In a way, this year’s Midnight Madness celebration was inspired by Juli Boeheim. The wife of Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim works closely with Galaxy Communications to plan the annual celebration, and her knowledge of Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness event stuck with CEO Ed Levine.

‘Juli’s always been talking to us about Kentucky,’ Levine said. ‘So my No. 1 goal was to do a bigger Midnight Madness than Kentucky. That I definitely want to do.’

With that in mind, Levine and his staff have booked three acts that he hopes will form ‘the biggest Midnight Madness in the country as far as entertainment value.’

The annual event to celebrate the beginning of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 14, in the Carrier Dome. Rapper and actor Tone Loc headlines the bill along with the acrobatic act Russian Bar Trio and Deena from Jersey Shore.

Tone Loc, whose real name is Anthony Smith, was most popular in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. The 45-year-old is scheduled to perform his hit songs ‘Wild Thing’ and ‘Funky Cold Medina’ while accompanied by the SU Dance Team. ‘Wild Thing’ ascended to No. 2 on the U.S. music charts in 1989 and ‘Funky Cold Medina’ peaked at No. 3.

Tone Loc will be joined by Russian Bar Trio, an acrobatic act that appeared on the television show ‘America’s Got Talent.’ The group will perform its ‘death-defying feats’ at center court.

Rounding out the night’s entertainment is Deena from the hit television show Jersey Shore. Deena, whose full name is Deena Cortese, will sign autographs and interact with the crowd.

Levine said these three acts provide both an old-school element and something for the young people of today.

‘We wanted something that would appeal to just about everybody,’ he said. ‘There would be something for everybody there, so even casual basketball fans would want to come to the event.’

Midnight Madness is free to the public but requires a general admission ticket that limits seating to the lower level of the Carrier Dome. Tickets will be available beginning Wednesday, Oct. 5, with a limit of four per person at the Carrier Dome box office, Schine Student Center and various AmeriCU locations in the Syracuse area.

Once the hype melts away, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams will partake in drills and a scrimmage. There will also be a dunk contest.

The crown jewel of Levin’s best-ever Midnight Madness is still in the works. He said he traveled to ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., to make a pitch for SU’s event to be broadcast on ESPNU.

Each year, ESPNU covers a handful of Midnight Madness events around the country. But prior to this season, Levine said Syracuse wasn’t eligible to be on television.

‘This is the first year ever that we’ve done Midnight Madness on the actual first day you could do Midnight Madness,’ Levins said. ‘We never were able to talk to ESPN about coming up here because for years we were doing it a day late or a week late or 10 days late.’

Though ESPN has not confirmed whether or not it will be in the Carrier Dome on Oct. 14, Levine said talks between the two sides have been positive. He said getting this event televised would be the ‘finishing touches’ on a great event.

‘I’m keeping my fingers crossed,’ he said.

The men’s basketball team enters the 2011-12 season led by head coach Jim Boeheim, who is in his 36th year at the helm. Most critics peg the Orange as a top-10 team for the upcoming season behind four returning starters — Scoop Jardine, Kris Joseph, Baye Moussa Keita and Brandon Triche.

Syracuse posted a record of 27-8 last season with a disappointing loss to Marquette in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. Expectations for this season are much higher with the veterans returning to the Orange and another strong recruiting class.

On the women’s side, Syracuse will certainly be aiming for the NCAA tournament this season. SU narrowly missed the big dance a season ago and finished with a 25-10 record overall.

Quentin Hillsman returns for his fifth season as the head coach of the Orange. He also has his two top scorers back from last season in junior center Kayla Alexander and senior forward Iasia Hemingway.

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on September 26, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13