Signed sports memorabilia, electronics and sporting-event tickets will be up for auction on Dec. 10, when the Syracuse men’s basketball team hosts Boston University.

The items will be available at the 12th Annual Charity Sports Auction, which will be hosted by Syracuse University’s Sport Management Club in the Carrier Dome during the game.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center, a Syracuse-based nonprofit organization that provides legal and medical resources for abused children and their families.

Items will be set up on tables behind the basketball court for people to browse and bid on during the game, said Christina Myers, SPM Club vice president of community service.

“Basketballs signed by Jim Boeheim and the basketball teams are pretty popular,” Myers added.

Items will be sold in a silent auction format throughout the game.

The Annual Charity Sports Auction is the SPM Club’s largest event of the year, said Stephen Marciello, SPM Club vice president of programming. The club began planning for the December auction last January.

About 100 volunteers are working to organize the Charity Sports Auction this year, said Kyle O’Connor, auction co-chair and former columnist for The Daily Orange.

Each year, the SPM Club interviews representatives of charities and nonprofit organizations to select the beneficiary of the auction’s proceeds. O’Connor said the SPM Club selected the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center because it is a local charity that helps kids in the Syracuse area.

“The McMahon/Ryan Center really has a direct impact on the Syracuse community, and that’s why we wanted to help them,” O’Connor said.

The McMahon/Ryan Center provides free medical examinations, legal counseling and therapy sessions for child victims of sexual and physical abuse in the Syracuse area. The McMahon/Ryan Center has approached the SPM Club in the past, but this is the first year it was selected as the auction’s recipient.

O’Connor said the McMahon/Ryan Center’s goal to help child victims of abuse resonated with members of the SPM Club.

“I really think people rallied around the idea that they are helping kids that might not have parents to talk to or get help from,” O’Connor added. “For many kids in Syracuse, the McMahon/Ryan Center is their only resource.”

Myers, SPM Club vice president, said the Charity Sports Auction has raised $312,000 in the last 11 years for organizations such as the Salvation Army and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

While the Charity Sports Auction has always been successful, O’Connor said he hopes this year’s auction will attract members of the greater Syracuse community.

“It’s always been a challenge to reach people off the hill, but we’ve extended the auction’s hours longer than past years to get a larger crowd,” O’Connor said.

The 12th Annual Charity Sports Auction will run from 10 a.m. until the start of the women’s basketball game following the men’s game on Dec. 10. Anyone with a valid admission to the men’s basketball game can attend the auction.

Published on November 27, 2016 at 10:29 pm

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18