Northwestern staffers past and current are helping stage the SLC Tournament at the Merrell Center in Katy.
We just finished watching yet another offbeat halftime contest staged, in part, by SLC administrative intern Chelsea Orton. Chelsea was a graduate assistant soccer coach at Northwestern each of the two previous years, helping NSU reach the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
It wasn't with the help of costumed mascots, or, as was just the case, with a UTSA student fan wearing body paint, boots, a cowboy hat, orange boxer shorts and a silly grin. Despite appearances, the Roadrunner rep was a pretty hot shot from outside.
Chelsea will sleep well at the end of this event. Hopefully Roadrunner Boy won't crop up in any of her dreams.
Also helping with the event management is current NSU marketing director Ryan Holloway.
Running the official stat program for each game in the tournament is NSU graduate and master's degree owner Erik Cox, who worked in the NSU sports info department as a student and graduate student while he convinced track/cross country star MaryAlyce Walsh to fall for him. They live in Houston with their kids. Erik grimaced at the exit of the Lady Demons from the tournament yesterday.
And the tournament director used to work at Northwestern. SLC associate commissioner Bruce Ludlow was assistant SID in 1993-94, handling publicity for, among other things, the Joskeen Garner-led Lady Demon basketball team and Jim Wells' last Demon baseball team. Bruce, who pitched in the NAIA World Series while at Southern Arkansas, truly defined the term "expert analyst" during the Demon Sports Network radio broadcasts from the NCAA Regionals in Stillwater that year.
In the stands tonight will be the current Lady Demon basketball team. They checked out of the hotel this afternoon and will return home overnight, but they haven't had many chances to see the Demons play, and this one matters most -- at least, hopefully, until tomorrow night's semifinals.
Also on hand is volleyball head coach Brittany Uffelman, who is in town this week recruiting. There's a huge volleyball tournament in Houston each year at this time.
Coach B was, until yesterday, quite the good luck charm for the Lady Demons. Each time coach Jennifer Graf invited her friend to speak to the team pregame, the Lady Demons won and played well -- until yesterday. We'll see if the Coach B Factor can at least retain its regular-season magic next year.
Doug Ireland, SID
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