The “Clash of the Classes” basketball game will take place today in Gaither Gym at 6 p.m.
The first game is the freshman v. sophomores, followed by the juniors vs. seniors.
Admission is free and all donations will go to the American Lung Association.
Each class sponsored the event in conjunction with the Student Relations Committee of the 35th Student Senate.
“SRC stands for students reaching common ground, and it was important that we support the classes because we are student relations,” said Monique Gillum, a sophomore political science student from Gainesville and SRC chair.
Gillum said she is excited about the game, and she believes that the freshman team will not play as well as the sophomores.
“I peeked at the freshmen tryouts and I will say that they have some talent, but they don’t have anything on us,” Gillum said.
And Gillum is not the only student excited about the competition.
Marcus Carson, junior class president and coach of the junior class team, said he knows that the juniors will be victorious in the end.
Carson, a junior business administration student from Birmingham, Ala., said he hopes that the junior class will have another win after playing against the senior class.
On the other hand, president of the senior class, Barry Pearson, a senior accounting student from Montgomery, Ala. and coach of the senior class team, said he thinks otherwise.
“The seniors are bringing a strong united front to the game. We feel sorry for the other classes, but somebody has to lose,” Pearson said.
While the juniors and seniors prepare to challenge each other, the real rivalry is between the “So Sophisticated” sophomores and the “Oh So Fly” freshman class.
Freshman class president Gallop Franklin, a freshman pharmacy student from Tallahassee, says the idea for “Clash of the Classes” originally developed with a basketball game between the male dorms Gibbs and Paddyfote. The game then changed into freshman v. sophomores.
“We invited the juniors and seniors into the game in order to help with the cost, and we also wanted to include them so we could try to reach out to the upperclassmen,” Franklin said. “We wanted this game to have the atmosphere of the entire student body.”
The freshman team practices three times a week, and Franklin said they are confident in winning the game. They searched to find the best players for the team.
The search ended once they discovered and recruited freshman Chris Sands, a 6-foot-8, 315 pound “phenomenon,” Franklin said.
“I don’t consider myself the star player, but you know, it is what it is,” Sands said. “I haven’t really seen the other teams, but if we play like we do in practice, then I know we will win.”
Sophomore business administration students RJ Allen and Jeremy Monticure, coaches of the sophomore team, said that the sophomores have their own surprises in store for the freshman team.
“Our speed is what’s going to get them! We are a really fast team, and at the end of the day the freshman team will be so tired that they are going to remember the sophomores,” said Monticure, a Birmingham, Ala., native.
Allen, an Altamonte Springs native, made it clear that the 6-foot-8 ball player recruited by the freshmen does not intimidate him. Asked his predictions of the game, he paused slightly before he answered.
“How can I say this without sounding too cocky? I think it will be a well-played game, but in the end you’ll see the sophomores on top,” Allen said.
“It doesn’t matter who the freshmen bring into the game, one player does not make or break the team.”
In addition to the game, DJ Clean is scheduled to perform and Venom Dance Unit performing at halftime.
There will also be prizes given out during the game, such as free tickets to the after party at Floyds, which is hosted by the freshmen class and House Arrest II.
Contact Alexis S. Blackwell at famuanlifestyles@hotmail.com