All right, now you have no excuse.

Following a sparsely attended basketball season in 2006-07, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee athletic department has its hands full in trying to get you, the student, to start going to basketball games. Over the years, the marketing department has tried seemingly everything under the sun to get an apathetic student body to go to games.

I mean, do you have any idea how great a deal UWM students get for their Division I basketball team?

You get free entrance to all the games with your student I.D. Coach buses come to the dorms and Union, pick you up, and take you downtown to the U.S. Cellular Arena free of charge.

They even wait outside until after the game so students don’t have to stand around after the games. You can hop right onto a bus and go back to campus. During winter break, students get themselves and a friend into the Cell. The athletic department has jumped through hoops, and the student body has responded by not showing up in mass.

That’s going to change this year.

The athletic department recently announced the Panther Pack, a student organization that aims to basically hold your hand and guide you to the student section. The giveaway starts Friday at 7 p.m. during Panther Madness, and students immediately reap the rewards.

When you sign up you’ll receive a Panther Pack card, list of rewards, and a free long-sleeve t-shirt with the Panther Pack logo on the front. That’s just for signing up. Using advertisers such as Jimmy John’s, the UWM Bookstore, Domino’s, and Sunseekers, the department put together a package that will undoubtedly be a great deal for all student Panthers.

It works like this. Once you have your Panther Pack card, you show up to as many of the 40 basketball events as you can. The list is long enough, as there are 17 men’s home basketball games and 18 women’s games scheduled for the season.

The other five are the final editions of The Rob Jeter Show and The Sandy Botham Show. These shows will undoubtedly be on campus so students won’t miss out on opportunities to collect their prizes. For every other event you attend, you get a prize all the way up to 20. For instance, you may end up with gift cards to the Grind, the Bookstore, Comp-u-train, and even a chiropractor.

“We plan to grow the Panther Pack to include more sports at UWM,” said Kris Heijnen, intern at the marketing department, “eventually, we’d like to bring the Panther Pack to soccer, volleyball, baseball and other sports.”

As for now, the fledgling Panther Pack just adds on to one of the best deals in college basketball, being a UWM student.

The Panther Pack isn’t the only thing debuting at Friday’s Panther Madness. Following the “graduation” of Victor E. Panther, there is a contest naming the new Panther mascot. Anyone can participate, with all entries before Wednesday at 5 p.m. being considered for the new name. All entries can be sent to newpanthermascot@hotmail.com. Along with the new name will be a new costume. Hopefully he’ll have a good name to go with his new look.

As for the actual festivities on Friday, the red hot volleyball team takes on league bottom-feeder Loyola at 7 p.m. in the Klotsche Center. Following the game, the Klotsche Krazies student section will be entertained by local rock band The Boogie Men. Their electric set will be followed immediately by the introduction of the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Last year, the pep rally was missing something special, the dunk contest. After “Big D” Derrick Ford hurt his ankle in 2005, the dunk contest was thrown on the shelf for 2006. The dunk contest returns this year, with returning champion Kaylan Anderson taking on all-comers, including Oklahoma State transfer Torre Johnson.

Johnson rocked the student section at last year’s pep rally by showcasing his skills in shoot-around by performing such tricks as the Cookie Jar and 360 windmill.

Panther Madness should end sometime before midnight, leaving a ton of time to make it to your post-pep rally house party. Just make sure you come to the Klotsche Center early, because there is a limited number of space in the arena for the pep rally.

Dress in your black and gold best, because Friday is the beginning of something great.

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