After a year of eerie stillness, the pent-up Storm is back.
UNC Greensboro will hold its third “Storm The Streets” march to tip off the Spartans men’s basketball season in style on Tuesday, Nov. 9.
Students are invited to join the festivities and the mile-long march from campus to the Greensboro Coliseum for UNCG’s season-opening home game against crosstown rival N.C. A&T.
The Spartans are coming off a 21-9 season in which they reached the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four years. It’s UNCG’s first game under new head coach Mike Jones, who takes over a program that has won at least 20 games five years in a row.
Last year’s team played its games in a bubble because of the coronavirus pandemic, with no fans allowed and no “Storm The Streets” event.
“A spirit march to the Coliseum is just a great way to tip off the college basketball season,” Dacia Ijames, UNCG’s assistant athletics director for marketing, said “This year is unique because it’s the first chance for both our freshmen and sophomores to participate. That’s half our student body who have never attended a home basketball game at the Coliseum. This is a good way to introduce them to the experience.”
Face coverings are required at this year’s festivities, which begin at 4:15 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The first 500 students to check in get a free T-shirt.
Free food and drinks are available while supplies last. Spirit giveaways include LED foam batons with blue-and-gold lights, Spartan foam helmets, beads, bandanas and temporary tattoos.
A Spartan Spirit costume contest will be held at the tailgate party before the march, and first prize is a $25 gift card. To enter, check in at the DJ booth.
The walk to the Coliseum begins at 5:30 p.m., with rolling street closures planned along the route west on Walker Avenue (crossing Josephine Boyd Street) and then a left turn on South Chapman Street straight to the arena.
Provost Debbie Storrs will lead the “Storm The Streets” march along with mascot Spiro, UNCG’s Homecoming royalty and the 20-member Blue Steel drumline.
UNCG trio 1aChord, which reached the semifinals on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent, will sing the national anthem before the game and perform at halftime.
The game tips off at 7 p.m.
The last time students could participate, more than 1,000 turned out for “Storm The Streets” in 2019. UNCG’s win over A&T that night set a single-game school record for student attendance with 2,907 Spartans among the crowd of 8,131 in the Coliseum.
For students who miss the march, there will be shuttles running continuously from Stirling Street in front of the Elliott University Center to the Coliseum from 5:45 p.m. through the end of the game. After the game, all students can ride shuttles back to campus.
“Storm The Streets” is a campus partnership organized by the athletics department, Your First Your (YFY) and Campus Activities and Programs (CAP).
Story by Jeff Mills, University Communications
Photography by Martin W. Kane, University Communications
