Emerson Channel Sports hosted the first Emerson College GameDay on Saturday, collaborating with the athletic department and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in an attempt to create a Division I atmosphere for the fall sports teams’ senior days.

“It’s not often that senior day happens for three different sports at one day, so we wanted to show that,” Joe Jacobs, director of sports production for ECS, said prior to the event.

The day finished on a high note for the men’s soccer team, which won its first NEWMAC game of the season, 1-0 over MIT. Athletic director Pat Nicol said she thinks fan support pushed the team to victory.

“Not only did they play a great game, but they did it in front of their peers, and I think the level of support that was demonstrated for our men’s team really had an impact on how they played,” Nicol said.

The event included games to entertain fans in attendance, including KanJam, corn hole, and wiffle ball. Refreshments were provided by the athletic department.

Nicol said she hopes Emerson College GameDay and promotions like it help to attract more Lions fans. She said hosting similar events in the future at Piano Row, where having to walk to Rotch Field is not a deterrent, could bolster the image of athletics even more.

“They really exemplified the spirit of athletics and what it can do and bring to a college campus, and what we want to do is broaden that scope, and broaden that outreach to non student-athletes,” Nicol said. “I think if we have that GameDay atmosphere on a consistent basis, it will permeate the rest of the student body.”

Jacobs said the idea was the brainchild of SAAC member and men’s soccer senior Niko Emack-Bazelais, and he hopes to see more like it in the future.

“We’ll hopefully try to do it for the winter and the spring down the road to have these big events where we can honor the seniors and the guys that have grinded for four years of Emerson athletics,” Jacobs said.