WVU Mountaineer Maniacs show support in wake of Connecticut football tragedy
This week, the West Virginia University Mountaineer Maniacs will be distributing ribbons and providing a banner to be signed in honor of Jasper “Jazz” Howard, the Connecticut football player who recently passed away.
The ribbons, which will display the Connecticut blue, will be distributed free of charge in the Mountainlair commons Thursday, Oct. 22 and Friday, Oct. 23 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The Maniacs have provided 3,000 ribbons.
The banner will be available Friday, Oct. 23 in the Mountainlair commons. Students and members of the community are invited to write messages of encouragement to the Connecticut football team.
The Huskies will visit Morgantown Saturday, Oct. 24 to take on the Mountaineers. Those who receive a ribbon are asked to wear it to the game to show their support to Connecticut in wake of this tragedy.
Also, the banner will be hung in the visitor’s tunnel in Milan Puskar Stadium. As the Huskies prepare to run onto Mountaineer field, players and coaches will be able to read messages of support from WVU.
Following the game, the banner will be given to the Connecticut football team to take home and share with their community.
“This is the first time the Huskies have played since Howard passed away,” explained Cassie Werner, executive director of the Mountaineer Maniacs. “It is a difficult time for them. We need to show our support.”
Also, Werner added, students are asked to not “boo” at the Huskies when they run onto the field.
Alongside of the Maniac’s efforts, the WVU football team will wear Howard’s number “6” on the back of their helmets. There will be moment of silence before kickoff.
Howard, the 20-year-old junior cornerback for Connecticut, was the victim of an on-campus stabbing early Sunday morning. The incident occurred hours after the Huskies’ 38-25 victory over Louisville.
For more information about the Mountaineer Maniacs, visit http://maniacs.wvu.edu/
-WVU-
10/22/09
CONTACT: Cassie Werner, Mountaineer Maniacs
304-293-8208, Cassandra.Werner@mail.wvu.edu