Northwestern State University of Louisiana athletes will be enjoying the company of the Natchitoches community on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023, at the Meet the Demons auction.
This biennial fundraiser is an event organized by the NSU Athletic Department that helps raise funds for student athletic scholarships. Since 1989, the community has been able to help NSU sports by purchasing tickets and participating in the auction while meeting the athletes they are supporting. The event will start at 5 p.m. at the Natchitoches Events Center.
From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., attendees will have the opportunity to meet athletes, coaches and staff from the department. After dinner, the silent auction will begin at 6:45 p.m. lasting until 8 p.m.
Darian Westerfield, Associate Athletic Director for External Operations, has planned an evening that players and community members can enjoy. His office is filled with various auction items that will be at the event and leaving at the hands of buyers.
“We have tickets to Saints games in a suite, a variety of those types of experiences, I literally have everything from a chainsaw behind me to a Mary Kay beauty gift package over there,” Westerfield said.
Making this event unique required Westerfield to provide unique prizes. The auction will bid artwork, trips, weekend stays for Saints football games and more, Westerfield said.
“Our community has come out to support us frequently for this, so we’re excited that we’re going to be able to continue the tradition that the auction has been a part of,” Westerfield said. “It’s an opportunity for us to have a nice evening in Natchitoches for our community and those traveling out of town to be here.”
The event is essential to increase the resources that student athletes have access to, which is why Kevin Bostian, Director of Athletics, wants the community and students to interact.
“The event benefits our student athletes because they get to meet people in the community, they get to meet supporters of their programs and start to build a relationship with them,” Bostian said.
While the revenue they gain from the event will help students to obtain resources, the lasting impact that Bostian sees for athletes is the networking opportunity it provides.
“There’s three things I want every student athlete that comes through our door to do: get their degree in the major of choice, win a championship in the sport that they play and we want to build them as leaders in the community that they’ll serve once they graduate,” Bostian said. “This auction is a part of developing them as leaders.”
For student athletes, this event allows them to bring awareness to all of the accomplishments they’ve had over the past year.
“This past season was an extremely successful season for many sports, NSU football won back the trophy for the NSU Challenge by defeating Nicholls; as well as placing second in the conference. Volleyball created history by becoming the first team in Southland Conference history to pull off two reverse sweeps in the first two rounds of the tournament: placing third overall,” Piper Boydstun, junior business administration major and Lady Demon Volleyball player, said.
She also highlighted the standings of Men’s Basketball last season, the accomplishments of Track and Field earning the Conference Championship and NSU’s star pitcher Alex Makarewich was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers due to his performance last year. Boydstun wants the community to know about all of the work that they accomplished as students and that their support is the key to their success.
“It’s an incredible feeling to have individuals who recognize and value the importance of our work and are willing to contribute to our teams and staff,” Boydstun said. “I am convinced that this event will provide an excellent platform for fostering new relationships and reinforcing the significance of our shared desires.”
The event promises to unite the community and the Athletics Department closer to each other.
“We strive to be a light within our communities; and we strive to be helpers, innovators, and champions of service,” Boydstun said. “As athletes, we take pride not only in what we do, but in the school and community we represent, and we strive to be a platform that can make a positive change outside of athletics.”
Boydstun hopes to continue the cycle of support and service from athletes and the community.
For more information visit nsudemons.com.
