UB Oozfest -- Volleyball In The Mud -- Set For April 24

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It will be a down-and-dirty day of mud-play April 24, as hundreds of volleyball players from the U.S. and Canada compete in the University at Buffalo's 15th annual Oozfest on the North (Amherst) Campus.

The event, the largest continuous volleyball-in-the-mud contest on a U.S. college or university campus, is sponsored by the University Student Alumni Board, the student affiliate of the UB Alumni Association.

Some 96 teams will slip, slide and compete for prizes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the mud pit behind UB Stadium on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Oozfest has grown from a handful fun-loving teams that wanted to hit a few over the net in a muddy field to a UB tradition that attracts hundreds of serious players, as well as fans who cheer on their filthy favorites.

There are several returning teams, including the tuxedo-clad crew made up of alumni living in the Washington, D.C., area with the unlikely moniker of Poached Trout in a White Wine Sauce.

The $110 registration fee paid by each team of six to eight players benefits the University Student Alumni Board's annual J. Scott Fleming Merit Award scholarship. Fleming was a former executive director of the UB Office of Alumni Relations.

Players will receive free team photos, commemorative programs, food and t-shirts featuring a referee equipped with a whistle, hat and sunglasses, half buried in mud, designed by Rana Grieco. Hot shower facilities also will be provided.

There will be contests and prizes for the dirtiest and cleanest teams at the end of the event. Music will be provided by the local band Good Fudge and UB's acclaimed singing Buffalo Chips.

Volunteers -- including staff, faculty, students, alumni and members of the community -- are needed to referee, run scores to the judges and work in the food tent, according to co-chairs Michelle Lord and Jason Majewski.

Anyone interested in receiving more information or in volunteering at the event should call the UB alumni office at 716-829-2608.

Those assisting with Oozfest include the Getzville Fire Department; the College Store; Domino's Pizza; WRUB, the UB student radio station; the UB Alumni Association; Delta Sonic Car Wash; Lasertron; Studio Arena Theatre; Amherst Theater, and Anderson's Frozen Custard, Inc.

Also, Buffalo Zoo; Campus Tees and Sweats; the undergraduate Student Association;, UB Bookstore; UB Dining Services; UB Residence Hall Association; First USA Bank; Tim Horton Donuts; Kaplan Co.; Buffalo Blizzard Soccer; Artpark; UB Engineering Alumni Association; UB Print and Mail Service; Bill Marshall, and Ed Majchrowicz.