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Softball
WORLD'S LARGEST SOFTBALL TAILGATEAwarded 2006-07 Best Single-Game Promotion for an Olympic Sport by the Big Ten Conference• Click here to check out photos from the sixth annual World's Largest Softball Tailgate! • Click here to listen to WPGU visit with assistant coach Katie O'Connell and freshman pitcher Monica Perry during the 2009 tailgate. • Click here for a video about the 2009 tailgate. TAILGATE HISTORY
What started out as an idea to give fans a chance to fire up their grills, pull out their coolers and enjoy their tailgating rituals during the spring has become one of the most popular and beloved spring traditions in the Champaign-Urbana community. The World's Largest Softball Tailgate, now in its fifth year, originated when Associate Athletic Director for Resource Development Shawn Wax and then-Illinois senior Sarah Baumgartner developed a plan to provide fans with an electric atmosphere full of live music, interactive games, face-painting and of course, tons of tailgate food. It also gave the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics a chance to put on a premier event in conjunction with one of its emerging sports - softball. The World's Largest Softball Tailgate came to fruition on April 24, 2004, as a then-record crowd of 756 fans piled into Eichelberger Field to watch the Illini top Big Ten foe Ohio State, 1-0. The results were a rousing success and the idea spawned the development of the annual event.
Since then, the tailgate has continued to grow each season, shattering the attendance record year after year. In fact, from the first tailgate in 2004 to the most recent in 2007, the crowd nearly doubled, setting a new single-game record with 1,445 fans at the fourth annual tailgate. Several members of the Illini community have joined in tailgate festivities throughout the years. Illini head basketball coach Bruce Weber threw out the first pitch of the 2005 tailgate game, while Alice Martin opened the game in 2006. Martin is an important part of the Illini softball family, as she and her husband Rex used their foundation to make a million dollar contribution for the construction of a new press box, locker room, concession stand and restrooms at Eichelberger Field at Martin Stadium. The On-Deck Circle, the supporters of Illini softball, has also played a key role in the event's success since its inception. ATTENDANCE BY THE YEAR2009 - 1,028 HIGHLIGHTS FROM PAST TAILGATESTailgate VI - April 18, 2009Michigan 8, Illinois 2 Tailgate V - May 3, 2008Iowa 5, Illinois 2
Tailgate IV - April 24, 2007DePaul 3, Illinois 2 Tailgate III - May 6, 2006Northwestern 3, Illinois 0 Tailgate II - April 30, 2005Illinois 7, Minnesota 6 Tailgate I - April 24, 2004Illinois 1, Ohio State 0 |
