On Friday evening, a line of people flooded the small outer lobby of the Events Center, ready to usher in a new era of Binghamton University basketball.

Binghamton’s own version of a nationwide annual event celebrating the official start of the college basketball season, Late Nite Madness, brought an estimated 1,845 people to the Events Center for introductions of both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, a slam dunk contest and a variety of performances by the University’s spirit squads and pep band.

For the men’s team especially, Friday night marked the official celebration of a clean slate for a squad that managed just one regular season win last year. With a brand-new coaching staff and the addition of five new faces to the roster, senior guard Jimmy Gray said the event also served as a chance for the crowd to meet the new Bearcats.

“Everybody gets introduced, everybody has a better feeling of a new season coming, and considering that there’s new guys … it has our audience and the people that support us, our fans … anxious to see who’s coming, what kind players we have,” Gray said. “These type of events kind of get everybody excited for the season.”

Tommy Dempsey, who replaced Mark Macon as head coach following Macon’s dismissal last spring, said that while the event marked his first public appearance in his new role, the night was more about the players than the coaches.

“It’s a night where your guys get to feel good about themselves and good about the fact that people care, and that it’s important to people around here, that basketball is important to people here on campus and in the community,” Dempsey said before the event. “I’m just looking forward to them getting excited about the start of practice.”

Introductions were also in order for the women’s basketball team, which lost its three big stars to graduation at the end of last season. Five freshmen join this year’s roster.

Head coach Nicole Scholl lauded the event’s ability to introduce fans to the programs and get them ready for a new season.

“It’s just an opportunity to come into the Events Center [and] see what this building is all about,” Scholl said. “It’s a great atmosphere for games … Both teams have led the league in attendance for the last couple of years, and it’s a just a tribute to the support that we get year in and year out.”

The men’s basketball team is set to begin play on Nov. 9 at Loyola University Maryland, while the women’s team is scheduled to kick off the regular season on Nov. 10 at St. Bonaventure University.