Bye Bye Maryland! Go Tigers!

It looks like the opening game really woke the Tigers up!

They came out hot today as the Sprint Center was a lot more lively than it was on Thursday. Maybe the later game helped them out or maybe it was the great TRUE BLUE Tiger crowd that was seemingly much more awake than it was on Thursday, but the Tigers took care of business today! 

The Alumni Association had a great turnout at the Pep Rally this morning and we counted over 600 fans in attendance on Thursday and close to 800 great fans were there this afternoon. Having the game on a Saturday afternoon rather than midday on a Thursday seemed to really help get more Tiger fans out to the pep rally and the game. Our Tigers really know how to respond to a challenge! It's on to the Sweet 16 and Glendale, AZ! The Alumni Association will be on hand there as well to hand out Coach Cal masks, various other goodies, and help celebrate the Tigers run through the tournament with our fans!!

Remember to join the Alumni Association, since we couldn't do all of these great pep rallies and watch parties without our great members! You can join now by visiting HERE! 

Our pep rally today was another great time at the KC live venue across from the Sprint Center. We'll try to get some pictures up on the blog soon. The parties and crowds just keep getting bigger and bigger! We have some great alumni that make the extra effort to travel and support the team and it really helps show the awesome level of support that the U of M has around the nation! If you didnt get a Coach Cal mask at the pep rally or off of our website yet, then you need to visit http://www.memphis.edu/alumni/tournament/marchmadness.php as soon as possible to get yours today! Don't forget to mail in your Coach Cal mask photos to win some great prizes, including a signed Coach Calipari basketball.

Check back early and often to see the latest pictures from today and to find out all about what the Alumni Association will be doing for the Sweet 16!

Saturday Pep Rally

The official pep rally for the Tigers game on Saturday will take place at the KC Live venue across from the Sprint Center in Kansas City at 12:00 noon! Be there with the Alumni Association, the Mighty Sound of the South marching band and the U of M Cheerleaders to get everyone ready for the U of M vs Maryland game at 2:20 pm!! 

Pictures from Kansas City

This is the Pep Rally before the game! KC Live is a great location!



The Alumni Association welcomes everyone to come join us on Saturday as well!



Watch out for Coach Cal! He's Everywhere!!



Get your masks at http://www.memphis.edu/alumni/tournament/MarchMadness.php



TRUE BLUE!!


What a great Pep Rally!

Tiger post game press conference and other videos

Here is a random assortment of videos from various news stations around town. The first is a great video of the team press conference after the win today. It's got Roburt Sallie talking about his preparation and his game. Very cool. Some are a day or so old, so they talk about the Cal St. game like it hasnt happened yet, but it's still great to see some clips of what it's like here in Kansas City and there are also some clips of alumni being interviewed or cheering. 

This one is almost half an hour long so make sure you have some time!

This next one is also from before the game but it's got some interviews with some great Tiger Alumni that made the trip to the game!

Tigers WIN tough game against Cal St. Northridge

WOW! There's really nothing like being at a NCAA game! What a crazy game!! The atmosphere in the arena was ELECTRIC! 

The Tigers were expected to cruise through this first round game over Cal St. Northridge but this victory was anything but easy! The Matadors really brought it to us and didn't back down! Thanks to Roburt Sallie we managed to hang in there long enough to finally get things together and close the game out but it was a tense arena for a while there! Sallie brought in 35 huge points though and every time he took a three it seemed to go in. 

The crowd here in Kansas City was great! We had probably 500 people at the pep rally this morning and hundreds more Tiger fans were at the game. We had some great support from our TRUE BLUE sections of the arena and they really helped the team hang in there when times got pretty tough. Thanks to everyone that came out and cheered your Tigers on to victory!!!

Before the game started and at the pep rally, the Alumni Association handed out lots of Coach Calipari masks and people really seemed to love them. We encouraged our fans to put them on for the first few minutes of each half and everyone seemed to get pretty excited about it. At first it was kind of slightly off-putting to see a sea of Coach Cal faces staring back at you from across the arena but the more people that showed up with them the funnier it got. Make sure you stop by to see the Alumni Association before the game on Saturday to pick up your mask so you can be a part of the Coach Cal Craziness! 

We'll be hosting another great pep rally on Saturday so check with this blog early and often to get the latest information about the when and where of the festivities! We'll also be posting some great pictures from this mornings pep rally and some shots of our alumni and fans from the game! Check back soon!

Pre-Game Post

It’s a couple of hours before the game here and it’s been a whirlwind of a morning! We’ve been setting up for the pep rally over at the KC Live venue since before sunrise, or so it feels like! Don’t forget to check out the festivities with the Alumni Association this morning. It all starts with a pre-rally welcome which will be held at 9:30 at the Markers Mark Restaurant & Patio inside the KC Live Block in the Power & Light District across the street from the Sprint Center (1300 Block of Grand Blvd.)

The pep rally will begin at 10 a.m. and will feature the Mighty Sound of the South and the Tiger Cheer & Pom Squads. The Alumni Association will provide soft drinks, donuts, and a cash bar with bloody marys and mimosas!

The set up we’ve got going on at the KC Live venue is great! I’ll be sure to post some pictures soon so that everyone can see the True Blue pep rally and all of our great fans that made it to the party! Time to get back to business as it’s almost time to start the fun! Check back after the game to get some great recap and hopefully some pictures!

Be sure to wear your Blue and Gray today!!!

Coach Cal mask prizes!

The prizes for the Coach Cal mask contest have been announced!

The top 5 winners get a great assortment of Tiger gear! All sorts of great U of M Tiger clothing and accesories will be yours, if you can turn in a great picture!

The best part is that the winner of the whole contest gets an official NCAA basketball autographed by Coach Cal himself!

So make sure you take part in the competition and win some of those prizes!

Just in case you forgot, here's the link to the promotions page....

http://www.memphis.edu/alumni/tournament/MarchMadness.php

Tiger practice is open to public today!

The NCAA has announced open practice times for the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball First- and Second- Rounds at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., hosted by the Big 12 Conference. Practice sessions are open to the public and admission is free. Guests are required to stop by Sprint Center Box Office to obtain a complimentary ticket for entry. Groups of 20 or more may reserve free tickets by contacting grouptickets@sprintcenter.com with contact information and # of tickets requested.

Practice Schedule (open to media and general public)

Noon-12:40 p.m. Cal State Northridge

12:45-1:25 p.m. Maryland

1:30-2:10 p.m. Memphis

2:15-2:55 p.m. California

4:25-5:05 p.m. Clemson

5:10-5:50 p.m. Oklahoma

5:55-6:35 p.m. Michigan

6:40-7:20 p.m. Morgan State

Coach Cal masks!

Where in the world is Coach Cal?? That's what the Alumni Association wants to know and you can help!

We want to see Coach Calipari in your neighborhood.Click here for a Coach Cal face mask cut-out, print it out and bling it up! Remember, no two tigers have identical stripes, so be creative. Take a picture and turn it in to win!

Make sure your picture is a jpeg image, smaller than 287KB, and e-mail it, along with your location, phone number and names and ages of people in the picture, to alumniassociation@memphis.edu.  Pictures may be viewed by clicking here and winners will be announced in mid-April.  The deadline is midnight on Monday, April 6. 

The picture below is a preview image of the mask. Click on it to go to a large PDF file and print it off! 

 

                                                             

Pep Rally info!

The University of Memphis Alumni Association has a pre-game pep rally scheduled for Thursday morning. A pre-rally welcome will be held at 9:30 at the Markers Mark Restaurant & Patio inside the KC Live Block (pictured below) in the Power & Light District across the street from the Sprint Center (1300 Block of Grand Blvd.)

The pep rally will begin at 10 a.m. and will feature the Mighty Sound of the South and the Tiger Cheer & Pom Squads. The Alumni Association will provide soft drinks, donuts, and a cash bar with bloody marys and mimosas. 

The NCAA First Round game between Memphis and Cal State-Northridge will tip at 11:25 p.m. (CT) in the Sprint Center, which is right across the street from the Pep Rally venue.”

Also, tune in to FM100 in Memphis tomorrow morning at 9:15 AM to listen to Tammy Hedges, Executive Director of the Alumni Association, as she discusses upcoming pep rally activities and official U of M NCAA parties and plans for the Tigers! She will be on there several more times this week so tune in frequently!

 

TRUE BLUE Watch Parties!

Brookhaven Pub & Grill was TRUE BLUE on Selection Sunday! Thanks to everyone that showed up to watch as the Tigers got a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The bar was packed with fans eager to see where the team landed and the atmosphere was great! Make sure to keep Brookhaven in mind as your watch party spot in East Memphis throughout the NCAA tournament. It is one of the official Alumni Association watch party locations and will definitely be packed with some great Tiger fans!

Listed below are all of the Memphis Area Alumni Association watch party locations and you can CLICK HERE to see the entire list of watch parties, both local and national.

Memphis-Area Watch Parties

Arlington Game Time Sports 11695 Highway 70, Ste. 110, Arlington, TN Bartlett East End Grill 7547 Stage Road/Highway 64, Memphis, TN Collierville Johnny Brusco's 225 New Byhalia Road, Collierville, TN Cordova T.J. Mulligan's 8071 Trinity Road, Cordova, TN Downtown Red Rooster 140 Lt. George W. Lee Avenue, Memphis, TN East Memphis Brookhaven Pub 695 West Brookhaven Circle, Memphis, TN Germantown East End Grill 7956 Winchester Rd, Germantown, TN Olive Branch, MS John Daly's 7501 Goodman Road, Olive Branch, MS Millington Chili's 8526 Highway 51 N, Millington, TN If you are not yet a member of the U of M Alumni Association and would like more information about joining, please go to http://memphis.edu/alumni or call 901/678-ALUM.