The Western Washington University men’s and women’s basketball teams will host Viking Madness in Bellingham on Friday, October 18, 2019 starting at 7 p.m., a free event in Carver Gym for WWU students, faculty, staff, community members and visitors to kick off the 2019-20 basketball seasons.
Members of both teams will be on hand to sign autographs on free posters provided by Louis Auto Glass, with several additional activities planned to welcome another hoops season to Carver Gym.
The main event starts at 7 p.m. on WECU Court, with WWU holding its version of Midnight Madness introducing all players on the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The WWU Cheer team, the Viking Band and the WWU Hip-Hop Dance Team will provide entertainment, while the players participate in intrasquad scrimmage, a 3-point shooting contest and a slam dunk contest.
WWU students can also purchase a Viking Territory Pass for the upcoming basketball season and enter a raffle drawing for an Apple Watch and other great prizes.
Admission to the event is free, with free parking available on campus starting at 3 p.m. on Friday for WWU Fall Family Weekend.
The WWU men’s team opens the 2019-20 season Nov. 8-9 hosting UC San Diego, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Simon Fraser to Carver Gym and WECU Court for the GNAC/CCAA Conference Challenge Nov. 8-9. The complete 2019-20 schedule can be downloaded online at WWUVikings.com/MBB. The Vikings return nine letterwinners and five starters (min. 15 starts last season) from last year’s squad, and return a pair of impact senior players (Logan Schilder and Siaan Rojas) that redshirted last season.
The WWU women’s team will open the season with its first four games on the road at the West Region Crossover Classics in Arcata and Azusa, California, before hosting Western Colorado (Nov. 22) and Colorado-Colorado Springs (Nov. 23) in Carver Gym. Western is coming off a 17-13 season in 2018-19, advancing to the semifinal round of the GNAC Championships, and return nearly the entire roster from last season. All five starters are back for the 2019-20 season, with junior guard Dani Iwami added in after missing most of last season with a foot injury.
The event will stream live online via GNAC.tv.