The Master’s College will give away a $2,000 scholarship to a potential incoming freshman during half-time festivities of its men’s basketball game versus rival Biola on Feb. 9.

The giveaway is one piece of the school’s first-ever Mustang Stampede rally put on by TMC’s Admissions Department. Its original purpose was to give high school seniors an opportunity to experience a facet of campus life they don’t see during the standard college tour.

“We wanted to give prospective students another insight into what it feels like to be a Master’s College student,” said TMC assistant director of admissions John Spring. “We wanted them to catch a vision of what awaits them in the future.”

But while it began as an event for prospective students, Stampede has grown to encompass the entire campus. A home basketball game against Biola, one of the Mustangs’ fiercest rivals, has a way of galvanizing the student body.

With the big game about a week away, Stampede has gone viral – at least in Placerita Canyon. Invitees will join current students and alumni for a tailgate dinner in the parking lot next to Bross Gymnasium. There, judges will award prizes for the best-decorated trucks, students will operate face-painting stations and the admissions department will give away an array of prizes … including the scholarship.

Spring hopes the event will be the start of something special for the community – an added pinch of spice to the TMC-Biola rivalry.

Mostly, he hopes it will provide high school students with a unique view into life as a part of the TMC family.

“With college basketball there’s a sense of school pride that’s visible,” he said. “There’s something to be said about being in a packed-out gym, surrounded by fans dressed in your school colors, all rooting for the team. We don’t want those incoming students to feel like they’re on the outside looking in. We want them to have the same experience as if they’re already attending.”