How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
The Bobcat has been immortalized in bobblehead form - and you can get your hands on one for free this weekend.
The athletics department will be giving away mascot bobbleheads to the first 2,000 fans in attendance at the men's and women's basketball doubleheader Sunday at Coles Sports Center, continuing its effort to increase attendance and build a fan base for varsity sports.
The promotional giveaway is sponsored by Coca-Cola, Little Caesars Pizza and the NYU Faculty Senators Council. Whether fans get their bobbleheads on Sunday at Coles or buy them from the Palladium gym Sweat-N-Shop, where they are currently on sale for $15, the bobbleheads are worth it, said Noah LeFevre, assistant director for athletics.
'There are two kinds of bobbleheads out there: the thin, plastic kind and the good, ceramic kind,' LeFevre said. 'These are the good, ceramic kind.'
The doubleheader starts with the men going head-to-head with University Athletic Association rival Washington University in St. Louis Sunday at noon. The women will take on their Wash U. counterparts at 2 p.m.
The athletics department has had a longstanding relationship with the Coca-Cola company, LeFevre said, but understands that a proposal to ban Coke products from campus, which has already been passed by the University Committee on Student Life, may put an end to that partnership.
'We'll comply with the decision, whatever final decision is made,' LeFevre said.
Athletics introduced Little Caesars as a major sponsor at the start of the basketball seasons in November. In addition to sponsoring the bobblehead giveaway, the pizza company also sponsors $10,000 and $1,000 halftime shoot-out contests, as well as pizza party prizes for spirit competitions.
The bobblehead giveaway is the latest in a string of perks the department added this year designed to draw increased crowds after meeting with members of the Sports Business Society, a club comprised mostly of sports management students in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies. Food concession stands were also opened.
So far, the additions seem to have worked. Attendance for men's games has increased from an average of 830 to 1,025 fans per game, while the women's contests have attracted an average of 784 per game this year, compared with 684 last year, LeFevre said.
'We seem to be retaining fans much better than previous years,' he said. 'People who are coming to the games are enjoying them as opposed to coming to a game, having an okay time and we'd never see them again.'
NYU basketball players said they have seen the difference from the court this season and appreciate the department's efforts.
'We see when people are there and when they aren't,' said senior Stephanie Huhn, co-captain of the women's basketball team. 'When we're feeling down, the crowd gives us a boost and when we're doing good, we just feed off them. The promotions have definitely helped drive traffic into the games.
'I think the bobblehead is a great idea,' Huhn said. 'I hope my parents get there early so they can get one for me.'
