Last spring, two GW students stood on the University of Dayton Arena floor during the first game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals, under as much pressure as any of the basketball teams and with even more on the line.
Those two students, then-seniors Andy Wilson and Kiara Burrell, were the GW finalists in the A-10 Shootout and had a chance to win $10,000 if they could beat the coed teams from other A-10 schools.
“It was really nerve-wracking shooting in front of 4,000 people,” Wilson said of the experience. “We had a good time. Dayton was great.”
Wilson and Burrell advanced past the first round but lost a Round 2 tiebreaker and watched as the team from St. Bonaventure took home the $10,000. But for everyone else at GW, next week marks the beginning of another opportunity to chase that prize.
For the fourth consecutive year, GW will participate in the A-10 Shootout, which begins on Feb. 17 and culminates on March 13 at the A-10 Tournament in Dayton, Ohio. There are three categories – male, female and coed, all of which consist of teams of two.
The winners for the men’s and women’s categories will receive two US Airways tickets to anywhere in the continental United States, while the coed winners will travel to Dayton for the Shootout championships. All undergraduate and graduate students are eligible, except for varsity basketball players.
An initial qualifying round will be held at GW on Feb. 17 in the Health and Wellness Center, and a final campus round will be held Feb. 18 in the Smith Center to determine the men’s and women’s winners and which coed team will travel to Dayton to compete in the final contest.
Last year, GW’s participation in the contest rose from 42 to 120 teams. Jon Broska, GW assistant director of recreational sports, said it is hard to tell how many people will come out and participate this year, but he expects a turnout similar to last year’s because teams are allowed to sign up the day of the contest.
“We’re really excited about the event this year,” Broska said. “We have a lot of small prizes and food being donated by local sponsors for the first round on the 17th.”
These local sponsors include Tower Records, Manny and Olga’s, TGI Fridays, The Burro and Au Bon Pain.
GMAC, one of the official tour sponsors, will provide the $10,000 grand prize, while other sponsors include Halls Fruit Breezers, New Balance, Pontiac, US Airways and Xbox. Those sponsors will provide several runner-up prizes that last year included plane tickets, running shoes, basketballs and other packages.
Students who want to sign up in advance can visit http://www.atlantic10.org and click on the “A-10 Shootout” link.