HICKORY, N.C. - The second annual BeaRaPaLooZa weekend is in the books as the celebration of LR student-athletes and the Hickory community was felt around the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University. In only its second year, the event has quickly become a premier Bears Club event that alumni from all sports, students and community look forward to. For a video recap of all the fun, click here. 

Over 7600 people were welcomed to campus; with over four thousand people in attendance for the spring football game and the BeaRaPaLooZa family festivities on the Surface Family Practice Field. Fans got their first look at Doug Socha's football team after he was installed as the head coach in January. 

"It was a great day for our TEAM to end the spring football season in front of family, fans, alumni, administrators, and classmates," Head Football Coach Doug Socha said. "We had a solid 15 days and look forward to continuing to build into summer." 

One of the highlights from this year's BeaRaPaLooZa event was the annual Bears Club spring raffle, which raised $52,200 for student-athlete scholarships, breaking the record of $51,000 that was set in the inaugural BeaRaPaLooZa in 2023. The raffle capped off the spring fundraising for the Bears Club that started on "Bears Give Back" day on March 26. In total, the Bears Club raised $227,068 in support of the student-athlete experience along with scholarships. "Bears Give Back" Day saw $157,368 donated to athletics and the annual Gridiron Golf Classic raised $17,500 in support of the LR Football Team. 

The on-site competitions included the spring football game, softball doubleheader, senior days for the men's lacrosse, men's tennis and women's tennis programs, and the Southside Power and Fitness Track and Field Invitational.  

LR Athletics thanks everybody who attended over the weekend to support our student-athletes and programs. We also want to thank the City of Hickory for their sponsorship and partnership of this year's BeaRaPalooZa event. We look forward to seeing you on campus again soon. 

The Spring raffle winners are below. If you won a prize, please contact the Bears Club office via email shayna.skonieczki@lr.edu or phone 828-328-7007.