Illinois State to celebrate women’s athletics at annual Bird Bash

Posted on April 23, 2018

By Eric Stock

NORMAL – Illinois State’s annual Bird Bash to raise funds for its women’s athletics programs is Thursday night at Redbird Arena.

ISU women’s basketball coach Kristen Gillespie said it’s a great way to help ISU celebrate its rich history in women’s athletics.

“We have 10 women’s sports, over 200 female student athletes, so it’s a great opportunity to fundraise for our young women just to help enhance their experiences, their opportunities,” Gillespie said.

This year’s event will be hosted by Kendra Haselhorst-Bull, an ISU graduate and former volleyball standout from 1997-2001.

“A bunch of (our student athletes) will be there, all our staff will be there,” Gillespie said. “It’s just an opportunity to celebrate the past.

“We have a really rich history of women’s athletics here at Illinois State. (The event is) just to make sure our female athletes feel the love, so to speak.”

Bird Bash has raised over $390,000 for ISU women’s athletics programs since 2006.

Registration begins at 6 p.m., with cocktails by Sodexo, hors d’oeuvres provided by Moe’s Southwest Grill, and a silent auction presented by Advocate BroMenn Medical Center to follow. A formal program will begin at 6:30 p.m., and the silent auction winners will then be announced at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $60 per person and the purchase of a full table is available.

To register, to go GoRedbirds.com/promotions and use the promo code BirdBash. For more information, contact Marianne Riddell by phone at (309) 438-5455 or by email at [email protected].

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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