Hispanic Fund Football Classic Sparks Week-Long Celebration

Aug. 21, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma and North Carolina won't meet on the gridiron until 6:50 p.m., Saturday night, but festivities surrounding the Second Annual Hispanic College Fund Football Classic are already underway.

Numerous activities, many of which include a decidedly Hispanic flavor, are scheduled. The week-long celebration concludes when OU hosts North Carolina at Memorial Stadium.

Monday through Wednesday of this week, construction will take place on the world's largest piata at a Norman Regional Airport Hangar. Planet Piata of San Antonio, Texas, is constructing the giant football, which will measure 45 feet long, 10 feet high and 23 feet wide. Plans call for a Guiness Book of World Records certification.

Once completed, the piata, which is being covered by paper donated by the Norman Transcript, will be filled with 300 pounds of candy, courtesy of Lifesavers, and moved to the tennis courts east of Memorial Stadium. Hoisted by a crane, it will then serve as a centerpiece for Saturday's Sooner Fan Fest. Fans will have the opportunity to strike the piata with a wooden stick.

The Sooner Fan Fest, presented by Cox Communications, will be open from 1-6 p.m., Saturday, and is free to the public.. It will feature live entertainment, food, interactive games, radio remotes and live broadcasts and appearances by current and former OU coaches and student-athletes and other special guests.

Entertainment for the first Sooner Fan Fest will be provided by Mariachi Campanas de America, Conjunto Clave, Edgar Cruz, the Everything Goes Dance Group, Capitol Hill Folkloric Dance Group and the Norahua Folkloric Dance Group. There also will be several educational booths dedicated to La Puerta De Oro (flower and piata making).

The HCF Kickoff Event is set for Thursday from 6-9 p.m., at the Walker/Adams Mall. The event is being presented by the Center for Student Life and is a student event. Conjunto Clave will perform from 6-7 p.m., followed by nationally-recognized comedian Rudy Moreno. The night will also feature Salsa, Merengue and Punta dances, food and more.

On Friday, Oklahoma fans are invited to Big Red Rally VIII. The campus Activities Council event is open to the public and begins with a 5:45 p.m. parade prior to the 6:30 rally inside Memorial Stadium.

Bob Barry, Sr., the radio voice of the Sooners, will serve as the master of ceremonies. The rally will feature the OU Pride Marching Pride, the Sooner cheer and pom squads, the Sooner Schooner and special guests President David L. Boren, athletics director Joe Castiglione and an appearance by head coach Bob Stoops and the Sooner football team.

At the game itself, 10,000 sombreros will be distributed in the OU student sectioin. Other activities include HCF representatives serving as team captains for the coin toss, recognition of HCF Outstanding Achievement Award recipients, presentation of HCF scholarship award winners (several of which are OU students), a special halftime show by the OU Pride Marching Band, recognition of Barry Switzer and Keith Jackson for their selection to the College Football Hall of Fame and a post-game trophy presentation honoring both teams and the game's most valuable player.

The series of events are an outgrowth of planning by the OU Athletics Department and the Center for Student Life. Castiglione said, "The goal of the events is to appropriately celebrate Hispanic culture and provide an opportunity for the Hispanic community to share its diverse culture with thousands of people."

The Hispanic College Fund, Inc., is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1993 to develop the next generation of Hispanic business leaders in America by awarding scholarships to deserving Hispanic students.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Hispanic Fund Football Classic Sparks Week-Long Celebration

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