Oct. 11, 2004

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will host its fourth-annual Midnight Mayhem festivities Friday night and Saturday morning at the Klotsche Center.

Both the men's and women's basketball teams can officially open practice after midnight on Saturday. The event will begin Friday night and last until approximately 12:45 a.m. Saturday. Midnight Mayhem is part of PantherFest 2004, UWM's annual Homecoming celebration.

Doors open at 9:30 p.m. and the evening begins at 9:45 p.m. with concerts by local bands Automatic Gool and Growing Nation. At approximately 11:15 p.m., the Panther cheerleaders, dance team and band will perform before head coaches Bruce Pearl and Sandy Botham address the audience. Each Panther team will take the floor just after midnight and, after being introduced to the crowd, will participate in a three-point shooting contest and a slam dunk contest.

The first 500 students in attendance will receive a free Panther basketball t-shirt courtesy of U.S. Cellular and there will also be free pizza courtesy of Domino's Pizza. Home schedule posters will also be distributed. Admission to the event is free.

Each Panther basketball team will also host an open practice Saturday as part of PantherFest 2004. The men will practice from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and the women from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. There are also youth sports clinics scheduled for Saturday morning at the Klotsche Center.