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School pride?


oruvoice

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It would appear that school pride has become nearly extinct at 81st & Lewis.

 

I wish I knew the cause or had a solution. I do not. Just felt like venting.

 

Would anyone have a problem if I went to the dorms and attempted to beat some school pride into the current student body?

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I hear ya, I vented about it in a recent post, it's pretty shameful in my opinion for the students to not want to come to games and support their teams.  I'm pretty sure we got more support game in and game out for soccer and volleyball than we've gotten for basketball (so far), which is great for those sports, but where's the love for our basketball teams?  I watch pretty much all of the men's and women's basketball games on the ORU feed and espn3, or wherever they're on, and the student turnout has been pathetic.

 

Has college gotten harder since I was a student?  Well, could be, I was last a student 22 years ago.  Do they not have time?  Are they having to constantly study?  Are most of them going to bed at 7 at night?  Still, not sure of the reasons why the students don't come out.  Wish I knew a student or two that could tell me why, or I wish I could take a poll.

 

The Maniacs come out, but it seems like even they are less of a force these days.  Are the students not sitting in the same section or sections anymore?  I did see quite a few of the women's basketball players at the game last night, they were sitting together as a group in the section to the left of and not directly behind our bench if you were standing on the court, but I didn't see very many other students.

 

I remember players telling me that it meant a lot to them when the students came out, it got them going.  They appreciate it.  I'm sure they wonder why the student sections are basically empty.

 

And voice, I don't think that beating on the current student body would do any good.  Maybe free stuff would work.  Sad.

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Not to correct you "BlueGold", but even what's left of the Maniacs is all but gone. As a matter of fact, there were ZERO there last night, at least visible ones that stand on the front row and cheer...

 

However, you are correct about the women's team. I saw most of them there, last night. Both basketball teams seem to like each other and support one another.

 

That said, for a school that has most of its' students on campus, the student attendance is horrendous. And, while I hear you on 'free stuff', it shouldn't take that, to walk a couple hundred yards, enjoy college basketball (free and great seats) in a phenomenal arena, and show some pride in your school.

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it starts from the top.  it has to be important to the President....that was one thing Richard got right.

 

-acknowledge the team after a big win in chapel

-get the players and coaches on stage to encourage student turnout

-promote wing events/contests

-1000 students at a game garners some form of relaxed dress code (if there is anything left to relax)

-shut down saga and serve dinner in the mabee mezzanine

 

Richard did all that and more to get students to show up...until the administration embraces the importance of sporting events as a part of student life we will see more of the same.

 

i feel bad for the players and coaches.   they have put out a pretty darn good product for the last 10-15 years and have seen the student fan base dwindle over the last 5 or 6 years.

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:puke:  :puke:  :puke: ......enough said.....ORU students should be ashamed....support your school.....show some pride.....it's pathetic..... :|

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Looking at other schools, 10% of the student body is considered excellent. We had them when there were strong student leaders who pushed for student involvement, like Joey Odom. (Remember that Joey was a second generation ORU student and raised to love ORU basketball, as were several others) It also takes having an administration who doesn't micro manage the students and promotes the development of students becoming fans for life. I don't think moving homecoming helped. My personal feeling is that when it was moved, the team doesn't have time to gel and isn't into conference play. Two of the best attended games of the year were always homecoming and the TU game, so why would you ever combine them?

The alumni should be roll models. I think it helped when the Golden Eagle Club had the pre game dinners and the maniacs were provided pizza on the other side of the curtain. They were invited in for the slave auction and other events and taught to understand what boosters do to support a program. We learned our lesson then on teaching them to have an attitude of entitlement. That is a bad path to follow and carries over to the lack of alumni financial support for the university as a whole. 

Athletics is still the porch to a university.

Just my two cents.

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The student participation has been bad, outside of the TU game to start the season.

 

On a good night, the Maniacs (or whatever they are called now), consist of about 6-12 kids. And, the game that spurred my post, there were none.

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Spend a few minutes walking around campus on a normal school day. Some of you guys, frankly, I don't think have done that in a couple of decades.

 

The non-athlete kids that the school is recruiting do not care about sports. They are music/ministry/performance kids. They don't like sports.

 

Nothing wrong with that, but they are the type of kids that wouldn't go to basketball games at Duke or Kansas.

 

The student attendance will change only when the focus of the school's admissions office changes. Or when steps are taken to make attendance practically madatory (dinner at Mabee with SAGA closed, no campus worship/drama/movie night/hall meetings conflicting with basketball, AC closed, etc.)

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Spend a few minutes walking around campus on a normal school day. Some of you guys, frankly, I don't think have done that in a couple of decades.

 

The non-athlete kids that the school is recruiting do not care about sports. They are music/ministry/performance kids. They don't like sports.

 

Nothing wrong with that, but they are the type of kids that wouldn't go to basketball games at Duke or Kansas.

 

The student attendance will change only when the focus of the school's admissions office changes. Or when steps are taken to make attendance practically madatory (dinner at Mabee with SAGA closed, no campus worship/drama/movie night/hall meetings conflicting with basketball, AC closed, etc.)

 

Excuses, excuses...there are valid reasons why the kids don't come out like they used to, but I hardly think it's the fault of the Admissions Department.

 

It ain't like ORU was predominently business and PE majors back in the day, when the students filled two full sections of the gold seats.

 

In truth, it's ALWAYS been "music/ministry/performance" majors at ORU, since the day the doors opened!!

 

And still, they came to the games!!

 

They may have been dorky, and not fully understood basketball, and cheered at the wrong times on occasion, but they still came to the games!!

 

Because it wasn't about "liking sports" - it was about COMMUNITY.

 

Basketball and baseball games were "the" place to be.

 

Currently, I get that feeling more on campus about soccer and volleyball.

 

Help me out here, fellow alumni - am I right, or am I right?

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As a current student that lives on campus, I can see where Bad Blood is coming from. It does seem like a huge percentage of students wouldn't care about even the best college athletics.

But it also is frustrating to me how little athletics are emphasized. Most students are completely unaware of games. They do mention each sport's upcoming games and matches in the chapel announcements (when most of us are staring at our phones), but other than that there is no excitement to get students to the games. Maybe next year will be better.

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TheEagleman attended ORU in the 70's and we had a few "dorks" on our wing but most still attended the games.....and the campus basically shut down during all basketball games.....so there was little choice...but i know kids today are a lot different...this attendance issue is not likely to change.....it makes me sad..... :|

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as an RA we were told to go room to room at 6:30 and collect people to go to the game.  you'd be surprised how many people were just going to sit in their room on a Saturday night, but when were invited/suggested that they go would go and ended up having a good time.  we were told to make basketball games into wing events with the sister wing and have bowling or braums to follow the game.  dudes (even the "dorks") will show up where the opposite sex is involved. 

 

it was not uncommon to see 2 sections full and even students sitting behind the pep band for games where a big push was made for student attendance.  now it looks like they don't even fill half a section most home games.

 

...agree with Eagleman that it is sad to see

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Why would the incentives mentioned in this thread not be used to get students to the games?! 

 

I've got no problem with that, getting students to games is probably the same issue at most low to mid-major programs.

 

For students, at the minimum, basketball games used to serve as a social gathering spot. But maybe that's not necessary now that you can see a live basketball game on a cell phone.

 

I would agree on the feeling that soccer, volleyball and even intramural games have had the excitement of being the place to be, that seems to have gone on for years. They have the benefit of being at the beginning of the school year, when there is still an emphasis on wing activities. There needs to be a push to keep that momentum at least through basketball season.

 

I understand that students don't have as much spirit now as they did 30-40 years ago, but Oral Roberts University and it's men's basketball program ain't what it was back then either. And that isn't the fault of the current student body.

 

And it would be a shame if the Maniacs have been disbanded or "quit" (according to the administration). A student-led effort, similar to what originally started the Maniacs, goes a long way.

 

In my Maniac days, over 10 years ago now, there were a lot of members who weren't sports fans. But its amazing how many students show up with SOME encouragement. 

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100 students at a volleyball or soccer game looks like a massive crowd, because it takes up 1/4 of a small facility.

 

300 students at a basketball game disperse across a 10,000-seat arena, and barely register at all

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Yeah. but there was a time (not so long ago) where the student attendance did register at basketball games.

 

Opponent fan bases used to comment on how loud/rowdy the ORU student section was.

 

Now...not so much.

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I still don't really get it.....TheEagleman attended Manhattan at Rider a few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon...it's a small gym with maybe 1800-2000 seating capacity...the place was just about packed and mostly with students....Rider is a mid-major just like ORU and the gym is right in the middle of the suburban Trenton NJ campus....Rider is decent this year but in past years they always have a large student turnout even when the team is sub .500.....if 1000 students can turn out for Rider Bronco games....hard to believe that at least 500 students don't turn out for ORU games....it's pathetic.... :|

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I have been saying this for 20 years while serving three terms on the Alumni Board & multiple terms on the Golden Eagle Club Board. I questioned why we didn't advertise ORU having an NCAA D-1 athletic program in magazines like the one for Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was told they, the administration,  didn't think it was a "fit".  Southern Nazarene (NAIA at the time) & OBU (D-2)  did & do. I finally wore out when it came to trying to make recommendations that fell on deaf ears.

As long as the students don't swear or touch anyone, why do they need to be micro managed at the games?  ORU has great students. They aren't going to do anything nearly as over the top as a state school.  Let them have fun so they tell their friends & still have good memories after they graduate..IT IS COLLEGE!  Let them have fun or they will go somewhere else.

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