Hundreds of students gathered at the Lake on the Hill Wednesday as SUU strives to renew their title as the “Most Outdoorsy School in the Nation.”
In a “March-Madness-meets-Mother-Nature competition” put on by Outdoor Nation, 100 schools across the country are competing head-to-head to see who can claim the title. SUU currently leads the Division-1 competition by more than 55,000 points and extended their lead at the kick-off event earlier this week.
Put on by the First Year Experience office in conjunction with SUU Outdoors, food, music and games were provided along with paddleboards and inflatable kayaks. Students and faculty came out in droves to earn back the title they feel is rightfully theirs.
First Year Experience Coordinator Heather Garcia spoke about why her department and SUU as a whole would put emphasis on a party.
“It makes SUU look even more awesome than it already is and we won the title two years ago so we need to reclaim (it),” Garcia said.
The Outdoor Nation competition will run until Oct. 15 with different ways to earn points. Students, faculty, alumni and even community members are encouraged to combine their efforts and earn SUU their title back.
Brandon Day, Manager of Trips and Adventures for SUU Outdoors, spoke about the impact this title would have on SUU outside of just “bragging rights.”
“As we’ve seen with the increase in enrollment … word’s getting out about how great SUU is,” Day said.
Indeed, word is getting out. SUU’s point-total has risen to well over 110,000 with more than three weeks left. Recently, SUU was named second best among public schools. In addition, SUU’s enrollment saw the highest increase in the state at 13.6 percent; more than double that of the next highest (Snow College).
Participate today by downloading the Outdoor Nation app! It can be found on the App Store as well as Google Play as competition continues.
Story By
Colton Gordon for SUU News
coltongordon@suu.edu
