Student fans

[Hoopsdude18]

I am wondering if anyone here could put me in touch with a current student from the student section, perhaps a leader or executive board member. I searched both the school's website and the athletics site for this info, but came up short. I am attempting to get reports from each Summit League school about their student sections for basketball games for a series of articles for my blog. I would really appreciate any help. PM me if you are interested.

[ORUalum11]

ORU's Student Association created a position for this upcoming academic year called the "Athletic Experience Director" - I have this job along with a internship in the athletic marketing dept.

You can reach me at kylekrajenka@gmail.com

[ORU Eli]

Good to hear this Kyle - we're rooting for ya.

[Hoopsdude18]

Just wanted to say thanks again for the help with this initiative. You can check out the ORU student section post here:

http://grizzliesgameplan.blogspot.com/2 ... berts.html

[theeagleman5]

"Student fans" at ORU?....what's that?....judging by what TheEagleman sees on the Fox Sports Channel telecasts, didn't know we had any....

[ORUalum11]

We average 375+ per game. As a school with only 3500 students - 10% of the student body isn't bad. Yes, we'd love to have more - but 10% of the student body isn't a terrible thing. OU has 29,931 students - they don't get anything close to 3000 students per game.

Let's be realistic. Just like I answered in the blog, we have the numbers, now let's unify the students. There is absolutely no point in bashing the student body. How about providing better, REALISTIC ways to increase student turnout?

[Hoopsdude18]

Student attendance seems to be a struggle across the board in the Summit, but 375 average is incredibly respectable. I'm sure games against Missouri and Tulsa and the like draw in enough to balance our the average of those against Centenary, SUU, etc.

As for OU, we only have about 19,000 students, and that includes grad students who are less likely to go to games. We definitely don't draw 10%. We pack our student section area, but we'd kill for 10% of student body. Definitely major props to ORU students for showing up.

[vcboy2000]

Kyle, I think it's great that ORU has 10% representation at the games. What would be even more powerful is if we could all get them to sit in the student section and cheer. Because they spread themselves out, it doesn't look like there are many at the games and they aren't a force to be reckoned with. I think grouping them all together and creating an atmosphere where it's fun to be engaged in cheering without feeling like they have to be crazy would be a nice accomplishment.

[ORUalum11]

Amen, I'll keep everyone updated as to what our staff chooses to do this year. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

[theeagleman5]

Come on....TheEagleman watches the games....375 students at most of those home games?....please.....dream on.... .....still, I hope we do better this year....student support is huge for the team....good luck with your efforts....I'm for you all the way....

[Old Titan]

Come on....TheEagleman watches the games....375 students at most of those home games?....please.....dream on.... .....still, I hope we do better this year....student support is huge for the team....good luck with your efforts....I'm for you all the way....

Many of those 375 students per game take advantage of the half-filled arena to sit all over the place to get better seats than 15 rows up in the end zone.

I know this to be a fact, because every game a handful of them sit in the many unoccupied seats surrounding me in Section D, which like many of the sections on that side of the building, are not visible on the TV shots.

There's just something about the Mabee Center camera angle that makes the lower bowl look a LOT more empty on TV than it does when you are there in person.

One more reason for EVERY out-of-town fan to make the pilgrimage to Tulsa to see a game this season.

Ask any out-of-towners who make it to a game or two a year, and they will tell you it's worth the trip.

[tmh8286]

I know this to be a fact, because every game a handful of them sit in the many unoccupied seats surrounding me in Section D, which like many of the sections on that side of the building, are not visible on the TV shots.

There's just something about the Mabee Center camera angle that makes the lower bowl look a LOT more empty on TV than it does when you are there in person.

One more reason for EVERY out-of-town fan to make the pilgrimage to Tulsa to see a game this season.

Ask any out-of-towners who make it to a game or two a year, and they will tell you it's worth the trip.

It amazes me when I come home from a game that appeared well attended when I was at Mabee Center and see what the crowd looked like on TV. It just doesn't look on TV as full as it feels in person. I wonder if part of that is due to those large, comfy seats that we all love. When attending a game at the Reynolds Center (or the Ford Center in OKC), a big guy like me has to wedge into the too-narrow seats, and then sits with knees pressed up against the seats in front, pretty much uncomfortable the the duration of the game. Miserable to sit in, but no doubt the closer proximity of fan-to-fan gives a better appearance on TV.

As far as students go, my Number Two Son, who is a student at ORU nearly always sits with us in section H. There are generally a number of Students sitting around us in that section.

As far as out-of-towners are concerned, I think dbl78 may earn the prize for the most loyal fan of ORU basketball. I don't believe it's any secret that he lives in the Kansas City area, and makes the drive to Tulsa for virtually every home basketball game. I truly admire his faithfulness.

[theeagleman5]

OK...OK.....TheEagleman get's the drift here.....

[theeagleman5]

TheEagleman unfortunately sometimes lives back in "the good old days"......having attended ORU in the early-mid 70's when basketball was king and there were 8,000+ in Mabee Center for almost every game....it was loud and fun....if you were a student and didn't attend the games....you were the oddball....very rarely did the students NOT fill all four gold sections behind the basket and often the student sections spilled over into the blue seats in the 2nd level....had to be 2000+ kids at virtually every game.....i know those were different times....ORU basketball was a top 25 program for a couple of those years and there was no cable TV and no internet....no WI....no IPODS....etc....etc....kids have a lot more to do these days....and ORU basketball was THE game in town back then....OR was arguably the most powerful man in Tulsa if not the entire state of OK.....businessmen bought tickets and people came to watch ORU basketball because it was THE thing to do in Tulsa and everybody wanted to see ORU "run and gun basketball"...those were the days.....alas, different times now....so it does sadden TheEagleman to see only 3500-4000 fans at Mabee for the games and barely 300 or so students.....that being said, I still love ORU basketball......have for almost 40 yrs......I love it so....

[tmh8286]

I was at a get-together last night where several of the couples had current students at ORU, and a few more had students that will be freshmen this next year. Conversation eventually turned to the fact that, based on the stories we hear from our kids, the AVERAGE bed time for them is 3-4 AM!! We were saying that back when we were students it was typically around midnight when we hit the sack, a little later on the weekends. But keep in mind - computers were still a decade away, cable television was in it's infancy, and probably not even available to the dorms, no video games, no Facebook. You had to look OUTSIDE the dorms for entertainment.

Think about how it is now for students. They've all got cell phones, which have become basically hand-held entertainment centers; many students have big screen TV's in their rooms with a choice of 200 channels or so, and they subscribe to Netflix, which keeps a steady stream of movies coming to their mailbox, or computer; computers - source of video games, email (do any kids actually do that any more?), Facebook, YouTube (you'd be amazed at all the videos being made by ORU students and being put up on YouTube), etc.; Xbox, and on and on. These kids are so saturated with entertainment that they can barely get themselves to go to sleep (or, unfortunately, find time to study).

So, athletics just doesn't have that special place as a unique source of entertainment for students that it once did. Add to that the things you mentioned Eagleman, and it's easy to recognize that the athletic department has an uphill climb to increase student attendance. I think they can do it, they've just got to keep after it.

There's no doubt about it, the days that you (and many others on the board) were at ORU were the glory days in terms of student participation and attendance. But give credit where credit is due - they still turn out in high numbers for the big games.

[theeagleman5]

I think you've pretty much nailed it, TMH....much has changed over the past 35 yrs since TheEagleman left ORU....the only way we will see 8000+ on a regular basis at Mabee Center again would be if ORU puts together and top 25 program again which is highly unlikely the way college basketball is set up these days....we would have to get those one or two big recruits which isn't easy for a small midwestern university like ORU.....those kids want to go to the BCS schools who are on ESPN every game....still, we can always hope....college basketball was a different game back then....Ken Trickey was able to get Richard Fuqua, David Vaughn, Anthony Roberts, Greg McDougald, etc....and ORU had it's moment in the sun for a couple years....our big shot to go to the Final Four was 73-74.....could have won it all that year....oh well, that was a totally different era.....we are still fortunate and blessed to have Coach Sutton and his staff...he is the right man at the right time for ORU.....TheEagleman looks forward to a good season in 10-11.....

[vcboy2000]

My question would be, how are other private schools similar to ORU's size doing it?

[tmh8286]

My question would be, how are other private schools similar to ORU's size doing it?

Some do, but MANY don't. I think there are a lot of factors involved, and this is only one of them.