The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted an athlete family feud on Tuesday, Mar. 18. This allowed friendly debate and conversation to flow between the upperclassmen and underclassmen athletes in track and field, as they tried to come up with an answer.

“We made jeopardy because we wanted to create a space where student athletes could feel a little bit involved together and create a little friendly competition between the athletic teams,” said Patrick Andrews, president of SAAC.

Jeopardy involved two opposing teams, with three contestants for each team. One team consisted of upperclassmen and the second team consisted of underclassmen. The first round had categories named Landmarks, NMU Athletics, NMU, U.P. and Famous Alumni. The round ended with the upperclassmen winning with a total of 1,600 points, a 300-point difference compared to the underclassmen. 

The second round then began, with categories titled Landmarks, NMU Wildcats, NMU, U.P. and Random. This time, both teams got a button to press when they had the answer. This button expelled dancing music whenever it got pushed, causing either team to dance, even if they did not get the answer correct. The contestants created a welcoming and friendly atmosphere, with no negative feelings towards the opposing team. The winning team for this round was, again, the upperclassmen with a winning score of 3,500 points.

Jeopardy ended with both teams earning miniature trophies as their prize.

Stella Sponsler, an underclassman from team one, said this event encouraged team bonding. Many of her fellow athletes surrounding her agreed.