Emporia State Family Day on tap this weekend

The Hornet football team will be returning to Jones Field at Welch Stadium this weekend (Sept. 12) to open MIAA action on Emporia State's Family Day and there is plenty of activity surrounding the game with #13 Central Missouri.

Things begin early with Emporia Main Street's Great American Market starting at 7 a.m. Fans coming to the football game from the south on K-99 need to be aware that Commercial Street will be closed from Third Ave. to 12th Ave. The market is an annual event featuring booth venders selling antiques, collectibles, vehicles, everything you can think of. This is an all day event with food, fun and music and is sponsored by Emporia Main Street and The Emporia Gazette.

Once fans get on campus a variety of activities lead up to the kick-off. The ESU Departments of Physical Sciences will host an open house beginning at 10 a.m. Among the areas to visit will be the GeoSpatial Analysis Computer Laboratory, the Peterson Planetarium and the Johnston Geology Museum. The GeoSpatial Analysis Computer Laboratory is used for instruction, or for student and faculty research projects supported by NASA or other agencies.

More traditional pre-game festivities begin at around 10 a.m. as the E-Zone, ESU's official student support group, hosts the Black Hole north of the Student Rec Center. Entertainment provided by MIX 103.1FM and the Annual Family Day Pass, Catch and Kick Contest will be featured at the Black Hole. Two-person teams consisting of a current ESU student and their immediate family member will compete for a chance to win a Family Day Game Pack from the ESU Memorial Union Bookstore. The finals will be held at half time of the game on Jones Field at Welch Stadium.

At 11 a.m. the Waters True Value Watering Hole will open at the Milton Tennis Courts. The tailgating without the headache will include entertainment from the KVOE/KFFX Rolling Radio Show. The menu this week features hamburgers and hot dogs. The cost for a single game reservation is $15. The HornetFest Kids Zone will also be at the Milton Tennis Courts with plenty of inflatables and other games. Corky will be on hand giving out tattoos.

Newman Regional Health is the Game Day Sponsor and they will be handing out free promotional items at the entrances to Welch Stadium for the MIAA opener between ESU and #13 Central Missouri. Immediate family members of current ESU students can get general admission tickets for just $4 if they contact the ESU Athletic Ticket Office prior to 5 p.m. on Friday.

Between the first and second quarters, the ESU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will go through the stands asking for spare change to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Last year the ESU SAAC raised over $1300 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with nearly $350 coming during the football spare change drive.

A family tracing its roots back 144 years to the very first class in 1865 of the Kansas State Normal School (now Emporia State University) will be recognized at half-time as the Hornet Heritage family. Claiming the 2009 award, the Spencer-Smith-Brown-Hopper-LeClear family branches out across three centuries of the university’s existence. Three sisters – Martha, Margaret, and Elmira Spencer – were present on Feb. 15, 1865, the first day of class at Kansas State Normal School, under the direction of Lyman B. Kellogg, the college’s first president. The Hornet Heritage award, sponsored by the ESU Alumni Association, annually recognizes a multigenerational family of Hornet alumni and former students.

Following the game, a variety of foods from around the world will be available at the International Food Festival at the Hornet's Nest in the ESU Memorial Union. Serving is set to begin at 4 p.m.

The day will be capped off with the Sixth Annual ESU Football Traditions Barbecue at the Jenkins Ranch north of Emporia. Former and current Hornet players will be on hand with a social hour beginning at 5 p.m. with the barbecue scheduled to go from 6-11 p.m.

The Hornets are 1-1 on the season. They opened the year with a 48-17 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Jones Field at Welch Stadium on August 27 in front of just over 6,000 fans.

Last Updated September 11, 2009>