Aurora University celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day Wednesday, Feb. 5.
The event took place before the 7 p.m. AU vs. IIT women’s basketball game. Features were a poster display, an announcement and recognition ceremony and BOGO coupons for chicken fingers.
Public address announcer Shaun Neitzel said, “February 5 is National Girls and Women in Sports Day with 2025 marking the 39th anniversary of the national observance celebrating the extraordinary achievements of women and girls in sports.
“For more than three decades, NGWSD has empowered women and girls to get moving, embrace physical activity and push past their limits. The courage, confidence and character gained through sports participation are the very tools girls need to become the strong leaders of tomorrow.
“Collectively, hundreds of thousands of people participate in NGWSD and the number of events hosted around the country continues to expand each year.”
At Neizel’s invitation, girls and women athletes or former athletes were asked to stand for a round of applause.
Students in “Women in Sports,” a new AU course, displayed posters chronicling female athletes from amateurs to Olympians. Poster topics were “AU Women,” “AU Teams,” “Collegiate Athletics,” “NCAA Division 3,” “Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (AU),” “Professional Athletes” and “Olympians.”
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers Oswego location supplied lemonade samples and buy-one-get-one coupons for combo dinners.
AU women downed IIT 96-65.
—Al Benson