PROVIDENCE – If you have ever wondered what it is like to play in the same arena and floor as the Providence College men’s basketball team, you will have that opportunity to do so at the end of July.
And all the while, financially support both the college’s men’s and women’s basketball programs in the process.
The Friar Family Collective, which oversees the name, image and likeness fundraising for PC athletes, announced Wednesday it will hold its inaugural “AMP Experience” from July 23-26 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion, allowing the public to play basketball on the floor the Friars play on each year. The collective says each reservation includes groups of up to 14 people having access to the basketball floor inside the AMP for up to 60 minutes to play a game or to shoot around. Access to the PC men’s basketball team’s locker room can also be included in the reservations, the collective says.
PC Vice President and Director of Athletics Steven Napolillo told Providence Business News on Wednesday that the college has previously done similar events with large sponsors on game days earlier in the day. Plus, the athletic program at PC is looking at new ways to create new NIL revenue for the college’s student-athletes, he says.
“In this new name, image and likeness world, you have to be creative and try to open new windows and doors that will allow us to support our program at the highest level,” Napolillo said.
Napolillo said he and the collective subsequently worked with state officials, including R.I. Convention Center Authority General Manager Lawrence J. Lepore, to create this event. Napolillo says the event is open to any youth or adult league teams looking to play a quick game or two on the AMP floor. Additionally, for an extra fee, groups can have a member of either the PC men’s or women’s basketball team to referee or coach teams as they play.
“I think it’s an awesome opportunity,” Napolillo said. “If they want a specific player to coach their teams or referee the game, that’s a pretty cool experience.”
Each day will hold seven squad times, starting at 10 a.m. and the latest evening squad is at 7 p.m. Each reservation is $1,000 during the day or $2,000 for evening squads, Napolillo says.
Napolillo says the collective is hoping to raise between $50,000 and $100,000, and be a sold-out affair. All the money raised will support the student-athletes for PC’s basketball programs.
Napolillo says this upcoming event at the AMP is a “great foundation” that could potentially work for PC with other sports the college offers, including hockey. He also says this event is another avenue to have Friar fans be “part of something special” and support the programs beyond just watching the games from the stands and on television.
But first, he hopes this event will become a regular summer attraction to get PC fans excited about the basketball season during the winter months.
“I’m really excited,” he said. “I think the fans are going to really galvanize around this. I hope it’s the first of many successful years. [This will help us] recruit, retain and attract the best student-athletes in the country to compete for Big East [Conference] and national championships. It’s all part of the landscape and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Groups looking to sign up to participate in the AMP Experience can do so through
the collective’s website.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
