From the AD: 3 Ways to Support the Champions
What a whirlwind the past few days have been! I am sure like me, you are still beaming with pride and filled with excitement about what SIUE Basketball accomplished this past weekend in Evansville. The 69-48 victory over SEMO to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament is not just historic for our program, it is an achievement for our University and our community. The success this past season was not just about two games in March. The success was a culminating moment that was built on Head Coach Brian Barone and the program's culture of family, hard work, and success.
Our coaching staff and student-athletes have done an incredible job, and so have you! Our community responded all season long, filling First Community Arena and creating the best homecourt advantage in the OVC. Our community responded again this past weekend in Evansville, bringing the best and loudest fans to the Ford Center!
The season is of course not over, but I am sure like me you are spending time thinking about how much fun this is for all of us and asking questions like, "How do we support the coaches and the team? How do we build on and sustain this success? How do we continue this incredible momentum?"
With that in mind, as we await Selection Sunday, I wanted to share three ways that you can support SIUE Basketball right now!
1. Keep Spreading the Word: Beginning immediately with the ESPN2 postgame interviews and the coverage on SportsCenter, we've enjoyed seeing the significant local, regional, and national media coverage for SIUE Basketball over the past few days. This attention not only helps our program, but it helps our University, our alumni base, and our community.
I have been just as excited to see the grassroots publicity and recognition our team has received from our community of alumni, sponsors, and fans. Opening Facebook and seeing posts, driving by billboards and signs and seeing congratulatory messages, and receiving kind texts and emails about our team has meant a lot to us.
Keep spreading the word and sharing the news as we continue to embrace our role as the Metro East's Division I!
2. Support the '25 Champions in the Big Dance: We welcome you to supporting our OVC Champions and their journey in March Madness with your giving. All donations to this initiative will be directed to the Cougars Champions Fund and will foster an incredible championship experience and allow you to be part of history. You can make your gift online!
- Give $25 – Receive a Team Championship Photo
- Give $250 – Receive a Team Championship Photo and Commemorative Brian Barone Scissors
- Give $2,025 – Receive a Team Championship Photo, Commemorative Brian Barone Scissors, and enjoy dinner with the coaching staff
3. Give to For The E NIL Collective: SIUE Basketball is grateful to have the support and alignment with For The E, a 501c7 NIL Collective that is committed to empowering student-athletes on and off the court.
Recently, an anonymous supporter made a significant commitment to For The E. The supporter is also asking other fans and supporters to step up and join them in the $25K for $25K Challenge. The supporter will match every dollar given to For The E, up to $25,000!
Interested supporters can make contributions on ForTheE.org, via Venmo at @NILForTheE, or by contacting Kyle Anderson (618.660.6826).
Thank you for how you have supported the Cougars this year. Thank you for considering how you can continue to support and join us in building on our momentum. We will see you on Selection Sunday!
Roll Cougs,
Andrew Gavin
Photo by Howard Ash
