Students will gather on the Alumni center lawn April 22 at 12:30 p.m. for the annual Mud Jam, which will be hosted by the Alumni Association Student Ambassador Board.
The Mud Jam will consist of both a volleyball and a tug-ofwar tournament set up in the mud.
“This is a 30-year tradition for us,” Bradford Pippen, senior and programming chair of the Student Ambassador Board, said.
“We originally held mud ball as a fundraiser to raise money for the J. Wayne Johnson scholarship, and it also helps with operating the costs for the Student Ambassador Board,” he said.
Johnson was the original Pouncer mascot for the University of Memphis.
He died in a helicopter crash while serving on special duty in the Navy in 1967.
In his honor, the Student Ambassador Board awards the scholarship to outstanding seniors each spring.
For the Mud Jam, Pippen said students will need to register prior to the tournament.
“This way we will have the teams set up for the date, and it’s six people per team,” Pippen said. “When you register for the $120 per person, you’re set for your t-shirts and the entire event.”
Pippen said there is a trophy for the first place winners, and their names will be put onto a plaque on an overall trophy.
“Our overall trophy is displayed here in the Alumni Center for years and years, and it is the history of the tournament,” he said. “The names that are put on that trophy date back to the ‘70s.”
In order for Mud Jam to be messy and fun for students, Jaclyn Savell Rodriguez, advisor for the Student Ambassador Board, will have mud donated to the tournament.
“We get the mud donated from Bill Koeneman, who is the owner of B&C Construction Company, Inc.,” Rodriguez said. “He’s going to come the day before and dump truck loads of mud, so there is going to be a whole lot of mud dumped on Thursday.”
Rodriguez said the Student Ambassador Board will have a shower system set up outside for students to clean up before they leave.
“We’re going to build our shower system site right here beside the building,” she said. “I know the blue and grey scrimmage is on the same day as mud ball, so you can come to mud ball, take a shower and still have plenty of time go to the game.”
Pippen said the Student Ambassador Board would be teaming up along with students as well to hype up crowd participation for this year.
“We had a lot of students last year, since it was on the week of Spring Fling,” Pippen said. “I’d say we had about 200 to 300 people come up, and we’re going to have a team just to build up that competitive spirit and get the crowds into it.”
