SOUTH SIOUX CITY | Julie Gilbert regularly texts the College of the Ozarks women's basketball coach to see how the team is faring throughout the season.
A few years ago, the manager of executive support services was on a work trip for her employer Great West Casualty Company and had to miss a crucial game for the Lady Bobcats during the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship in Sioux City.
"I was getting texts and phone calls from my co-workers. I hated missing it," she said. "That's just how exciting it is."
Since 2004, Great West Casualty Company has sponsored College of the Ozarks during the tournament. The Christian liberal arts college in Point Lookout, an unincorporated community in Taney County, Missouri, is unique. Instead of paying tuition, students work at an on-campus work station. They graduate debt-free.
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Even making it to the NAIA tournament doesn't give the women's basketball players a pass on their work hours. When they return to campus, Gilbert said they have to make up the work they've missed.
"They're pretty focused. They're studying while they're here," she said. "It's pretty amazing."
Great West Casualty Company, which specializes in providing truck insurance products and services, has been sponsoring teams since Sioux City first hosted the tournament in 1998. She said the tournament is good for both the community and the economy, while sponsoring a team is a rewarding experience for Great West Casualty Company.
"It's been fun just to get to meet the teams from all over the country and just be involved in the tournament," she said. "It's satisfying to see students come and play hard and work hard and still have fun."
The very first team Great West Casualty Company sponsored was Minot State University. The team's name was assigned to the company after being drawn out of a hat during a luncheon.
Today, Gilbert said if a sponsor's team from the previous year returns to the tournament, they can keep that team or draw another. In 1999, Great West Casualty Company hosted Urbana University from Urbana, Ohio. Dakota State University followed in 2000 and 2001. In 2002 and 2003, the company hosted the University of Maine at Farmington.
"It's interesting to see all of the different teams that come in and how they all interact," she said. "We love having them come over here so we can show them what we do."
Gilbert said sponsors meet their teams at the tournament's opening banquet, cheer them on during their games and buy their teams a gift.
Staff at Great West Casualty Company have delivered a breakfast of bagels to the Lady Bobcats, served them lunch at the office and given them items such as warm-up shirts, sunglasses and bathrobes.
She said Great West Casualty Company CEO Jim Jensen spends time with the team as they huddle around his desk in his office. Although they've gotten to know the women well over the years, Gilbert admits it's hard to remember all of their names.
"We like to spoil them and make them feel important," she said. "We've got a really good relationship with the coach. She was actually the assistant coach when we started hosting them. It's kind of nice to have the same team coming back every year because you do get to know the girls."
Gilbert said the Lady Bobcats are a favorite team at the tournament because the college brings a couple of bus loads of students and cheerleaders to the game, who get the crowd going. She said the students are very respectful, cleaning up the stands after the game.
"I think they really appreciate what we do for them," she said.
