The 27th Annual Bobcat Bonanza

 

The Bobcat Club, Texas State Athletics’ fundraising arm, announced today details for the department’s 27th annual Bobcat Bonanza, presented by Pioneer Bank, to be held at Bobcat Stadium on April 18th, 2015. Last year’s Bobcat Bonanza witnessed record-setting levels of support with 705 people in attendance and $406,000 raised for student-athlete scholarships.

 

The Bobcat Club is the principal fundraising arm of the Texas State Intercollegiate Athletics Department. The Bobcat Club has provided a way for donors to help talented Texas State student-athletes receive a top-tier education while pursuing their goals both on and off the field of competition. While the primary focus is providing scholarship support for student-athletes, the Bobcat Club also raises money for facilities upgrades and high impact projects that directly benefit our student-athletes.

 

The format of this year’s Bobcat Bonanza: Gala on the Gridiron will remain largely the same as last year with dinner, live entertainment and a live auction taking place on Jim Wacker Field at Bobcat Stadium. Guests will be able to enjoy complimentary drinks from Rebecca Creek Distillery, Brown Distributing and several Texas wineries and browse the silent auction from 6:00 p.m. until the tent opens at 7:00 p.m. Food service will once again be provided by Saltgrass Steakhouse and will feature passed appetizers and an array of different entrée options ranging from sirloin to smoked salmon.

 

The program will start at approximately 8:00 p.m. with former Miss Texas USA and Texas State graduate Holly Mills-Gardner serving as the event’s Master of Ceremonies. Mills-Gardner has been featured as a personality for more than 150 television shows and events including the Miss Texas USA Pageant and programs on ABC, CBS, E!, ESPN, CMT, Versus and TNN.

 

Serving as auctioneer this year will be another Texas State graduate, Heath Hale. The son of an auctioneer and graduate of the Mike Jones Auction Academy in Dallas, Texas, Hale has served organizations and foundations across the state of Texas including the American Cancer Society, the Andy Roddick Foundation, the Austin Film Society, the Mack, Jack and McConaughey Foundation and the Texas Film Hall of Fame for the past 12 years.

 

Entertainment will be provided by William Close & the Earth Harp Collective. Close was a finalist on America’s Got Talent in 2012, finishing in the top three for season 8’s competition. Close performs with an assortment of “sculpture instruments” including the ensemble’s centerpiece, the Earth Harp. A stringed instrument that travels out over the audience, the Earth Harp envelops the crowd in the music it produces.  He has performed around the globe from the Colosseum in Rome to the Seattle Space Needle. Most recently, he performed at the Super Bowl XLIX Tailgate Party alongside Dierks Bentley and Gavin DeGraw. Close creates musical installations that use the architecture as part of the instrument including the Earth Harp, the Drum Orb, the Drum Cloud, the Aquatar, the Star Harp and more.

 

For event details, schedule of events, purchase tickets, or become a sponsor visit Texas State Bobcat Club