The athletics department at the University of Wisconsin-Superior has announced that its cause games for the 2017-18 will benefit various youth sports organizations in the city of Superior.
 
"Last year we saw some success with our cause games and were able to raise money to benefit the breast cancer awareness efforts of the Essentia Health Foundation. Building off that success, we are excited to set our sights on benefiting the youth in our community," said UW-Superior Athletics Director Nick Bursik. "Over the years we've wanted to increase our involvement with the youth sports organizations in Superior, and we think that this is going to be a great vehicle to help us achieve that goal and establish a positive relationship for years to come."
 
Every Yellowjacket sports team will have a cause game during the 2017-18 campaign. During the games teams, depending on their sports, will wear warm-up shirts, jerseys, hats, and other items featuring the Yellowjacket logo on a backdrop of blue, the dominant color of Superior High School and Superior youth sports teams.

Also included on the apparel is the phrase, "We Are Superior", a prominent hashtag utilized by Yellowjacket Athletics.
 
"We've been using the hashtag for probably the better part of five years and people will see this message all over our athletic facilities," Bursik said. "It is more than just a clever play on the name of our city. It has a deep meaning, and in this case it is a word that unifies all of us, from the college to the high school to the city's youth. All of us put together make us Superior."
 
Apparel will be available for sale at all of the Yellowjacket cause games, as well as in the showroom of UW-Superior Athletics corporate partner, Screen Graphics/Uniform Connection.
 
"We are very excited to be partnering with UW-Superior on the cause games this year. UWS is a tremendous community partner and their vision of benefiting more youth in the community makes our participation a no-brainer," said Ryan Yingling, sales and marketing manager with Screen Graphics/Uniform Connection.  "We have worked with UWS in the past, as well as other organizations, on cause games and it is always great to see everyone get involved on these special nights.  The coaches, players, staff, and the entire community all come out to support great causes and this year I am very confident will be no different. 
 
"We feel with the partnership with UWS and their commitment to working with youth in our community, this could be one of the biggest events we have ever been a part of.  This community does a tremendous job of helping each other out and I am thrilled to be part of these events this year and hopefully for years to come."
 
The jerseys that the Yellowjacket hockey teams will be wearing will be auctioned off following the games. A portion of the proceeds from the auction, as well as the sale of all of the apparel will be dispersed to organizations such as the Superior Amateur Hockey Association, Superior Basketball Association, Superior Soccer Association, Superior Youth Organization, Club Superior Volleyball, and the Superior Douglas County YMCA.
 
Each of the cause games will be declared a youth day, and at those games all youth will be admitted free with a paid adult.
 
"We're very excited to be able to have this be our cause for 2017-18, and we hope that the community shares our excitement and really gets behind something that will have great benefits for our areas youth," Bursik said. "It goes hand-in-hand with our department lowering our prices for season tickets. We're making a concerted effort to have our product be affordable and available to everyone in the community because we want them with us every step of the way."
 
For more information on this and other UW-Superior promotions and events, please contact Yellowjacket Athletics at 715-395-4693.