Undefeated in Summit League play and on a nine-game winning streak, the Omaha Mavericks are flying high as the college basketball season gears up for its final months.
Their plan to parlay that momentum on the court into a packed crowd at Baxter Arena? Distributing up to five gallons of popcorn for each fan.
On Saturday, with the Omaha men’s team hosting the Denver Pioneers, the Mavericks will allow fans to bring their own five-gallon (or smaller) trash cans into the arena to be filled at Baxter Arena’s Nineteen 08 concession stand for $5. Unsurprisingly, the school, concessions partner and arena reserve the right to refuse any cans that have not been properly sanitized.
The unique promotion is inspired by a new tradition Omaha’s locker room has recently adopted.
In December, with team morale low following consecutive losses to Northern Iowa and Iowa State, Mavericks associate head coach Kyan Brown had a spur-of-the-moment idea for how to motivate the squad ahead of a clash with Cal Poly — kicking a locker room trash can.
Omaha beat the Mustangs for its first win in two weeks, and a tradition was born. After every win in the Mavericks’ now nine-game streak, Brown takes center stage in the locker room and lets loose on a trash can with whatever is at his disposal — be it his foot, a bat or even a steel chair.
BAH GAWD! IT’S KB WITH A STEEL CHAIR!😵#GoMavs #OmahaMBB pic.twitter.com/IqqABWpMXz
— Omaha Men’s Basketball (@OmahaMBB) January 26, 2025
Any trash cans brought into the arena to be popcorn containers Saturday are presumably not at risk of being commandeered by Brown should Omaha beat Denver.