The most anticipated UMass basketball season in a decade deserves an opening night.
The men’s and women’s basketball programs will host Mullins Madness at 7 p.m. Oct. 20. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the free event open to the public.
Players from both programs will be introduced, and contests and giveaways will be held hosted by a DJ. Two $5,000 scholarships will be randomly given away to students that swipe in with their UMass ID card. The UMass spirit squad will perform.
The contests will include knockout and musical chairs with members of both teams. Each team will play in a scrimmage, and they will both compete in a 3-point contest.
UMass also plans to reveal its new student section and give away T-shirts to the first 500 students.
The season officially kicks off when both the Minutewomen (5 p.m.) and Minutemen (7:30 p.m.) host Central Connecticut State on Nov. 7 in a doubleheader.
The Minutewomen also have an exhibition against Assumption at 2 p.m. Oct. 30. The first chance to see the Minutemen in action is an exhibition against AIC on Nov. 1 (7 p.m.).
MINUTEWOMEN HEADED TO BIG STAGE — The UMass women’s club soccer team is going to nationals.
After an undefeated regular season, the Minutewomen qualified for two elite tournaments — the NIRSA Region I Soccer Regional in Chesterfield, N.J., and the NIRSA National Soccer Tournament in Round Rock, Texas.
The team is now raising funds so that the team can pay its way to both tournaments. Their goal is to raise $5,000. The fundraiser is hosted on UMass Amherst’s website, and can be found at https://minutefund.umass.edu/project/33169.