2008 Woodie Awards
None-go
Joe Arleth
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: sports
- Page 1 of 1
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
Its hard to explain then, why the Bloomsburg campus seems hesitant, or just unwilling, to show up in a crowd larger than 50. An arrest or fine shouldn't concern them and one would think that the teams' recent performances would drum up some support,
There are generally three reasons why a fan base should not be supporting their teams: poor results, unsatisfactory ownership moves, or lack of interest in the sport.
The Bloomsburg Huskies have enjoyed unprecedented success over the last two years, with strong programs continuing their runs and the other teams showing positive signs during the rebuilding phase. The Athletic department has debuted Roongo, rebuilt the tennis, field hockey, and soccer fields, and have offered many promotions (including free airline tickets) to appease and attract the students.
So that leaves us with the conclusion that perhaps Bloomsburg students simply do not care about sports. Maybe this campus is more concerned with library hours than game times or the ability to find a parking spot rather than ticket availability.
If this is true, then it is a sad reality that perhaps the Bloomsburg Athletic teams may never get the support they deserve.
This doesn't appear to be the case however. Take for example the mass exodus from BU of students who make the pilgrimage to Penn State for each home game. Or the widely popular intramural sports programs offered on campus.
Sophomore Jason Vonda summed up the problem best saying, "I went to every home football and basketball game and even some away games back in high school," before adding that he has hardly attended any sporting events while at Bloomsburg.
Junior Matt Toto echoed this sentiment adding that he attended many more high school games then he does college games because, "I knew players on the team, we had a better basketball team, and winning then meant more {then it does] now. Matt went further to comment that, "Its real easy to be apathetic towards a division 2 team."
And with that last comment, Matt may have pinpointed the root of the problem here at Bloomsburg University. Located in the center of Pennsylvania, how can a small state school such as Bloomsburg be expected to compete with the likes of Penn State and Temple University for the student's affection?
Tom Mcguire, the Bloomsburg director of sports information, identified this problem claiming, "ESPN and networks like it have become the death of division II sports."
McGuire may have a point. It's a cold November Saturday afternoon and the Bloomsburg Huskies are taking on Cheney at Redman Stadium. Students can trek to upper campus, brave the cold and the wind, and enjoy an afternoon surrounded by hundreds of other apathetic students or they can stay home and choose from a feast of college football games provided by each of the major networks. "There used to be a time when there was only one game a week that a student could watch and that was the game being played on the school's campus," added McGuire," but today we have to compete with all of the division I schools getting coverage on ESPN and that is hard to do."
Yes, competing with division I powers is hard to do, but it is not an impossible feat. As Mark Keely, member of the BU football team said "There are other schools that get more support than we do, like Cal had a lot of support and West Chester did and they trashed us." Keely further added that some schools such as Kutztown suffer from the same problem that Bloomsburg does, only managing to get a small number of fans out to each game. However Cal and West Chester prove that Division II schools can build a loyal and passionate fan base.
And we have seen the ability for the Bloomsburg Student body to rise to the occasion and answer the call to support these teams. Any fan who was around for the Men's Basketball teams' 6-0 start last season remembers the atmosphere in the arena those nights as the crowd would rise to their feet in anticipation of another hard fought victory. And members of the football team are not quick to forget the love the Bloomsburg campus gave the squad during their impressive run last year.
It is clear that the ingredients are there for the Bloomsburg Campus to become a real player in the collegiate sports realm, but there seems to be something missing (besides the obvious spectators in the stands).
Head Coach of the Bloomsburg Football team Danny Hale mentioned that he believes there are a variety of factors creating the current apathetic campus. He feels that the campus needs better marketing for the sports programs and that we at Bloomsburg must realize that we are all on the same team whether it is financially, athletically, academically, or in admissions. "A strong athletic program is a win-win for the entire university," explained Hale, "We have very strong academic departments on campus, but they don't get your name into newspapers". Coach Hale went on to further argue that a solid football team brings positive attention to the University and can be invaluable as a recruiting tool not just for future athletes but also for high school students who may not have considered Bloomsburg in the past.
While many on campus may underestimate the positive effect that stellar sport's teams can have upon the school, an even larger amount seem unable to grasp the type of impact that fans can have upon the impact of a game.
"The fans don't understand that their excitement will make us more excited and motivate us to make more plays," said Keely.
Kevin Ward, 1st basemen for the BU Baseball team agreed with Keely saying, "I get so much more pumped up for a game when I know there is a big crowd out there cheering us on."
Because of the absence of the fans from a majority of the contests on campus, the student-athletes have developed the habit of supporting one another.
Jamie Vanartsdalen of the Field Hockey team explained the system saying, "I know the boys soccer team shows up at our games a lot to cheer us on and we try to get to as many games as we can." Other teams involved in this support group include the Women's soccer and swimming teams.
The Baseball team also has adopted this tradition and can commonly be seen at football and basketball games throughout the season.
But the athletes cannot do all the work themselves. While it is great to see the fellow teams being there for each other, this victory is only half the battle.
We need to discover a way to bring passion to our sports programs, and until we do the athletes themselves will not be the only ones suffering. The University will be missing a golden opportunity to get Bloomsburg's name out to the public. We will be squandering the chance to bring further revenue into Bloomsburg and will fail to provide students with the complete college experience.
The missing-in-action fans will be the ones who suffer the most in the long run though. They will miss their chance to see Jaime Vanartsdalen shatter records as her teammates make yet another incredible run. They will not witness Jamar Britingham's quest to break Wesley Cates' career PSAC rushing record. They will not enjoy the end of Mike Spaids' fantastic Bloomsburg career.
Coach Hale said that a growing fan base would be a "win-win" for University. Our student athletes can continue their winning ways despite the campus' no-show act, but in the end we all lose.