and entertained. I saw many of the marketing employees working the concession stands and making sure the kids were entertained. I`ll say this again, the amount of KIDS at all of the activities was impressive. A new generation of Vandy fans is being cultivated through the success of the baseball program.
I sense a new direction from Malcom Turner on how the Athletics department views its relationship with its fanbase. I hope that resonates with other sports like it did this week.

[AuricGoldfinger]

I wished the celebration had been able to be held at a time slightly later than 4:30 so more people could attend. But I also appreciate unlike almost every other team sport, many of the players are already headed off to other places (pro ball, summer leagues, USA national team) almost immediately.