Contact:  John Johnson or Andy Frushour 
517.332.5046 or [email protected]
 

EAST LANSING, Mich.  – March 15 – A success in its debut a year ago, the March Magic Hoopfest will entertain basketball fans of all ages on back-to-back weekends in Jenison Field House during the 2010 Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Girls and Boys Basketball Semifinals and Finals at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.

Over 13,000 fans attended the March Magic Hoopfest during the boys Semifinals and Finals a year ago, and with the girls event returning to East Lansing this year, the Hoopfest will be open all three days of those games.

The Hoopfest will again feature the popular Slam Dunk, Three-Point, Around The World, and Free Throw shooting games; plus the Driveway Knockout, and new features in the Rainbow Shot and the Pass For Points game.  The Hoopfest Hall of History will showcase some of the top moments, players, coaches and teams in MHSAA Tournament history; and the Kids Zone and Climbing Wall return.

At Center Court, the Jumpball Jamboree is back for middle school players, and there will be Wheelchair Basketball games as well.

On Saturday each weekend of the Hoopfest, the Learning From The Legends Youth Clinic for kids in grades four through eight returns; featuring coaches provided by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.  A new feature this year will be the preliminary rounds of free throw and three-point shooting competitions for girls and boys, with the top four participants advancing to the finals across the street at the Breslin Center during selected halftimes of MHSAA Final games.

Admission to the March Magic Hoopfest is $2 per person, and fans attending the MHSAA Boys Basketball Semifinals and Finals will be admitted free with their game ticket.   During this week’s Girls Basketball Semifinals and Finals, the Hoopfest will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday (March 18) and Friday (March 19), and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday (March 20).  For the boys event the following weekend, hours on March 25 and 26 will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 27.

Jenison Field House, the site of the Hoopfest, was the site of the MHSAA Boys Basketball finals for 31 years, and also hosted the Girls Basketball Finals for four years.  To find out more general information about the event, visit the March Magic Hoopfest Website at marchmagichoopfest.com.

The March Magic Hoopfest is being conducted in a partnership between the Greater Lansing Sports Authority, a division of the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau; and the MHSAA, with vital support coming from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at Michigan State University.  This is the second year of the Greater Lansing Sports Authority’s three-year commitment to run the event.

The Greater Lansing Sports Authority (GLSA) is a division of the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau.  The GLSA’s  mission is to be the leading voice of sports tourism in the Greater Lansing area and to promote economic growth by attracting a diverse range of sporting events to the region. The GLSA will strive to enhance the quality of life for area residents through the development of local sports and fitness programs for all ages, and to support the continued development and maintenance of safe, high-quality athletic facilities.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,600 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition.  No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools.  Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

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