Knight Society, Knights of the Raritan, host 1st ever KnightFest
Knight Society and the Knights of the Raritan hosted the first-ever KnightFest on Friday at the College Avenue Gymnasium. KnightFest, which was meant to resemble a midnight madness type of event, was spearheaded by former Rutgers men's basketball star guard Geo Baker.
KnightFest was a name, image and likeness (NIL) fundraising event for the Rutgers men's basketball team meant to give fans a more personal experience of the Scarlet Knights.
The event marked the first time that both Rutgers-focused NIL collectives, the Knight Society and Knights of the Raritan, collaborated.
"It gives us an opportunity to show the Rutgers community that we’re always up for collaboration," Knights of the Raritan President Jon Newman said to NJ Advanced Media. "For us and Knight Society, it’s always been about what supports the student athletes."
Many notable alumni attended the event, including former Rutgers men's basketball players Caleb McConnell and Montez Mathis. Former Rutgers men's basketball player and current radio color analyst Austin Johnson was also at the event.
Head coach Steve Pikiell and the entire Rutgers men's basketball team, except for senior guard Aiden Terry, attended the event. Each player was introduced to the crowd by walking into the College Ave Gymnasium with specific intro music playing.
Events included a student three-on-three tournament that was closed to the public, a forum with Pikiell, redshirt senior forward Oskar Palmquist and senior forward Aundre Hyatt and games that included a fan knockout contest, a fan spot-up shooting contest and a couple of giveaways. After the games, some fans stuck around to meet some of the players.
The event did not take place without a few hitches. The players were originally supposed to participate in the basketball mini-games and it was rumored that some high-profile recruits may have shown up to the event. That all had to be changed when the Rutgers athletics compliance department told Baker that players could not participate in the basketball mini-games and recruits could not come to the event.
"Compliance called us two days before the event," Baker said to the Asbury Park Press. "We had to pivot a little bit and at a certain point, there is nothing you can do. So again, just taking the punches and rolling with it."
The lack of athlete participation and the haste in which the event was organized, as the event was only announced to the public two weeks before, may have led to somewhat sparse attendance. While many seats were filled by alumni and fans in the VIP and lower sections, the upper section, meant to be filled with students, was relatively empty.
Despite these challenges, Baker stayed determined in his vision and commitment to continuing KnightFest next year and other NIL events in the future.
"We want to get more students in here," Baker said to the Asbury Park Press. "We're trying stuff and seeing how it goes and then we try again. It was the same with basketball. So we're gonna continue to try to make this as good as we can and as fun as possible, and we're just gonna build off it."
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