Belk Set to Donate $5,000 in New "School Spirit Showdown" Competition

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Aug. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- "Yes, yes, yes we do… we've got SPIRIT, how 'bout you?" If you've ever been at an event and heard that chant, then you know what school spirit is all about as fans typically battle back and forth to see which side can be louder and more involved in the contest. In that same sense of friendly competition, Belk is launching a fun spirit contest on their Instagram Stories to see who truly has the most school spirit. The contest begins on August 30^th and will run daily through September 3^rd, with the winning school being announced on September 4^th.

As a new school year resumes across the country, many students are experiencing different ways of returning to academic lives. Belk wants to help college students engage with one another and feel a sense of unity with their classmates, whether they are back together in-person on campus or attending classes virtually.

Today, the retailer kicks off the "School Spirit Showdown" contest where 16 colleges will participate in a bracket-style competition and be pitted against each other in a series of Instagram Story daily polls on Belk's Instagram page. Schools will be encouraged to unleash the voting power of current students, alumni, faculty and fans to help them get votes for the school in order to advance into the next round of competition. The daily match-up polls on Instagram Stories will only last for 24 hours at a time, and schools will keep advancing in the contest until one school remains at the end.

The winning college will receive a $5,000 donation from Belk to their Career Services Department. Since the company's founding, Belk has always had a strong tie to its community, with education serving as one of the company's main pillars of charitable giving. 

The colleges in this year's contest and paired up to compete against each other in the opening round are:

• The University of Alabama vs. University of Mississippi
• Auburn University vs. University of Tennessee
• North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University vs. North Carolina Central University
• University of Georgia vs. University of South Carolina
• University of Arkansas vs. Louisiana State University
• Morehouse College vs. Howard University
• Clemson University vs. Virginia Tech
• The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill vs. North Carolina State University

The schools chosen for this year's competition are scattered throughout Belk's 16-state footprint and are colleges the company has partnered with in the past for recruiting.

Belk looks forward to being able to assist the winning school's Career Services Department as they are some of the unsung heroes who help prepare students for the transition from college to the post-graduate working world.

About Belk
Charlotte-based Belk, Inc., a privately-owned department store, opened its first store in 1888, beginning a legacy of selling great products at great prices, treating customers like family and giving back to the community. Today, Belk serves customers at nearly 300 Belk stores in 16 Southeastern states, at belk.com and through the mobile app. For over 130 years, Belk has proudly put customers and community at the center of what they do, supporting local charities, organizations and families when they need it most.

For more information visit https://newsroom.belk.com/.

To shop, find your local store at https://www.belk.com/stores/, visit belk.com or download the Belk app in Google Play or Apple Store.

SOURCE Belk, Inc.

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