Danville is rolling out the red carpet this week as it welcomes teams and fans to the NJCAA Division II Men’s National Basketball Tournament. Mayor Scott Eisenhauer says he absolutely loves this week….
”It’s March Madness – Danville, Illinois style. It’s 16 teams from all over the United States converging on Danville seeking a National Championship. We have teams from Arizona this year. We have teams from out on the far east coast. It’s going to be a fantastic tournament,” said Mayor Eisenhauer during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News. ”And we love not only to see the people who come into the community, who obviously are helping our economy, but I love to walk into the gym to see all of the local people who are volunteering.”
The Mayor adds many local businesses and some individuals are helping to make it all possible….
”We have six great sponsors at the Gold Level this year, which is our top level. Meijer – who once again is a Presenting Sponsor, and we couldn’t be more happy than with the partnership that we have with them — and then all of our Green Level Sponsors and our White Level Sponsors,” said the Mayor. ”Those are the businesses that step up and financially support the tournament. There’s a lot of expense in putting this tournament together – expenses that we have to cover that aren’t covered by the NJCAA. And were it not for those businesses willing to step-up and sponsor (it) there’s no way that we would be able to financially support the tournament.”
Mayor Eisenhauer adds the community support for the National Tournament is key to keeping it here….
”The community outpouring in support of this tournament is completely unmatched,” says the Mayor. ”That’s the reason we’ve been able to host this tournament now for its 25th time is because the community supports it, and the people who come here to enjoy the tournament see that community support, feel that community support and then go back to the NJCAA and back to their communities and talk about what a tremendous experience they had here in Danville.”
This is the 25th year for Danville Area Community College to host the tournament, and is the 33rd year for the tournament. The games begin on Tuesday and run through Saturday at the Mary Miller Gymnasium at Danville Area Community College.
[In the photo above Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer (on right) is with Tournament Director Dick Shockey. There are also several other co-directors who help stage the event. Note: You can click on the photo to enlarge it.]
