By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The confetti has fallen, the trophy has been hoisted and the curtain has drawn on another NCAA Division II women’s basketball Elite Eight hosted by the St. Joseph Sports Commission and Missouri Western State University.
This was the sixth time ever that this event was in St. Joseph - all of them since 2003. It was also the first time since 2011 that the city got to host the DII women’s national title game.
Brett Esely, director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission and director of the tournament, says getting to host the title game this year, unlike last year, made it that much more special.
The title game was in Dallas last year as part of the NCAA's commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX.
"To see that in Civic Arena and to see how happy people are around that, that happiness spreads to a lot of people," Esely told KFEQ Radio. "And it spreads to the folks who put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make it a great championship week."
Esely says about 2,200 people were in attendance last Friday night when Minnesota State defeated Texas Woman’s University 89-73 at Civic Arena.
"If you were in the building Friday night, and a lot of people were, you saw an experience that I don't think you'll forget anytime soon."
Eight teams from eight different states qualified, and that spanned literally coast-to-coast, from California to New York. As the week went on, fans of the winning teams stuck around, making local eateries and establishments their gathering spots.
Esely says the fans from Ferris State University, for example, were often seen at Geneo's Pizza downtown before games.
"That's just one example of folks saying, 'Hey, I saw this travel party out at this restaurant or this place,'" he said. "I think we measure these championships and their success by a number of different things. But, we love to talk about economic impact."
"We don't have those numbers back yet, but I think the economic impact of having this event for a full week in St. Joseph is certainly a plus."
Another highlight from the week was teams going to area high schools for team welcome events.
The Texas Woman’s team went to Mid-Buchanan High School where they made an instant connection with young girls and athletes in 3rd-8th grade.
In return, those young fans showed out in full force to support Texas Woman’s all week.
"It starts with the leadership at the school," Esely said. "(Texas Woman's) embraced that and that's what community engagement is all about and that's what the beauty of Division II athletics is all about. You have that grassroots effort to get out and engage and teach and be role models for the students of tomorrow."
With the Elite 8 now in the rearview, Esely and the Sports Commission look ahead to future events, which includes the unveiling of the next St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame Class on May 16.
"We'll make that public on the 16th," he said. "That gives the selection committee an opportunity to review the candidates, select the class. From there, we'll notify the class. We want them to know before it goes public. Then, we're shooting to release the 2024 Hall of Fame Class on May 16th."
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is slated for Sunday, August 25.
Another big event is the second St. Joseph Marathon, set for Saturday, September 28. Sign up for that race has been open on the Sports Commission's website since January.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.