The Nevada men’s basketball team takes the court in Atlanta in a few hours as slight favorites in the NCAA tournament South Regional’s Sweet 16 matchup against the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers.
The Pack last reached the Sweet 16 in 2004 and the Ramblers were last there in 1985.
The winner heads to the Elite Eight to face the winner of the Kansas State-Kentucky game.
The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority (RSCVA) board members and staff donned Wolf Pack attire during their monthly meeting Thursday morning.
The words “Go Pack” were on its overhead projector between agenda items, University of Nevada flags were hung up and blue doughnuts were made available to those wishing to indulge.
All fun aside, RSCVA—whose main purpose is to market the area and promote tourism—is excited about the free exposure the basketball team is bringing to the area.
“The national media and coverage we’re going to get for the area is astounding,” said Washoe County Commissioner Bob Lucey. “I woke up this morning and saw Reno and Nevada all over ESPN. When you start to see that, it’s going to naturally translate to people wanting to visit the area and talk about the area. It’s these kind of organic events that help us.”
RSCVA board member Vick Wowo said when sports programs do well, attention is brought to the quality of life in the area, as well as the university.
“It’ll not only help the community get more recognition, it’ll help the university expand and grow whether it’s from the standpoint of athletics or student awareness similar to the (Colin) Kaepernick era,” Wowo said. “Some students said they wanted to come to Nevada because of the wave around how well the football team was doing….and it’s similar with basketball.”
Tip off is scheduled at 4:07 p.m. on CBS. The Regional Transportation Commission is offering free bus rides between 2 and 8 p.m. today.
“Get a free ride and make sure you’re safe,” Lucey said prior to adjourning the meeting.
