Eighties regalia and costumes replaced the normal jerseys and equipment last night at the M.A.C. Center.

Athletes danced in costumes while lip-synching as they performed in the third annual Jock Jams.

Jock Jams consists of 14 Kent State athletic teams performing choreographed routines in the name of charity. The chosen charity is the American Cancer Society. Admission cost $2, and other donations came from the athletes involved and the employees of the Athletic Department.

Jen Kulics, assistant athletic director, was in charge of the event.

“The goal is to put athletes in a different light, but the ultimate goal is, of course, to raise as much money as possible,” Kulics said.

Kulics got the idea for Jock Jams from Central Michigan’s Jock Rock. A panel of judges picks the winner based on creativity, lip synching, originality and time management.

The men’s and women’s golf teams began the event with their own rendition of “Footloose.” Golfers moved to ’80s dance beats like the running man and the sprinkler while donning side ponytails and spandex.

The field hockey team went with a more modern theme. Team members wore “Vote FH” shirts and parodied Napoleon Dynamite’s dance during their routine.

This year’s event had special meaning because two employees are currently battling cancer. Isaac Perkins, one of the judges for the event, is battling cancer along with Mike Drake, who after coaching the football team is now the football academic counselor.

Nearly half the football team came out in Drake’s honor. Forty out of the 85 team members participated in the event. Starting out with a tribute to Ray Charles and a Boyz II Men serenade, the guys busted out a “West Side Story” meets downtown club-style dance off.

The wrestling team came out in spandex shorts and gray T-shirts. Their choice of the song, “Men in Tights,” fit perfectly with their ensembles. Cory Maier, Jermail Porter and Clayton Stark said they only practiced three days for about a half an hour each day.

“At first we were doing it because we had to,” Maier said, “but then it got to be fun.”

This year, the judges panel consisted of Gary Broadbent, executive director of Undergraduate Student Senate; Melissa Johnson, assistant Sports Information director; Beth Lott, clerical specialist; Isaac Perkins, assistant compliance director; Dave Toothaker, assistant to the director in the School of Exercise, Leisure and Sport; and Kathryn Wilson, associate professor of economics and faculty athletics representative.

Contact sports correspondent Marisa Dalessandro at [email protected].