It’s a great time of the year to be a Florida Gulf Coast Eagles fan. Dunk City is back! Fans were able to check out this year’s men’s and women’s basketball teams for the first time on Friday night at the Dunk City After Dark Midnight Madness event. Click here to other photos.
Hundreds packed the arena to catch the Eagles basketball teams run, jump and soar to the basket in anticipation of another winning season.
This year Lehigh Acres Gazette will be sponsoring a Lehigh Acres night at one the Women’s games, stay tuned to the Lehigh Acres Gazette for details.
The fans at Alico Arena weren’t the only ones who got to take in the action. ESPN-3 streamed the event live from Southwest Florida for the second straight years – an honor handed out to four other teams.
“It’s us, Syracuse, Kansas, Kentucky and UConn. So when you put FGCU in a group of four other tradition-rich programs, I think it speaks to the relevancy of FGCU,” said Jason MacBain, FGCU’s sports information director.
Led by a raucous crowd that helped lead the men’s basketball team to a 14-4 record last season, fans are hoping to see a lot more plays on the way to another NCAA tournament appearance.
“It gets everybody to pay more attention to FGCU athletics, and it’s just a good thing for all of us,” said Karl Smesko, FGCU’s women’s basketball coach.
Players entertained fans with scrimmages, a three-point contest and a slam dunk competition — fitting for a school that is affectionately known as Dunk City.