CEFCU Arena became Central Illinois’ largest and loudest one-room schoolhouse when more than 7,000 local elementary students poured inside to cheer on the Illinois State University women’s basketball team on December 5, 2024.

The program-record crowd of 8,027 clapped and screamed at decibel levels rivaling championship sporting events, as Redbird student-athletes showcased their skills in a decisive 110-60 matinee victory over the University of St. Francis.

With players, coaches, and marketing staff leading the “lesson” for Illinois State’s sixth annual Education Day, students from 29 schools in a 40-mile radius of Normal learned how much fun they can have at Redbird basketball games. Their homework: Return soon and bring friends.

“It’s our favorite game of the year,” said head coach Kristin Gillespie during her postgame press conference. Gillespie helped launch Illinois State’s first Education Day in 2018, which drew a crowd of 3,500. The popular field trip for local kindergarteners through sixth graders has grown significantly since.

“My message to our players before the game was, ‘We were all third or fourth graders with dreams of being a college athlete one day, and we’re getting to live out our childhood dreams. So, let’s put on a great show, play with immense joy and passion, and have fun out there,’” Gillespie said. “And I think that’s what you saw.”

Freshman forward Doneelah Washington was among Illinois State’s top performers during Education Day, scoring 11 points in a game she won’t soon forget. “The atmosphere was amazing,” Washington said. “I never played in front of such a big crowd like that.”

Senior guard Caroline Waite also fed off the Education Day energy, leading all scorers with a career-high 25 points on 7-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. “When you have 8,000 kids yelling at you, it just makes it so much better,” Waite said.

Although the high-energy game may have felt like a whirlwind, it took nearly six months of planning to pull off.

Organized by the Illinois State Athletics marketing team, the Education Day checklist included recruiting and training nearly 50 volunteers to chaperone each class; determining where each school would sit; strategizing drop-off, parking, and pickup for nearly 100 school buses; and planning activities and promotions to keep 7,000 kids engaged for more than two hours.

“There’s a ton that goes into it,” said Chase Klingler, an assistant director of Athletics marketing who is in charge of promoting the Redbird women’s basketball team. “We’re trying to make this one awesome day for kids so they want to come back again.”

Knowing that many students were attending their first college basketball game, Klingler and his colleagues found ways to make the experience fun for everyone, including non-sports fans.

Timeouts and halftime were packed with kid-friendly promotions including the Redbird Rollcall, a competition to hear which school could cheer the loudest; the Fortnite dance camera, which projected students’ best dance moves from the popular video game on the jumbotron; and a teacher tug-of-war.

Students who needed a break from the crowd could visit a sensory room set up by the College of Education with headphones playing soothing music. Classes could also stretch their legs on the arena concourse where there were several games, including arcade-style basketball, and a coloring station.

“There was a ton going on,” Klingler said. “An opportunity like this is great for kids who might not otherwise have the chance to attend a game. We’re able to provide them with this free option, and hopefully, the next step is creating future Redbird fans.”

The women’s basketball team gave fans plenty to cheer about on Education Day. A season-high six players reached double-figure scoring, and the Redbirds posted a CEFCU Arena record of 110 points, just one shy of the program record set in 1976.

Trista Fayta’s fastbreak layup in the fourth quarter pushed the Redbirds past the century mark, causing the crowd to erupt. Seated at the scorer’s table wearing a headset and preparing for the next timeout promotion, Klingler was initially confused by the collective outburst. Then he saw the score and smiled.

“It was just one of those moments that kind of made me feel like a kid again,” Klingler said. “We were all having fun, and in that moment, it was like, ‘Wow, these kids love being here.’”

Klingler is already thinking about ways to build on this year’s record-setting game for next year’s Education Day. He’d like to bring in an even bigger crowd and provide more activities for kids on the concourse.

“Women’s basketball is a sport that’s getting really popular with kids right now, and we’re trying to create an atmosphere where kids are like, ‘Hey, Redbird women’s basketball is fun!’” Klingler said. “It’s also about supporting your team and being a part of something bigger than yourself.”

Redshirt junior forward Addison Martin, who unleashed the crowd’s energy by scoring the first basket of Education Day shortly after the 11 a.m. tipoff, said the support she felt from 7,000-plus elementary students was “awesome.”

“(The crowd) got us going on the court,” Martin said after the game. “We play for each other, and I know we all had big smiles on our faces and were enjoying the game. It was a great crowd.”