More than 1,000 fans braved late afternoon rain storms to welcome the Southern Conference to Birmingham during the inaugural SoCon FanFest Aug. 12 at Â鶹¹û¶³. Â鶹¹û¶³ became the SoCon's 12th member on July 1, and FanFest was billed as an event to welcome Â鶹¹û¶³ to the conference and to introduce the nation's 5th oldest athletics conference to the Birmingham market.
The event, originally scheduled for Â鶹¹û¶³'s Joe Lee Griffin Field, was moved indoors to the Pete Hanna Center, but the rain did not seem to dampen the spirits of fans from Â鶹¹û¶³ and several other SoCon schools who enjoyed a picnic dinner, clowns, games, autographs and photos with players, and performances by the Â鶹¹û¶³ Marching Band and cheerleaders.
Â鶹¹û¶³'s WVSU-FM broadcast a special edition of "Â鶹¹û¶³ Sports Weekly" live from the event and included interviews with SoCon and Â鶹¹û¶³ officials.
"We worried that the rain might hurt the event, but the opposite appears to be true," said Â鶹¹û¶³ athletics director Bob Roller. "Fans came and stayed to enjoy a full evening. We were very pleased."
SoCon officials also expressed pleasure at the successful evening. They plan to make FanFest an annual event rotating among the conference schools.