“I just wanted to do something that would get athletes from different teams to realize that ‘I’m a dawg, and you’re a dawg’,” said Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president, Kristen Pickens.
This was the relational foundation of the athlete-exclusive craze called Bulldog Blast. Pickens got the idea while at a meeting where representatives from each school in Union’s athletic conference (Gulf South Conference) discussed many different topics concerning each of their athletic departments and how they run them.
“I heard that one of the schools in our conference did something like this,” said Pickens. “But I reworked it to fit our campus and to hopefully make it even more fun for the athletes.”
The premise of Bulldog Blast is that an athlete pays $5 to participate and $8 to participate and pick their “target.” Once the entry fee has been paid, they are either assigned or pick their target. It is the athlete’s goal to spray the target with water and eliminate him or her from the game.
“We started out with 85 contestants, and I think we are down to about 12 now,” said Pickens.
Athletes have been spotted chasing each other, spraying coaches and even hunting down the athletic director, Tommy Sadler, on “Tommy Tuesdays” to douse him for extra points. The team with the most points (most people sprayed) wins the competition. Although there may be a winner of Bulldog Blast in the end, the overall event benefitted each athlete and coach that participated in it. Not only that, but the proceeds (over $300) of Bulldog Blast go to Neverthirst, an organization that builds wells for underprivileged families.
Pickens took great care in wanting to give the athletes an event that would get teams to intermingle and get to know one another.
When asked about the ultimate goal of Bulldog Blast, Pickens said, “I wanted to bring something to campus that would help bring the teams together and make them feel more a part of Union as a whole.”
That it did. Senior women’s soccer player Brooke Watson had a great experience with the event.
“I think Kristen [Pickens] did a great job putting it together,” Watson said. “It was so fun and exciting, and I got to know some people I had never really met because of it.”
Pickens has also received encouraging feedback. Some athletes even stated they have met more athletes from other teams throughout this short time than they have in their time here at Union. It seems as if athletes, and even coaches, are beginning to realize that it is indeed true that each of them, no matter the sport, are “dawgs.” That is not just for athletes, but the entire student body.
Make sure to come out and support each team. There will be quite a few sporting events coming up this week and weekend due to Family Weekend, so stay tuned!