ACU ranks fourth in NCAA history with 55 NCAA national championships, behind UCLA, Stanford and USC.
The Wildcats also have won 143 Lone Star Conference titles since joining the LSC in 1973, more than twice the number of titles won by their closest competitor. Recently, the Wildcats won their first outright LSC championship in football since 1973. However, as the football season ends, we begin to see a renewal of a trend that has developed over the recent years: a declining number of fans and a lack of school spirit as the spring sports begin.
The spring season consists of tennis, baseball, softball, track, golf and basketball, all of which boast success in 2008:
* The baseball and softball teams advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament.
* The men and women’s tennis teams advanced to the Round of 16 at the NCAA Division II Tennis Championships.
* The men’s basketball team advanced to the LSC Post-Season Tournament for the first time since 1997-98, and the women’s team finished second in the LSC and advanced to the LSC Post-Season Tournament semifinal.
* The golf team finished second at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament.
* The men and women’s track teams each won outdoor national championships, the men’s seventh-straight and the women’s first since 1999.
Few students show up to these games, seemingly unaware of the successes of our athletics department, judging by the lack of attendance shown to these sports.
“One of the challenges for spring sports is that football is usually one game a week, and you are talking about five to six home games in an entire semester,” said athletics director Jared Mosely. “In a student’s mind, it is appealing to go to five to six games. The challenge with spring sports is home competition is so infrequent.”
One reason attributed to low attendance is the busyness of students with graduation, searching for jobs, summer plans, Sing Song, intramurals, as well as finishing the school year. However, before these plans are here, it is hard to understand the low attendance records. Baseball leads the way, averaging 450-500 fans per game, while softball averages 125. Track and field averages about 300 for its home meets, while tennis averages 50 with inclining attendance during regional tournaments.
You can’t blame poor fan attendance on the athletics department or the coaches. Each sport has made its attempts to attract more fans. Every athletic event is free to students, something not offered at all Division II schools. Baseball sponsors different games, urging members of the local community to become more involved. Softball promotes breast cancer awareness by wearing pink jerseys and letting women who have struggled with breast cancer throw out the first pitch. The tennis team offers free Dr. Pepper and $1 hot dogs.
“I think anytime you do promotional stuff, it helps,” said men’s basketball coach Jason Copeland. “When you’re winning and doing big things, it helps. But I think a lot of it reflects on it being in the spring semester, and there are a lot more activities that students are involved in. Kids are pulled a lot of different ways in the spring, and it makes it a challenge.”
While coaches and teams are making their efforts, it is time as students and as a campus we make our own effort. One of the best ways to get involved is by participating in events as a community, whether it is sporting events, club functions, theatre productions or eating together in the “World Famous” Bean. Maybe it would help if students consistently are reminded of games, meets and matches on the pre-Chapel screens or through Chapel announcements.
“When I was in school, one of the neat things in Chapel was that you learned not just about athletics, but if the band was honored or the debate team was honored, and you had a chance to honor them,” said head track and field coach Don Hood.
Regardless, our teams need more support.
ACU athletics offer more to the student and faculty body than entertainment. It offers us a communal time with one another while enjoying a sporting event or other school activity. Whether we attend one or 100 sporting events, our school spirit should transcend all sports seasons, benefiting all athletes.
“When you have 1,000 people standing up in the ninth inning when you need that key run or out, it’s like having a 10th, 11th or 12th player out there,” said head baseball coach Britt Bonneau.
As members of ACU’s team, let’s not strike out.
