National Marquette Day is always headlined by a packed house at Fiserv Forum for a men’s basketball game.
A day before the game, there’s a smaller, but still packed house.
The second annual Faculty, Staff and Jesuits vs. Students Basketball Game was held at the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation Center gymnasium Feb. 6.
This event was piloted in 2025 as a part of “homecoming” where campus recreation worked to recruit and involve students from various organizations around campus. Family and friends filled steel bleachers to come watch a light-hearted basketball game between staff and students of Marquette
Participation in the game was aimed to be casual and fun. Associate Director of Campus Recreation and organizer of the event, Kris Pullam, said this tradition is a unique experience for everyone involved.
“[The game] give(s) meaningful interaction that is not often seen between students and the folks who make the institution go. Low stakes, but also some friendly banter and bragging rights are on the line,” said Pullam.
The game consisted of four 10 minute quarters, with the students winning 69-34, dominating their opponents. Despite the score, the crowd was loud and spectators stopped by throughout the game to experience the fun.
Professor in the College of Communication, Erik Ugland, loves the fun experience but also the competition.
“On one level the appeal is just joy of a friendly competition and the bonding that comes from battling with others as part of a team,” said Ugland. “On a more personal level, there is a bit of an ego challenge — ‘Can I still hang with these younger players?'”
Ugland was one of the top scorers for the faculty, staff and jesuits team this year after helping lead his team to a win last year against the students.
“I was proud of our ‘geriatric’ squad for pulling out the win last year. The victory helped soothe the days of aches and pains that followed,” said Ugland.
The students getting their revenge was a sweet feeling especially for the students’ coach, a first-year in the College of Arts & Sciences, Ian Pollard.
“My experience as the coach, was very positive. Obviously we got the win which made it better,” said Pollard.
It was Pollard’s first time participating in the event, but he saw the impact it had on the community involved.
“I think it connects students with Marquette faculty and in ways shows them in a different way than just our professors,” said Pollard.
Students were celebrating 3-pointers left and right with makeshift bow and arrows to the sky and pointing at the crowd watching throughout the game. Faculty were getting cheers as well after corner threes and smooth floaters.
Pullam sees the substantial impact it had on those in attendance and wants to see more spectators next year.
“We are already looking into ways that this can be improved by having colleges, orgs, and departments send a representative who would actively attend and support,” said Pullam.
This year, the event improved its inclusion of the Jesuits just ahead of Mission Week. But in upcoming years, Pullam wants to recruit groups from other areas of campus too.
“Moving the game to a larger venue such as the Al McGuire Center would be so cool to see,” said Pullam.
With the record now 1-1, will the students continue on their run? Or will the faculty make a comeback?
This story was written by Ben Ward. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @BenWardMU.
