WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Dust off those thinking caps and begin studying for the 11th annual Grizzly Basketball Trivia Night set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the West Plains Civic Center.
Co-sponsored by the Grizzly Booster Club and the West Plains Civic Center, the contest will pit teams of area residents against each other for the opportunity to win the coveted Trivia Night Trophy, organizers said.
“We want this to be our best Trivia Night ever,” said Booster Club Board Member Carolyn Smith, one of the event’s organizers. “Our goal is to secure at least 40 teams, which will fill the civic center arena nicely.”
Smith said participants will notice several improvements to this year’s event. The auction component has been eliminated in favor of giving away many prizes throughout the evening to shorten its length, and the trivia questions have been carefully crafted to fit a wider range of age groups, she said.
The teams of eight will be asked questions in a variety of categories, from pop culture to science and everything in between. The team with the highest score after 10 rounds of questions will win the trophy, along with some other great prizes. Prizes also will be awarded to second- and third-place teams.
In addition to the trivia contest, teams are encouraged to decorate their table for the chance to win other prizes. Past winning themes in the table decoration contest have included a Mardi Gras celebration, James Bond villians, duck hunting, a surgery room, Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and even a group of hillbillies who called themselves “Farmville.” The possibilities are only limited by imagination.
“This contest really adds to the fun, with all of the teams trying to ‘out-decorate’ the tables around them,” Smith explained. “We need everyone to get a team together and start planning your table decorations now!”
The cost of participating is $160 per team, and pre-registration is required.
“Trivia Night is one of our best fundraisers,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “A championship program requires championship support, and the community of West Plains always rises to that level.”
For more information or to obtain a registration form, contact Dr. Herb Lunday, dean of student services and director of Grizzly Athletics, at 417-255-7225 or at HerbLunday@MissouriState.edu.