Watch parties have been around for decades. They are made for Alumni and fans to come together to watch a live-streamed event at your campus or community center.
For the 2012-13 school year, Murray State is hosting multiple watch party events for alumni and fans to attend.
There are watch parties held for all televised basketball games. Most are held at local pubs or bars where you can socialize and eat while watching the game. When the Racers play at home, the watch parties will be in the CFSB Center Murray Room.
Chadley Gray, Coordinator of Alumni Support Services, has been in charge of getting alumni interested in hosting watch parties for two and a half years. The excitement of the watch parties and alumni interest caused much of his focus to go towards continuing established watch party sites and starting new ones where there is.
“Although the Alumni office’s efforts for this type of program has been long standing, the great success of our basketball program and the increased national exposure caused an explosion of interest of our alumnus to get involved with watch parties,” said Gray.
If alumni or fans are interested in hosting their own watch party for a game in their home town, they can visit Murray State’s Alumni website at www.raceralumni.com, click on “Athletics” and choose the link that says “How to be a watch party host.”
The link explains how to become a host for a watch party and what alumni or fan’s responsibilities are while being a host. If alumni or fans choose to be a host for a game they will receive special credit for the online Racer store.
Elaine Jetton, alumni and host, Elaine Jetton hosted a watch party for the Racers in Louisville, Ky., area for the past few years. Around 75 to 125 fans and alumni showed up to support the Racers and watch the game at the local Molly Malones Irish Pub.
“Our alumni love their Racer basketball team,” Gray said. “Our place in the history of basketball is something our alumni are extremely proud of, as they should be. This has become one of the great traditions of Murray State and we all take great pride in being a part of it.”
If a fan is not interested in hosting their own watch party, but would still like to attend one, they can visit the Murray State Alumni website and click on “Athletics” and choose the link that says “Watch Party Sites” instead. The site shows a list of locations and what game is being televised.
Story by Collette Anderson, Contributing writer.