GLENDALE, Ariz. — No. 1 seeds Purdue and UConn are bringing March Madness to a close by battling it out for the NCAA men's basketball national championship at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona tonight, and before the game an Arizona native took center court and sung the national anthem.
Vocalist Kahara Hodges, an Arizona State University alum, sang 'The Star Spangled Banner' in front of the crowd of 74,423 fans at State Farm Stadium and countless thousands of others watching the TBS broadcast.
Hodges sang in front of the Tohono O’odham Nation Color Guard, who were presenting the flags. Flags from 22 tribal nations in Arizona were also included in the pregame presentation.
Hodges is of Diné, English, Mexican and African American heritage, according to an interview she did with Mesa Public Schools' Native American Education Program in 2020. Her family is originally from Ganado, Arizona, but she was born and raised in Phoenix.
She graduated from ASU in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in American Indian Studies. She was named a President Barack Obama scholar and a Gates Millennium scholar during her time at ASU.
She is also a model and has been working in the industry since 2018. She made her professional modeling debut in the Santa Fe Fashion Show and has been featured in campaigns by Nike, Covergirl, L’Oréal, MAC, Skims, Good American, and Emilie Heath, according to her management page.
But her talents don't stop there. She is also an actress and has appeared in one episode of Rutherford Falls, where she played a character called Eileen in 2022, and appeared in the 2023 film Frybread Face and Me, where she played a character named Aunt Lucy.
She is no stranger to singing the national anthem at sporting events and is known for signing it in the Navajo language of Diné, which she has done at ASU and at the Footprint Center before at least one Phoenix Suns game.
She also leads a Diné singing class at the Phoenix Indian Center and is a wellness ambassador for the Indigenous youth at the Native Wellness Institute.
Hodges and her partner, Martin Sensmeier, have two children together.
Social media reaction to Kahara Hodges national anthem performance
After Hodges' performance on Monday night, social media was filled up with posts from people who loved every second.
"Kahara Hodges, That was an astonishing performance of the national anthem," one person posted on X, formerly Twitter.
"Awesome job Kahara Hodges on the National Anthem," another person posted.
And here is more reaction from other fans.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks and NHL's Arizona Coyotes.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. The Coyotes play at Mullett Arena on ASU's Tempe campus.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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