IHSA Announcements

December 8, 1999

March Madness Celebration Set for Girls Basketball 2000

BLOOMINGTON-NORMAL -- The first March Madness Celebration of Girls Basketball will be held in conjunction with the 2000 IHSA Class A and Class AA Girls State Final Basketball Tournaments.

General plans for the multi-event Celebration were announced in a press conference conducted by the Celebration Steering Committee Wednesday (Dec. 8) at Redbird Arena Center on the campus of Illinois State University. Chairing the committee is former Illinois State Women's Basketball Coach Jill Hutchison, who presided at the press conference.

Among the activities planned to be held as part of the March Madness Celebration are:

1) Celebration Banquets. A pre-tournament banquet, sponsored by State Farm Insurance, will be held each Thursday night preceding the state finals and will serve as a community event to launch each state final tournament. The Class A Banquet will be Feb. 24 and the Class AA Banquet will be March 2. Each begins at 7:00 p.m. Featured speaker for the Class A Banquet is 6-4 forward Rebecca Lobo, a member of the WNBA New York Liberty and the 1995 National Player of the Year in women's college basketball, leading the University of Connecticut to the NCAA title and a 35-0 season. Featured speaker at the Class AA Banquet is 5-10 point guard Cynthia Cooper, a member of the three-time WNBA champion Houston Comets and the two-time league MVP. There will be an autograph session with the respective WNBA stars at the conclusion of each banquet. The banquets, which are open to the public, will honor players and coaches from the competing teams and will be held in the ballroom of the Bone Student Center. Tickets are $15.00 each. They may be purchased at the IHSA Office. Phone VISA or Mastercard credit card orders will be taken by calling the IHSA Office at (309) 663-6377.


Rebecca Lobo		 Cooper's MVP
Cynthia Cooper
2) Talks With the Stars, sponsored by State Farm Insurance. Students will have the opportunity to come to Redbird Arena on Friday morning before each state final to hear the Stars of Women's Basketball talk about what it takes to be successful in life in general and women's athletics in particilar. Rebecca Lobo of the WNBA New York Liberty will talk to the students on Friday, Feb. 25. Cynthia Cooper of the world champion WNBA Houston Comets will talk to the students on Friday, March 3. Each Talk With the Stars will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude by 10:00 a.m.

3) Champions Brunch, sponsored by Country Companies. A brunch for members of past state championship teams will be conducted at the Holiday Inn in Normal each Saturday. The Class A Champions Brunch will be Feb. 26. The Class AA Champions Brunch will be March 4. Each brunch will begin at 10:00 a.m. Brunch tickets for the former champions are priced at $17.00 each and also will include a reserved seat to the respective semifinal session. Those members of past state championship teams who attend the brunch will be honored on the Redbird Arena floor as part of the semifinal games.

4) Interactive Celebration. Each Saturday in Horton Fieldhouse fans of girls basketball will have a chance to display their skills in at least seven different venues. Among the venues scheduled are Pop-a-Shot, Bankshot Basketball, the Fast Break Relay, Three-Point Court, the Free Throw Challenge, Slam Dunk and Knock-Out. In addition, several inflatable games will be operating. The Celebration in the fieldhouse will be open each Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Fans with tickets to the games in Redbird Arena will be admitted to the Celebration in the fieldhouse with their ticket stub. All others will be admitted for $2.00 each. In addition, female ball handlers and shooters will display their skills in both Horton Fieldhouse and Redbird Arena each weekend. In addition, a March Madness Celebration Media Soundstage will be in use throughout the day. Fans visiting the interactive venues will have a chance to become part of the shows originating from it.

5) Country Companies 3-On-3 Tournament. The first 32 girls teams to enter will have a chance to compete each weekend with the champion to be crowned Saturday afternoon. Entry Forms are available at the IHSA Office, on the IHSA Web Site (www.ihsa.org), at the Redbird Arena Office and at the Bloomington-Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau Office. Call the BNCVB Office at (309) 829-1641 for information. The entry fee includes a T-shirt and tickets to the championship game.

6) Community Events. The famous Normal Theater will be open during the community-wide 10-day Celebration, showing movies highlighting women in sports, and basketball in general. Photos of past state championship teams will be on display in various facilities throughout the Bloomington-Normal Community.

Helping to offset the substantial costs of producing the March Madness Celebration will be a number of local and national businesses. Among the major sponsors of the Celebration is State Farm Insurance. Other sponsors presently on board are Country Companies Insurance Group, Nevco Scoreboard Company, and Wilson Team Sports. Hutchison said other sponsors will be announced as their plans are finalized.

None of the operation of the March Madness Celebration could be possible without the Organizing Sponsors: Bloomington-Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Bloomington, Town of Normal and Illinois State University.

"This will be our first Celebration of Girls Basketball and it is great to see so many wonderful events planned to celebrate the tremendous growth in girls basketball in Illinois," said IHSA Executive Director Dave Fry. "Girls basketball is fast becoming the most popular girls spectator sport not only in our state, the state which originated March Madness, but across America. If you're a fan of girls basketball, then Bloomington-Normal is the place to be this year at tournament time."


A 16-member Celebration Steering Committee has been formed to organize and operate the March Madness Celebration. Members include:

Chair: Jill Hutchison, ISU Athletic Dept.

Dr. Brian Barootes, Sports Enhancement Center, Bloomington
Elizabeth Estes-Cooper, WJBC
Barbara Cothern, Illinois Wesleyan University
Wil Davis, ISU Admissions Office
Marta Eynatten, Bloomington, State Farm Insurance
Jeff Fritzen, Normal, Bloomington Offset Printing
Dan Highland, Executive Director, Bloomington-Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau
Stacey Marshall Kern, Illinois State University
Matilda Mossman, Normal Community Schools
Steve Newman, IAA Foundation, Bloomington
Mike Rich, Sports Marketing Manager, Bloomington-Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau
Kay Robbins, Bloomington High School
Sam Van Scoyoc, The Pantagraph, Bloomington

Serving as staff liaison to the Steering Committee from the IHSA Office are Administrative Specialist Jeff Creek and Asst. Executive Director Jim Flynn.

Hutchison said more details regarding all aspects of the Celebration will be announced as they are finalized.