Professors and undergraduate students usually do not compete against each other in basketball and bowling tournaments, but that is exactly what will happen next week during COBA pride week.

Pride week is a week designed to bring students and faculty closer together and to introduce COBA to the rest of SIUC, a COBA official said.

Mike Haywood, COBA official in charge of undergraduate recruitment, said the week’s theme will be COBA is your link to the global market.

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We do this every year to get people aware that the school of business is not just locally recognized, since we are second in the state of Illinois, but nationally as well, Haywood said. We also have a well known faculty and staff within the school.

He said activities for the week start Sunday with a basketball tournament where faculty and staff will play students. The tournament starts at 5 p.m. in the Recreation Center.

The basketball tournament provides students with a chance to meet with faculty and staff of COBA in a non-academic setting, Haywood said. It also helps reduce some stress in the students lives.

Haywood said on Monday COBA will be giving away free Pepsi at the college, donated by Harry Crisp, chairman of Pepsi in Marion. Pencils, book covers and key chains will also be given away.

The big prize that will be given away is the three-day, two- night trip to St. Louis, he said. Whoever fills out a fact sheet with questions about COBA successfully will win the trip.

Jason Irvin, president of blacks interested in business, said his organization has sponsored the event for the past five years.

This is a good way to get faculty and students to interact, Irvin who is also the SIUC student trustee, said. This is also a way to showcase COBA to the rest of SIUC.

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Haywood said COBA is having a student day Tuesday, and students from as far east as Paducah Ky. and as far west as St. Louis will be coming to tour campus.

The big event of the week will be a bowling tournament at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Student Center bowling alley, Haywood said.

The bowling tournament is a fun event, he said. We recruited local businesses around the area to donate prizes.

Shannon May, vice president of blacks interested in business, said the bowling tournament is the best event during the week.

Everyone always seems to have a good time bowling, she said. It is a good idea for students to get to know their professors in a non academic setting.

The rest of the week bulletin board and banner contests will be going on, Haywood said.

On Friday, first, second and third place awards will be given away for the bowling tournament, and banner and bulletin board contest prizes will be given away, Haywood said.

For more information on any of the events going on during COBA pride week call Mike Haywood at 453-7498.