Students say the Hoops and Scoops ice cream social at Truist Arena Tuesday night helped boost their campus pride for collegiate sports.
“I think it’s great. It gives students an opportunity to show up for the season, meet the team and see how good we’re gonna be,” said Riley Wilder, a freshman political science major.
The social, where students and families got to meet the 2025-26 men’s and women’s basketball teams, featured individual introductions to each player on the roster, as well as free ice cream and merch for those who attended.
Kyle Steinacher, the associate athletics director for internal operations, spoke about the importance of Hoops and Scoops to the players and the overall student engagement with sports.
“[It] gives them the chance to see a little bit of the student athlete and what they don’t normally get to see on the court… and what they’ve been working on over the summer and what they can expect from the season to come,” he said.
The arena was filled with buzzing energy from families and students, with face painting and interactive games for the kids and players.
Abby Wolterman, a power forward and senior on the women’s roster, mentioned some of the new international students on the team and what Hoops and Scoops provides them.
“We have a lot of local kids on the team…we have three international students and I think that brings a lot more interest of where they’re from and it also brings, you know, more culture to our team,” Wolterman said.
Each player was announced one at a time, rotating from the men’s and women’s roster, each of whom got about 15 seconds of their own song, as well as a description of where they are from, their height and position. Many handed out T-shirts and mini basketballs to children waving in the stands.
Ben Burdett, a freshman honors student, spoke about campus pride and how Hoops and Scoops affects him as a new college student at a smaller university.
“I think getting to see the players out in the concourse when you first get there, it’s a cool experience for most and the whole ice cream aspect is probably good for students, especially because it’s free. I think it’s a good stepping stone into getting students to come to their basketball games once they start next month,” he said.
Burdett also said what the beginning of the season means to him as a student and how he believes it affects team moraleafter things like this.
“I think it’s important for students to be there at the beginning of the year so players can feed off of them and thereby play well so they can just set the team off on the right foot,” he said.
Free frozen custard was provided by Whit’s, a sponsor of the NKU men and women’s basketball team. With routines performed by both the dance and cheer teams, there was a lot of energy and NKU campus pride.
With new international students and local fan favorites, Hoops and Scoops allowed new students to engage and connect with both the athletes and faculty, while allowing athletes to connect with friends and family alike.
Wolterman emphasized how student involvement and team morale connect to the community.
“We have a lot of great loyal fans that come to every game and we recognize a lot of people that come, so I think it’s a way for us to be with our community outside of being on the court,” she said.