MSU President's Newspaper Column
June 11, 2022
Hosting the 2022 Shrine Bowl will be an opportunity for Comets to shine
After months of preparation and planning, Mayville State University is about to roll out the red carpet for the El Zagal and Kem Shriners and players, coaches, families, and fans of the 2022 North Dakota Shrine Bowl. We are delighted to have the opportunity to host not only the practices and activities leading up to the games, but the games as well. While we have hosted players and coaches during the week prior to the big event for the past several years, this will be the first time that Mayville State and Jerome Berg Field have been the site for the annual Shrine Bowl. This is a huge opportunity for our university and the greater community.
The North Dakota Shrine Bowl All-Star Game was established in 1974 with three primary goals. The first goal is to honor high school athletes who have excelled on the football field and who display the qualities of young men with high character. The second is to promote awareness and raise funds for Shriners Children’s. There are currently more than 350 children throughout North Dakota who are active patients at Shrine hospitals. Shriners Children’s is committed to providing the best care for children in the specialty areas of orthopedics, burn care, spinal cord injury, and cleft lip and palate, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. The third goal is to inform the public about the Shrine charitable organization in order to reach more children who could potentially be helped.
The 2022 games will be played at Jerome Berg Field on Saturday, June 18. The 11-man game kicks off at 4 p.m. and the 9-man game is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. Due to limited bench seating, all who attend the games are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets and to view the games anywhere around the bowl inside Jerome Berg Field.
Camp week commences with player check-in on Tuesday, June 14. Shriners Patient Ambassador Day is scheduled for Thursday, June 16, and a parade, the awards banquet, and both all-star games are Saturday, June 18. We are proud that Mayville-Portland’s own Triplicity will sing the national anthem and our nation’s colors will be presented at the game by the Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg Legion.
The much-anticipated game day will begin on Saturday, June 18, with a parade featuring a number of Shrine units, candy for the kids, and lots of fun for all. The community is cordially invited to be at the parade and give everyone involved a warm welcome. The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. The route will take the parade east on Main Street, beginning at Mayville Lutheran Church, then head north on 5th Street, ending at the Lewy Lee Fieldhouse, where the Shrine Bowl Banquet will begin at 11 a.m. Mayville State Dining Services staff will prepare and serve the banquet meal.
Organizers have lots of fun activities planned prior to the games. Many of our great community amenities, such as the Delchar Theater, Goose River Heritage Museum, Mayville Pool & Water Park, Mayville Golf Course, Rainbow Gardens, Soholt Bakery, Larson Alumni Center, and MSU Bookstore, have been promoted with our potential guests so that they might get a feel for our wonderful community while in town. In addition, Jump 4 Joy bounce houses will be set up outside of Jerome Berg Field and there will be face painting from 2 to 7 p.m. With the expected crowd of 3,000 who will attend the games, we know there will be lots of hungry people. To help accommodate, there will be food vendors located just west of the main entrance to Jerome Berg Field from 2 to 8 p.m. Vendors will include B-n-B Restaurant, Ohana Shaved Ice, Ma and Pa’s BBQ, Sweet Prairie, Cruizin Cafe, and the MSU Athletics Concessions.
Comet White Hats will host tailgating for Shriners and parents of Shrine Bowl players free of charge. Live music will be provided by Kenny and the Classics from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Those who participate are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket.
We are grateful to BASF, Peterson Farms Seed - T & R Seed, Advanced Drainage Systems, the Comet White Hats, Top Hat Lounge, and Jacobson Studio for their sponsorship of the pre-game activities.
Hosting the Shrine Bowl and camp week at Mayville State University takes a great team effort. I am grateful to Rocky Larson and Lon Jorgensen who have headed up the planning and organizing, as well as all Mayville State employees and community members who are going above and beyond to make sure the experience is positive and memorable for all participants. June 18, 2022 will most definitely be a great day to be a Comet!