By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The inagural Bill Snyder Classic, a Division I women's basketball game between Mizzou and Kansas State played at St. Joseph's Civic Arena, came and went this past Saturday with a terrific reception.
Over 3,500 fans packed into a sold out Civic Arena to watch the Tigers and Wildcats do battle in the first known Division I game of any kind played in St. Joseph's city limits.
Brett Esely, director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission, says both the teams' and fans' experiences were an overall positive.
"Everything had to be perfect for this event," Esely told KFEQ Radio. "There was a lot that went into it. But, once the clock hit 0:00 at the end, I think the folks who were there, the teams, even though there's only one winner, I think it was a really, really good positive experience."
The game saw 13th-ranked Kansas State pull away from Mizzou in an 84-56 victory for the Wildcats - head coached by former Missouri Western women's basketball coach Jeff Mittie. Maryville native Serena Sundell scored 11 points in the win for K-State as well.
This game, which was a regular season matchup, felt like a major event in and of itself, and was named the Bill Snyder Classic. Coach Snyder, a St. Joseph native, was at the arena and honored on the court during Saturday's contest.
Esely says the whole event served as a key opportunity to make a strong impression for the fans, the city and the teams participating.
"You only get one shot to do it the first time," he said. "If we want this to be an annual, we had to knock the first time out of the park. I think fan experience is one thing, but the experience of the teams is another. By all accounts, even hearing what the coaches said on the record in the postgame press conference, we did that."
Esely went onto say that hosting the game was a huge point of pride for not only the city, but for the teams and all of the personnel who participated and helped run it.
"I think it's really neat that St. Joseph was able to serve as a backdrop and those teams were able to go about their business and I think they thought it was a big deal to come here," Esely said. "But, it's only a big deal if you make it a big deal."
"And I think everyone involved in the game, no matter what your role was, treated it that way and that showed to both travel parties."
Esely says he's confident that more Division I games in St. Joseph will be announced in the not-so-distant future. But until such time, he hopes the community can be proud of what it pulled off on Saturday.
"I think it's really cool to have the opportunity to do that here and we can never underestimate that opportunity we were able to provide our community on Saturday evening in downtown."
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.