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Tuesday’s announcement of a new seating arrangement at the West Virginia University Coliseum was heralded with declarations it would "modernize" the facility and was described by a university official as a "win-win."
The director of the Mountaineer Maniacs, Cassie Werner, boldly stated, "It’s going to be a better overall experience."
Despite such glowing praise, I am not convinced.
The plan fixes a few minor flaws by introducing new major ones.
It has the potential to degrade, not improve, the raucous atmosphere that has given WVU basketball a noticeable homecourt advantage.
Those two alone would be bad enough, but they aren’t even the worst aspect of the new plan.
That distinction belongs to the plan’s spirit. At its heart, this plan represents a belittling and sacrifice of students’ interest in favor of the almighty dollar.
Make no mistake, the primary purpose of this plan was not to improve the atmosphere at the Coliseum.
Reducing the size of the student section and shifting our portion of the upper deck to the corner opens up some prime real estate to the paying public.
The addition of 200 season ticket holders will bring in significant revenue (to say nothing of the generous donations that accompany such purchases) as will the increased prices the University will be able to charge for the former student seats in the upper deck.
For the naive few who remain convinced of the purity of college athletics, let me introduce you to the most important concept in sports: money talks.
It probably took University administrators five nanoseconds to approve this seating arrangement.
I don’t care if the plan was drawn up by the Mountaineer Maniacs.
Ask yourself why it was announced so suddenly, with no build up and no opportunity for input and commentary from the students.
There is no test period, and since the lost seats are being allocated to season ticket holders, no opportunity to reverse the decision if it doesn’t work out.
The most logical conclusion – take it from someone who has slept in the Coliseum and spent countless hours standing in the crush of humanity that amasses outside it on game days – it’s not in our best interest.
The plan sounds great in theory – most plans do.
The stated purpose of the plan is to improve the experience for student fans while simultaneously improving the atmosphere in the Coliseum.
I support both of these goals. Sadly, this plan will do neither.
The atmosphere inside the Coliseum, particularly during big games, was fantastic.
You don’t have to take my word for it.
Take the testimony of former University of Pittsburgh basketball player Levon Kendall, who, in 2007, told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Their fans, almost always, are the most ruthless ...
They have a really big student section. Everyone is right on top of you. If it’s not the toughest place to play in the Big East, it’s one of the toughest."
I have my doubts that any increase in intensity from the fans in the "Mountaineer Madhouse" can make up for, at a minimum, 500 fewer students (If, as I suspect, many students are discouraged from attending, that number could be even greater).
The fans sitting in the lower level were already raucous.
There is quite simply a physical limit to the amount of insanity (and associated noise) any individual can bring.
If anything, their level of intensity is going to decrease.
Since the Madhouse is now standing room only, fans will be forced to stand for the entire two hours during which the game will be played.
That’s not too bad, until you factor in the hour they will have to stand before tipoff and the three or more hours they will have been standing (often in inclement weather) outside the stadium, waiting and hoping that they are fortunate enough to get one of the coveted wristbands.
The limited supply will drive fanatics to show up even earlier. Standing for six, seven or more consecutive hours is taxing, even on college students (consider terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay can only be forced to stand for four consecutive hours at a time).
Formerly, the lower level was reinforced by the teeming mass of students who extended up to the ceiling behind them, whose voices rained down upon opponents from high and who were often quite rowdy themselves.
I can only imagine what it looked like to opposing players who stared up at the wall of gold-clad maniacs that consumed an entire side of the gym.
That support is now gone, as these students have been shunted aside to the corner.
The magnifying power of those 2,500 voices speaking as one will be diminished.
I haven’t even touched upon the chaos of gaining entrance to the Coliseum (it will only get worse).
None of the problems or inequities with that system have been addressed.
Running a Division I basketball program is not cheap. This plan will boost revenue.
If the students have to get the shaft, well, that’s a sacrifice they will need to make for the good of the University.
Now read the previous sentence aloud. Imagine using it in an argument defending this plan.
Then imagine yourself hanging your head in embarrassment, because that’s what anyone who tries it should do.
College athletics should be about the students – both those who play and those who watch.
It’s a shame the University is abandoning that principle.
34 comments
Bob Huggins called out the students early last season. He also said publically, on the radio and to those in attendance, after both the Pitt and Lousiville games that the students had responded, that they had lived up to his challenge, that they were to be comended. Its easy to cite the examples that make your argument, and convenient to ignore those that weaken it.
Now lets talk about the intimidation factor, I get having a huge group of screaming fans will be intimidating, but how will 3 empty rows (even if the game is full there will always be empty rows) be intimidating? Due to the new season seats, there will be a buffer zone between student seats and pay seats, but how will they keep students from sitting in them? They can not remove them because the concerts held there, but if they are still there and empty people will sit in them. So either they will have to have staff there to make sure no one sits in them, or cover them with tarps. Empty rows and blue tarps don't seem that intimidating to me.
Honestly, I think everyone knows that the only time the upper deck is significantly occupied is when we play upper lever, ranked teams, or a rival. This plan didn't shift them to the ceiling behind the hoop, just a couple sections over. Yes, for the big games that may be inconvenient, but in contrast, the fans downstairs will be too ridiculous for anyone to care what's goin on in the upper deck. I've spent my fair share of time letting players know how I felt about them and trying to help Huggins make referees better, so I know that the true noise and passion come from the lower seats.
So, let's give this plan a chance before we blast if, and after the season is in full swing and something seems fishy, we can speak up then. I, personally, trust Huggins reasoning, and I don't think he is one to intentionally screw the students for money. Students. remember, no student will be turned away from a basketball game regardless of how many come, do you know of any other school that does that?