Next week, Hamilton Southeastern High School and Fishers High School will compete in a traditional Mudsock Week showdown with new twists, leading up to the football game at HSE on August 24.
The event, coordinated by the HSE Schools Foundation, features five varsity sporting events leading up to the football game on Friday night.
In addition to the sporting events, both schools are hosting new or gently used sporting equipment drives for Geared for Health: Sports Equipment for Kids, a program that distributes the items to youth-serving organizations.
For the second year in a row, the foundation is offering VIP tickets in the end zone at the football game.
“People enjoyed the whole event,” Lisa Allen, executive director of the foundation, said.
The VIP seating includes reserved seats, private concessions, and private restrooms. The cost is $35 – which includes a $30 charitable donation contributing to grants and scholarship programs. Tickets can be purchased at each school’s office, or online at hsefoundation.org.
Allen said previous patrons took advantage of the private seats. Regular tickets do not guarantee a seat in the crowd.
Even season-pass holders are not guaranteed a specific seat, unlike the VIP seating area. The end zone seating nearly sold out last year, according to Allen.
Allen said the foundation recently broke the $1 million mark for funds distributed through grants and scholarships.
The HSE Schools Foundation coordinated with several organizations to make special seating happen, including the athletic directors at both schools, the S.P.O.R.T.S. corporation, and the respective parent-teacher organizations.
Handling the logistics of several organizations coming together to make the single event possible has been a challenge, Allen said.
She said the foundation utilizes its non-voting student members in spearheading Mudsock Week and the events involved.