Vermillion City Council agrees to sponsor the WNIT tournament game

The Vermillion City Council agreed to use $5,000 of the Bed, Board and Booze (BBB) fund to allow the university to host a Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) Basketball game at their meeting on Monday night.

The university has an opportunity to host a WNIT tournament game this coming Thursday as they advance into the tournament. USD won a bid to host the tournament but approached the city council to ask for $5,000 in funds and to sponsor the game.

Sheila Gestring, vice president of finance, said sponsoring this game would strengthen the relationship between the city and the university.

“I think this is a fabulous way to show the community how important that connection between us can be,” Gestring said.

Dawn Plitzuweit, women’s head basketball coach, said there are many benefits to hosting a home game.

“It allows our athletes to stay home and stay in class, it allows our athletes to recover, it allows us quality practice time which is important when prepping for a great opponent,” she said.

Plitzuweit also said home games are a great experience for student athletes.

“It’s great to play in front of our fans. A lot of student athletes don’t have that access, so we are very fortunate,” Plitzuweit said.

The city council agreed to sponsor the game and give the university the funds they need to host the tournament. The council said they believe the tournament is beneficial to the town because it will bring people to the community.

The city council also proclaimed the month of March as Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

Katherine Price, a city councilor, read a proclamation encouraging inclusiveness of all people.

“Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, neighbors and coworkers encourage everyone to focus on the abilities of all people,” Price said.

Joseph Hoose, director of human resources at SESDAC, said he’s grateful the city is always welcoming of the proclamation.

“This year’s theme is ‘live side by side,’ which in the simplest terms just means you and me,” Hoose said. “(It) doesn’t matter if I have a disability or not, it’s just about us living side by side.”