There will be more than bragging rights for the best student section in the region.

Chris Humphrey Allstate is the sponsor for the Neuse News Student Section of the Year Award, which will be delivered after basketball season. Humphrey said he wanted to be a part of the endeavor because of the excitement provided at games by not just the players, but the fans.

“I’ve always appreciated the enthusiasm of the student sections,” Humphrey said. “Back in high school, we didn’t have the same element, and now I get to see a lot of enthusiasm at the games. My daughter goes to Frink, so I’ve seen the Hawk Krazees, and I know South Lenoir and Kinston has good student sections. It makes the game more fun and livens up the crowd, so I thought it was a natural fit.”

Neuse News Correspondent Graham Hill said he’s excited for the partnership and hopes it brings more fans to the games.

“Hopefully, this will give a lot of students more motivation to come out to the games, especially the big ones,” Hill said. “We’ve had a lot of great feedback from the Hawk Krazees and Munn Maniacs, who are excited about Thursday’s game and we hope other schools bring the energy when we’re around.”

Neuse News correspondent Junious Smith III shared similar sentiments.

“We have eight schools in our coverage area, and it’s been a blessing to have the interactions with not just the players, but the fans,” Smith said. “I can’t wait to see how everyone reacts with this news, and it’s not just about the LCC Game of the Week. We’ll be watching social media as well, and I’ll be at quite a few games as the season draws to an end.”

The next LCC Game of the Week is slated for Thursday as South Lenoir hosts North Lenoir. The approximate time of the broadcast will be 7:30 p.m.