ASI Athletics Department and Student Health & Services organized the first Cougar Madness event on Oct. 20, in the brand new Sports Center.

Cougar Madness introduced the student body to the Sports Center and the pep rally for the 2016-17 Men’s and Women’s basketball teams.

Carlos Bernal, who works at the Sports Center, helped set up the event and said, “It was a great experience. We just made history by hosting our first cougar madness.”

This “Madness” is a popular event that a lot of universities host throughout the country. University of Kentucky hosts one of the largest Madness events and musician Drake, usually makes a celebrity appearance.

During the pre-show, Blu Cru gave out free t-shirts to the first 100 people and served free pizza for those who arrived early. The main event had live music by SCRYM and emceed by Brad Kramer.

Kramer started the event and began teaching the attendees a new chant so students could cheer on the teams during sporting events. Along with that, the cheer team started throwing out free items to those in the crowd.

Two random people were picked out of the audience to play a game to see who can make a basket first after spinning and then putting on a whole basketball uniform. After, the half-court shot giveaway took place and Louis Adamsel got the chance to make shots. He didn’t score but the crowd cheered nonetheless.

The crowd were treated to a show by the school’s new cheer team and dance team. Right after, the basketball teams came out and the crowd cheered.

The individuals were introduced, starting with the women’s basketball team, then the men’s. They both did a shoot-around and had a half-court shooting contest against each other. Each team had a guest from the crowd helping them.

After that, the men’s team put on a Slam Dunk Contest where a few players, Joe Boyd, Ethan Alvano and Dayton Boddie put their skills on display. The crowd got behind every dunk, whether it was an alley-oop by Joe Boyd or Ethan Alvano dunking over one of his teammates.

Throughout the event, the crowd received free food and items, ranging from tacos, hats, shirts and portable chargers.

When asked about the turnout, Bernal said, “It was great to see the students come out and support and hopefully it’s the same type of energy at all our home games. So all the Cougars should come support our schools teams.”

Student Emry Yecpot said, “It was a great experience, seeing the teams for the first time, but it was also really cool to see all the students come together to support our athletics.”

If students want to support both teams, the men’s first home game is Nov. 15, against University of Redlands. The women’s team plays on Nov. 11, against Cal Baptist.