Dining Services Scores Big with ‘Play Ball’ Night

06/05/2015 

A baseball-themed dining event put on by SUNY Cortland’s Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC) scored big in a national awards contest for campus food providers.

ASC’s “Play Ball” event, held March 5 in Neubig Hall, earned a silver medal in the 2015 National Association of College and University Food Services (NACFUS) Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards Contest for its quality and creativity — the College’s 10th food service award since 2006.

“We were thrilled with the results,” said Bill McNamara, director of Dining Services for ASC. “The Neubig dining team worked hard in the planning and execution and I’m very proud of their work.

“Any time you can be nationally recognized while earning positive customer feedback, you know you hit a home run.”

The event’s timing was aligned with the beginning of Major League Baseball’s spring training schedule, with everything from the food menu to the lobby set-up in Neubig Hall planned to perfection. Each dining station was transformed into a representation of a different baseball stadium, with team regalia serving as decoration.

Food choices represented different teams: lobster rolls and New England clam chowder for the Boston Red Sox; Old Bay sausage and buffalo crab macaroni and cheese for the Baltimore Orioles; steak sandwiches, fried pickles and garlic fries for the New York Yankees; Cuban sandwiches for the Tampa Bay Rays; and so on.

ASC workers played the role of roaming vendors by handing out peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Big League Chew to guests in the dining hall. Create-your-own nachos and soft pretzel stations also were on display. Before or after their meals, dining guests could try their hand at bean bag and milk bottle toss games in the Neubig Hall lobby area.

Attendance was an all-time high for a themed meal, with 2,529 guests, and customer feedback was overwhelmingly positive, McNamara said.

“I think it’s safe to say staff and students alike were eager and excited to think ahead to spring after a long, hard winter,” he said.

Elaborate special event dinners are prepared annually in Neubig Hall at no extra cost to students. McNamara said the meals are a way to take students “out of the box” and to thank the SUNY Cortland community.

ASC submitted a digital scrapbook for the NACUFS competition. Judging was based on four criteria: menu selection, theme development, marketing of the event and overall impressions.

NACUFS has more than 1,000 institutional and industry members. Based in Okemos, Mich., the national association is dedicated to promoting quality food service on college and university campuses.

Founded more than 50 years ago, ASC is SUNY Cortland’s campus-based, not-for-profit dining service provider. The organization also manages vending, campus stores, student ID cards and other essential services for the campus community.