Show me the bacon? Kansas State gives out free bacon at women's basketball game

(UPI) -- In order to promote the women’s basketball team’s home opener against Tennessee State on Friday evening, Kansas State University will be handing out free bacon beginning an hour before tipoff.

When the announcement was made on Tuesday, K-State officials were only planning to cook up about 75 pounds of pork but, after there was a full-scale bacon blitz on social media, they are now planning on frying up 300 pounds of thick-sliced bacon.

Students with ID will be admitted free to Friday’s game and handed a “boat of bacon” as they go through the door. The “boat” is similar to the paper container that nachos are served in.

“We sat around with our Student Advisory Board in preseason and asked them what incentives would get them out to games that they wouldn’t necessarily go to,” said Bethany Cordell, graduate assistant for women’s basketball marketing.

“We talked about the usual promotional items and food was an overwhelming response. We threw out bacon just to throw out the idea and the Advisory Board was all over it and excited about it. We decided it was something different and new we wanted to try.”

It seems like the bacon promotion is going to be a slam dunk.

“We’re excited to get students in to watch our team,” Cordell said. “We’re excited about our women’s team this year. The first step is to get them here and hopefully back for the rest of the season.”