ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Concordia athletic department would like to thank the students and supporters of the men's and women's basketball teams for making 2008 Hoops Madness a huge success! Juniors Mike Cunningham and Jamie Jones won the dunk contest and three point contests, while the night's big winner was sophomore Hayden Vavra, who won the raffle drawing for the 32" inch TV.

The drawing for the high definition television took place at the conclusion of the night, with three-point shootout champion Jamie Jones drawing the winning ticket. After a moment of suspense provided by assistant athletic director Brian Jamros, the final number "7" proved to be Vavra's lucky number as the running back from Cambridge, Minn. leaped down multiple rows of bleachers to redeem his prize at center court, with a celebratory high five from Jones.

The night kicked off with hot dogs and soda on the Gangelhoff Plaza between 11:00 p.m. and Midnight and as Midnight approached, nearly everyone who came to the event was glued to their seat to see the official start of the basketball seasons. With about 15 minutes to spare, the CU Drum Line and CU Performance Team performed at center court to get the action started.

After the player introductions, numerous contests allowed the fans to compete with the Golden Bear men and women, as well as head coaches Paul Fessler and Kelly Boe. Jones' three-point victory for the women was a head-to-head matchup with men sharpshooter, junior Craig Heiman. Jones' second round score of 21 was insurmountable for the men's scoring leader.

In the dunk contest, three fans had the opportunity to compete with three Golden Bear high-flyers: juniors Mike Cunningham, Quentin Barfield and Sammy Ricks. It was a member of the CU track & field squad, Tre' Sayles, who specializes in jumps, that wound up in the finals to take on Cunningham.

Despite the theatrics of jumping over a chair and using senior Matt Cadwell as a prop to jump over and after receiving his pass in the lane, it was Cunningham who prevailed for his fourth CU dunk contest title in as many years, and his fifth dunk title at the Gangelhoff Center, including his Minnesota High School All-Star dunk contest crown after his senior year at Trinity.

The night was a huge success overall, and fans who would like to view more photos can access them by visiting Concordia's Flickr Photo Gallery and clicking on the Hoops Madness Collection.