The Hawks men’s and women’s basketball teams held their annual Hoopfest in Pepsi Arena on Thursday night.

The event consisted of two short scrimmages, multiple three-point contests, several classic games that students participated in, and tons of music, food, and prizes. The first scrimmage was played by the women’s team. After the conclusion of the first scrimmage, the three-point competitions commenced. The classic games followed right after with games like musical chairs. A gift card reward was given to each winner at the end of every game.

Pepsi arena was finally once again filled with family, friends, fans, and fun. For the first time in over 600 days, the men’s and women’s basketball teams were able to hear the roaring screams of fans in the stands.

Every sports team on campus was in attendance for the event. Lance Logsdon, a Hawks baseball player, was one of those student-athletes in attendance.

“It was electric. It has been a long time since we’ve seen Pepsi that way. It’s crazy what a difference fans make. Both Quincy University and the entire town of Quincy really know how to make us students and athletes feel supported,” Logsdon said.

As fans are beginning to relight the energy that consumes Pepsi Arena the Hawks teams were also able to get back the feeling of playing in front of a crowd.

Quincy University Women’s Basketball head coach Kaci Bailey, has not yet competed a season with the Hawks. Bailey is currently in her first semester with Quincy and is participating in a lot of new traditions and events. This Hoopfest was Bailey’s first time experiencing an atmosphere in Pepsi Arena.

“To see the crowd show up and show out like they did for Hoopfest was pretty cool. I know that obviously it was my first one so I thought it was great, but I know in talking to men’s basketball, Coach Hellenthal, said he’s been here six years and it was by far the best one,” Bailey said. “It gets loud which is exciting, it’s kind of a little bit of a sixth man. I tell our ladies all the time that I’m excited about fans being back. I mean they work hard daily and they deserve to be rewarded.”

Quincy University hosted the event to get fans back in Pepsi Arena but also to debut the 2021-2022 basketball rosters. The event gave fans a short preview as to what the season could potentially look like.

The women’s basketball team will take the court for the first time this season against Ursuline College on November 12th. The men’s team will travel to SIUE a week earlier for their first season matchup.