IUAA holds football season kick off event; Greenspan, Lynch speak

The IU Alumni Association helped kick off the start of the college football season with a tent party Tuesday night at the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center.\nIU coach Bill Lynch and Athletics Director Rick Greenspan spoke to a crowd of several hundred people, all members of the Monroe County Chapter of the IUAA.\n“This is a good way to kick off the fall semester, and one of the things that brings alumni back to a University is that there are athletic events like football that allows them an opportunity to come back and be a part of the University,” said Tom Martz, president of the IUAA.\nThe Alumni Association has been hosting the annual event for roughly the past 40 years, said Martz, who added he was pleased with this year’s turnout of old and young alumni alike. \nAbout an hour into the event, Martz took the stage to introduce Greenspan and Lynch. The two spoke briefly about the state of the football team and the upcoming season.\n“I think as a football coach, you want your guys to be prepared and to play really well,” Lynch said as he addressed the crowd. “The guys that you’ve read a lot about, you’ve watched them play last year, the supposed stars of the football team – they are really well prepared. They’ve really done their homework in the summer and they’re ready to go.”\nLynch said one of the main draws to the event was being able to spend more time with fans he might not get a chance to talk with once the \nseason begins.\n“We’ve got great fans here in Monroe County and the campus community, so it’s kind of a way to get everybody together and talk about where they’re going to tailgate and who they’re going to sit with,” Lynch said. “Once football starts, you don’t get a chance to come and visit with some of these people, so it’s nice to be here and see them.”\nBut while the event was an opportunity for alumni and fans to get excited about the start of the football season, it was also a chance to raise awareness about IUAA and allow alumni to interact, said Mike Mann, president of the Monroe County chapter of the IU Alumni Association.\n“A lot of people have lived in Bloomington a long time and don’t even realize we have a local chapter here,” Mann said. “So it was a good opportunity for us to get the word out that we’re here and what we do.”