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JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State softball team will host UAB on Thursday at 6 p.m., when the JSU Athletic Department will also be celebrating National Student-Athlete Day and Student Appreciation Night.

Admission to the game is free for all fans, but all JSU students will receive a free hamburger and drink with their student ID and all JSU student-athletes will receive a free t-shirt. The festivities will take place beyond the outfield fence at University Field and will begin at 5:30 p.m., 30 minutes prior to the start of the game.

National Student-Athlete Day is an event sponsored by the NCAA that recognizes the accomplishments of student-athletes nationwide who excel in the classroom, on the playing fields and in their communities. National Student-Athlete Day was created by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS) and the Northeastern University Center for the Study of Sport in Society, with partnership from the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations. NCAA involvement began in 1994.

The Gamecocks and Blazers will square off for the second time this season, with JSU looking to avenge a loss in Birmingham on March 9. It will mark the final of a five-game homestand for the Gamecocks, who will return to Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend at first-place Morehead State.