Individual Team Autograph Sessions Are Scheduled
(OMAHA, Neb. – June 13, 2006) – A full day of activities, including a new autograph session format, awaits fans attending this year’s NCAA Men’s College World Series Opening Celebration on June 15, according to Jack Diesing Jr., president of CWS of Omaha, Inc.
“We want people to come out early to Rosenblatt Stadium to enjoy individual team practices and autograph sessions, or to experience all the Fan Fest activities and live concerts going on outside the stadium throughout the day,” Diesing noted. “All of this leads up to our Opening Ceremonies where we welcome the student athletes and their coaches participating in this year’s Series.”
The first team to practice will hold an autograph session from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the stadium’s concourse. “New team autograph sessions will be held at hourly intervals with each session starting at half-past the hour,” Diesing advised. “This is a new format for this popular activity, which attracts more than two thousand fans each year.”
Several activities will be sponsored by NCAA Corporate Champions as part of the College World Series Fan Fest in the southwest parking lot of Rosenblatt Stadium. The Coca-Cola Spirit of Champions interactive area will be open free to the public daily throughout the Series. Specific activities include:
• The Sports Dome, which can be used as a batting cage as well as a lacrosse and golf interactive test of skills.
• The basketball court used for basketball themed contests.
• The Field of Champions, a multi-purpose court used for sports themed contests.
• The Photo Op where fans can get their pictures taken during their Spirit of Champions experience.
• A video game van where fans can play their favorite NCAA video games.
• The prize bottle where fans enter a giant Coke bottle for a chance to win prizes.
Several interactive challenges will also be provided by Cingular from June 15-18 in the CWS Fan Fest area including: a bull pin, motion sensor kiosk, a download station, a “Test Your Strength” competition, video play-by-play, a photo station, video games and other tests of skill.
Cingular will also sponsor appearances by Harold Reynolds, Dave Winfield, Brooks Kieschnick and Lou Brock on Friday through Sunday. The former major league players will appear in the Cingular Tent in the Fan Fest area at the following times:
• Harold Reynolds, June 16, 11 a.m.-noon and June 17, 10:30 a.m.-noon (in the Cingular store).
• Dave Winfield, June 16, 4- 5 p.m., and June 17, 11 a.m.-noon.
• Brooks Kieschnick, June 18, 11 a.m. – noon and 5-6 p.m.
• Lou Brock, June 19, 11 a.m.-noon and 5-6 p.m.
Twelve-ounce cans of VAULT will be sampled at the conclusion of Opening Ceremonies on Thursday, June 15 and between games on Saturday, June 17. And throughout the series, the Pontiac Dealer Tour will provide MCWS lanyards, Xbox units with NCAA games and have new model vehicles on display.
National recording group Yellowcard will headline this year’s free “Road to Omaha” Jam on on June 15, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Canadian, pop-punk band Hedley will open for Yellowcard at 6 p.m.
Opening Ceremonies inside Rosenblatt Stadium will start at 9 p.m. with the Olympic-style introduction of the eight qualifying teams by the NCAA, City of Omaha and College World Series of Omaha, Inc., and an awards presentation by NCAA president Myles Brand. Challenger, the only bald eagle in U.S. history trained to free-fly events, will appear following the team introductions. Challenger was raised from a fallen-nest rescue and has entertained at hundreds of events from the White House to the 1996 Olympics. The evening’s activities will conclude with a fireworks extravaganza.
College World Series of Omaha, Inc. is a non-profit organization and the local organizing committee for the annual NCAA Division I Championship Baseball College World Series. This year’s event gets underway with Opening Ceremonies on June 15 and concludes June 25 or 26 with the final Championship game. For more information, visit www.CWSomaha.com.
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