The Spectrum

Issue date: 2/8/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: The Spectrum/Steve Conoscenti Student government president Jim Daly and Matt Telvi will be at Pack the Pitt. Will you?

There are very few (non-bar related) events on campus that generate the type of excitement that one Saturday in the winter provides here.

Pack the Pitt.

Pack the Pitt has produced memorable moments and record attendance figures for both Sacred Heart basketball and the William H. Pitt Center.

Last season both men and women won over St. Francis (Pa.), and in the process set a record by drawing 1,808 people, including almost 1,100 students.

The origin of Pack the Pitt dates back to the opening of the William H. Pitt Center itself. It has been sponsored by Student Government every year, and has been a doubleheader with the men and women's team.

What most people do not know is where the idea of Pack the Pitt came.

Student Government president Jim Daly, Hazlet, N.J. does.

"Every club has to do a spirit event, and the original idea was that the clubs would do theirs on the same day to make one huge event that the whole school could get behind," said Daly.

There are many giveaways and opportunities for students to have fun, but other than the festivities, there are still also two crucial Northeast Conference games to be played.

The women's team is fighting for the Northeast Conference regular season crown, the #1 seed in the Northeast Conference tournament, and home court advantage throughout the tournament.

Their opponent Saturday is Robert Morris who is 9-2 in conference. Both teams are within striking distance for first place in the league behind Long Island University, and a Pioneer win would secure a tiebreaker over the Colonials after SHU's win in Moon Township, Pa., 72-54 on January 22.

On the men's side, the Pioneers have been in a relative freefall of late. They have lost three of four going into their game versus Quinnipiac tonight.

The men's team opponent Saturday afternoon is Wagner. The Seahawks outlasted SHU on Monday night by 80-76.

SHU sits in a tie for fourth place in the conference. But the Pioneers are just a half game back of Quinnipiac for second place. Wagner sits just a lonely game back of the Pioneers.

The difference between where SHU sits and where Wagner sits is that if the season ended today, the



Pioneers would have a home game in the first round of the conference tournament.

Pack the Pitt is coming at the perfect time for both sides. There will be excitement in the air, and even the unveiling of the mysterious "Big Red."

The attendance record will probably be broken this weekend.

But maybe both men's and women's teams records will be going sky high.

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