Fireworks, food and football on tap for Employee Kick-off Celebration
Countdown to Kick Off:
days |
hours |
minutes |
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- 4 p.m. - Employee Fan Zone opens on K-ville Quad
- Inflatable football obstacle course and bungee run
- Face-painting
- Raffle for airline tickets, football jerseys, autographed footballs
- Concessions/merchandise for sale
- 4:30 p.m. - Duke Football Team “Blue Devil Alley” Walk
- 5 p.m. - DJ Myles Bacon
- 5:30 p.m. - All Gates of Wallace Wade Stadium Open
- 6 p.m. - Duke University Marching Band pep rally
- 6:30 p.m. - Employee Fan Zone closes
- 7 p.m. - Duke vs. Elon University
*Fireworks at halftime
See A-Z Gameday Guide for parking and other event information.
Print and post flier
August 02, 2010
More than 11,000 Duke faculty, staff and family members turned out for last year’s football season opener at Wallace Wade Stadium. Now employees have the chance to create another sea of Duke blue in the stands to start the 2010 season.
As part of the annual Duke Employee Kick-Off Celebration, tickets are now available to all Duke faculty and staff for the Sept. 4 opener against Elon University. The event is sponsored by Duke Athletics and Human Resources and is part of Duke Appreciation. Faculty and staff got into the football mood early this season with Working@Duke's second football trivia contest and can request up to four tickets until noon Saturday.
The fun begins at 4 p.m. at K-Ville Quad , where employees and their friends and family members can enjoy entertainment and a catered meal at no charge and be a part of the “Blue Devil Walk” football team march to the stadium before kick-off. Employees can find out where to park and all game day information with Duke Athletics' "A-Z gameday guide."
“For the third straight year, we are thrilled to have our first game a part of the Employee Kick-Off Celebration,” said David Cutcliffe, head coach of Duke football. “The support of the Duke community has been terrific and we want to reach even greater heights this year.”
The Blue Devils’ opening game won’t be the only excitement that evening. During halftime, Duke will celebrate the start of the season with a fireworks display at Wallace Wade. In previous years, a fireworks show was held after the game.
"Part of the outstanding culture of Duke is our collective sense of community and this event provides an opportunity for all Duke faculty and staff to actively participate with family and friends in a fun and exciting component of the Duke environment," said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president of Human Resources. "We encourage all of our colleagues to join us in cheering on our team to victory."
Heading into the 2010 season, Cutcliffe has raised excitement surrounding the football program and has won more games than the previous five seasons combined. So far, fans have bought more than 14,500 season tickets, an increase of about 45 percent over all the season tickets sold for the 2009 season. The number of season tickets sold have already set a new record for Duke football.
Sandy York, a development projects coordinator for University Development, said she's looking forward to the first game and seeing all the fans line up in K-Ville for Blue Devil Walk, a tradition started by Cutcliffe that features the coaches and team walk from the West Campus Quad to the stadium before games. She said the walk gives fans a place where they can all celebrate together before games.
“Duke's never had a long-standing tradition like this, so I'm excited to be a part of the Blue Devil Walk because it gets people focused on the game and gets them ready for kick-off,” York said. “I couldn't be more excited for the team this year and all Cutcliffe has done for the program.”
Faculty and staff can reserve tickets to watch Duke face Elon by visiting goduke.com/employee or calling (919) 681-8738. A DukeCard will be required at the event to pick-up tickets and enter the buffet area.