   
UCA makes it an all-day party for football opener
By MICHAEL ALLEN
LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER
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 The University of Central Arkansas' campus was abuzz the entire day Thursday.
Aside from the controversy surrounding the resignation of President Lu Hardin, the Bears' game day took center stage with a statewide audience. Arkansas' biggest radio station, 103.7 FM The Buzz, hosted three of its biggest shows, "The Show With No Name", "The Zone", and "Drive Time Sports", on site in UCA's student center.
"UCA has been really smart in promoting their product both as an educational institution and an athletic program," radio personality David Bazzel said. "What's happening here at UCA is very exciting. I think that other schools from across the state can watch what UCA is doing and take note."
While students flooded in and out of the student center to see what was going on, simultaneously there was a pep rally and student gatherings taking place at different locations on the campus. The Bears' rivalry game against Henderson State drew the full attention of thousands of football fans, mainly because it was one of two games in the state that one could witness live. There were great numbers of both UCA and Henderson State fans that enjoyed the tailgating festivities.
"With it being a game on Thursday night, it's good for us because we don't have any competition," Teague said. "Our students are here on Thursday's, so we're able to keep them here, and it's the first game of the year for them. They all want to see what it's all about. We've completely sold out. We have a lot of things going on and all of the state's news stations were here covering it live. So we are very excited about that."
There were a hundreds of youngsters that played in the Jump Zone in the south end zone of Estes Stadium. Many of the older youth gathered on UCA's practice field for their own football games, while smoke from several grills covered the area. People walked shoulder to shoulder on Bruce Street. Music, games, and a variety of food and drinks kept everyone in good spirits.
"It's awesome out here," UCA freshman and Fort Smith Northside graduate Kourtney Jackson said. "Everybody knows about this school all over the state and that's why I wanted to come here. The school spirit is just crazy. Everybody just comes together and support the team. There's plenty of Bear Pride."
"Brad Teague is an excellent athletic director and coach (Clint) Conque is a good enough coach that he could be coaching anywhere in the country," Bazzel said. "The football program has always been the flagship sports team at this university. So, usually you're gonna have a team that competes for a conference championship. Yeah, things are good here at UCA."
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