NorthStar Brings 125 Future Mavericks to Baxter

OMAHA – A group of 125 future Maverick student athletes, and more than 300 of their family members and friends, will get to experience Division I basketball first-hand this weekend at Baxter Arena.

On Saturday, Jan. 28, students from the NorthStar Foundation and their guests will celebrate “NorthStar Night at UNO” by watching the Omaha Mavericks take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

NorthStar is the only, all boys after-school program in Greater Omaha. The program serves fourth-through-10th grade boys from 23 area schools in Northeast Omaha.

The night’s events, which are being sponsored by First National Bank, will begin with students arriving at Baxter at 5:30 p.m. to learn cheers from UNO’s student spirit group, the Maverick Maniacs.

Omaha (11-10, 4-4 in the Summit League) will take on South Dakota State (9-14, 2-6 in the Summit League) beginning at 7 p.m. The first 2,500 fans who attend will receive a free t-shirt.

“Many of the boys are part of a NorthStar basketball team, but very few of them have ever attended an NCAA Division I athletic event live,” NorthStar CEO Scott Hazelrigg explained. “With so many of UNO’s players being Omaha natives, we want to show our students that there is a place for them in the classroom and on the court right here in their backyard.”

During halftime, 20 NorthStar students will get the chance to take their skills to the court to play a game of 5-on-5 basketball.

Members of the men’s basketball team also recently visited NorthStar and had a chance to meet many of the students that will be watching them play.

Last October, a group of about 40 NorthStar students came to Baxter Arena to learn skating tips from UNO hockey players and attended that night’s game against Vermont.

“We are so pleased to have such a great relationship with NorthStar,” UNO Vice Chancellor for Athletics Trev Alberts said. “As Omaha’s team, we continually look for ways to engage with our community and events like this provide great experiences for students who will then hopefully come to UNO and play on one of our teams.”

Members of the media are welcome to attend any part of NorthStar Night at UNO.

Media requests should be directed to Scott Hazelrigg at 402.614.6360 x 201 or scott@northstar360.org.