As the Vandals return to their home turf this Saturday, the University of Idaho will take the day to celebrate members of the armed forces for Military Appreciation and POW/MIA day.
For the past five years, the athletic department in collaboration with other UI departments have celebrated the day with a home football game and events to thank veterans and current military personnel. This year’s theme is “Continuing to Care.”
“The theme Continuing to Care is just a great way to make people aware that there’s still people out there serving our country and fighting. It’s to recognize the people that are sacrificing their family, time, and their lives to support America,” said Ryan Gilmore, assistant athletic director for marketing.
Prior to the 2 p.m. game kickoff, the Athletic Department will have activities in the tailgate parking lot and the North lawn, said Kelly Sharp, assistant marketing director and community outreach director for the Athletic Department.
Activities include face painting, ropes courses, bouncy houses, water balloon fights and paint ball. There will also be a number of military vehicles and equipment on display, Gilmore said.
“This has been a really collective effort. There’s a lot of different departments that have been involved in planning this,” Gilmore said.
Gilmore said the day will begin at 9:30 a.m. on the Administration Lawn where a ceremony will be held to remember those who have been held captive by U.S. enemies and also those who are missing.
Students are encouraged to wear gold to the game as a way of showing respect to veterans and those still serving the country.
Sharp said another way to show support is to purchase a ticket for a veteran or someone currently in the military.
Students can buy a ticket for veterans or current military personnel at the UI ticket office or at govandals.com. Tickets are being sold at a discounted price of $12 with the promotional code “Military.”
“The Athletic Department is giving free tickets to anyone who is or has been in the military and their immediate family,” Sharp said. “We’ve had people buy tickets, like the president’s office, season ticket holders and staff have donated their tickets to go towards the military account of tickets we have.”
University of Idaho and Washington State University ROTC units are also sponsoring Military Appreciation Day, and Sodexo is offering free hot dogs and drinks to military veterans and personnel at the game.
“Sometimes it gets forgotten that there’s still people out there fighting, being active and are there if something happens,” Gilmore said. “For me, Military Appreciation Day means just the awareness that there’s things going on all over the planet and people are sacrificing themselves and their time to be out there.”
Iris Alatorre can be reached at arg-news.uidaho.edu