BETHANY, W.Va. – Bethany College is hosting scores of area football players and musicians on campus this week ahead of the annual OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Game.
The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference includes 50 high schools from Ohio and West Virginia, and the annual contest pits all-stars from each state against one another.
Members of both teams – 36 from West Virginia and 37 from Ohio – arrived at Bethany on Sunday to begin their training.
The West Virginia roster features a future Bethany Bison in Drake Hukill. The running back and linebacker from Brooke High School plans to major in physical education and health science beginning in the fall.
The McDonald’s All-Star Band presented by CA House represents 17 schools across the Ohio Valley. The 89 musicians arrived on campus Tuesday.
Band member Sindey Felouzis, of Brooke High School, will also attend Bethany in the fall as a Presidential Scholar with plans to major in international business and minor in music.
Felouzis and several other band all-stars, representing Brook, Edison, and St. Clairsville, joined Bethany musicians this spring as part of a pep band that played during Bison football games.
The OVAC all-star game is returning for its 75th year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the game and related activities in 2020.
During a news conference held Monday, game director Dirk Fitch called the return of the OVAC all-star celebration worth the wait.
Likewise, Bethany canceled all camps last year, and the college is excited to welcome groups such as the OVAC back on campus. Bethany hosts groups ranging in size from 20 to more than 200.
Bison Field will host a pep rally at 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 23. Admission is free, and gates open at 5 p.m. The free community event will feature performances by the band and the cheerleaders and a chance to meet the football players and the Queen of Queens talent show contestants. The OVAC also will announce the recipients of the Rudy Mumley Memorial and Ron Mauck scholar-athlete scholarships.
The 75th OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Game is at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, July 24. at Wheeling Island Stadium.
Over the years, the game has raised more than $957,600 to charities and scholarships throughout the Ohio Valley.
ABOUT BETHANY COLLEGE
Bethany College, founded in 1840, is the oldest private college in West Virginia. The Bethany experience focuses on academic excellence in the area of liberal arts and prepares students for a lifetime of work and a life of significance.
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