Cleveland State Athletics will have a celebration day on Feb. 22 as they welcome multiple special guests to campus for ceremonies that will take place as a part of their basketball gameday vs. Dyersburg State.

The day will be especially important for this season’s Lady Cougar and Cougar basketball sophomores. They will be honored before each of their respective games. Before the first tip-off of the doubleheader at 2 p.m., Women’s Basketball will honor Charisma Barner, Britnay Gore and Za’kkria Robinson. Before the Men’s Basketball game scheduled for 4 p.m., the Cougars will celebrate Demonte Person, Jakobey Hitchens, Jaquez Hicks and Kerry Pratt.

There will also be a ceremony at halftime of the Women’s Basketball game. Cleveland State will present the family of Liz Hannah Jackson with a plaque honoring her participation in the Tennessee Women’s All-Stars game against the U.S.S.R Olympic Team in 1976. Ms. Jackson passed away in August of 2019 and her family will be accepting the award on her behalf.

Former Cleveland State Head Coach Walker caught the action of the game through photos he took of the event in Memphis and shared them with Cleveland State Athletics for their personal archives in the Cougar Room. When asked about the event, Coach Walker expressed excitement for the ceremony and encouraged all fans of Cleveland State, and especially those who knew Jackson, to attend the festivities. 

“It’s been 50 years since the event, so I wanted to put something in the Cougar Room to honor it,” said Coach Walker. “I thought that I needed to give them to the school so they could show that we had some of the best players in the country here. Liz was definitely one of them. This event is unlike anything any other school has photos of.”

Coach Walker also relayed how great this plaque and event will be for those who knew Jackson. “I would encourage anyone that knew her to [check out] the plaque [in the Cougar Room] and attend the ceremony.”

In addition to all of the ceremonies to come on Feb. 22, the game will also be Taylor Elementary Day. All Taylor Elementary students will receive free admission into the basketball doubleheader.

"All Cleveland State fans and the community are invited to come be a part of this great day," officials said.