The Kent State Athletic Department will host a full day of Halloween fun at the M.A.C. Center and Dix Stadium Saturday.

The Kent State football team plays Buffalo this Saturday, and with the football game being so close to Halloween, the athletic department decided to organize the event to get Kent State fans in the spirit of Halloween.

Kristan Dolan, Director of Marketing and Promotions for Kent State athletics, said the Halloween event has become somewhat of a tradition ever since she started working at Kent State three years ago.

“We usually like to have a Halloween event and do it every year that we have a home game right around Halloween,” Dolan said.

In addition to the Halloween event going on at Dix Stadium, the athletic department will introduce a new Halloween event this year later in the evening called “Hoops ‘n’ Halloween.”

“It’s challenging, but exciting to team these two events up on the same day because they’re both an undertaking all of their own, but we saw it as an opportunity to take advantage of all the fans that would already be there for the football game, a lot of fans that are already thinking about Halloween and thinking about basketball season,” Dolan said.

Dolan said the athletic department decided to “tag team” the football festivities with Hoops ‘n’ Halloween, which will include an open-gym period for fans, a slam dunk contest and special performances by the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Rob Senderoff and Danielle O’Banion, head coaches of the Kent State men’s and women’s basketball teams respectively, will also preview their upcoming seasons during the event as well.

Senderoff, now entering his third season as the men’s head coach, said he hopes the community, as well as Kent State students, will come out and support Kent State basketball during Halloween.

“I know Halloween is a huge weekend here, so this maybe could be something that kicks off the evening for our students where they come here and then go downtown and continue to have a good time.” Senderoff said.

O’Banion, who is coming off her first season as the women’s head coach, said the women’s team is fully committed to gaining on- and off-campus support, so this Saturday will be “a great opportunity to build off that momentum.”

“It’s a great time to be at Kent State all around, but it’s especially a special time for student-athletes and to be a supporter of Kent State athletics,” O’Banion said.

The weekend’s festivities kick off at Dix Stadium prior to the start of the football game at 3:30 p.m. The gates open at 2 p.m., and there will be trick-or-treat around Dix Stadium and in the Family Fun Zone area until 4 p.m.

There will also be a costume parade at halftime, wherein fans will have the opportunity to win a Kent State prize pack for the most creative costume.

After the entertainment at Dix Stadium concludes, the men’s and women’s basketball teams will be at the M.A.C. Center to start the Hoops ‘n’ Halloween event.

Admission is free, and the first 200 fans will also receive a miniature basketball as well.

To kick-start the evening, there will be an open-gym period from 7 to 8 p.m., which will give Kent State fans the opportunity to meet the men’s and women’s basketball teams and trick or treat through both team’s locker rooms and offices.

“It’s a great opportunity for our athletes to connect with the community and connect with the students on a level that that they probably don’t get to obviously when they’re playing games,” Dolan said.

Dolan and Senderoff also revealed there would be a special dance competition between the men’s and women’s basketball teams that will take place along with the costume contest the fans are having.

“It will be entertaining at the very least,” O’Banion said of the performance.

After the season previews, there will be a dunk contest among selected members of the men’s team, which will be judged by the winners of the costume contest.

“I appreciate the athletic department putting something like this together for both basketball teams because it makes it even more real that it’s basketball season,” O’Banion said.

Contact Richie Mulhall at [email protected].