Miami Students Stand With The U
By David Villavicencio
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Student support is an integral part ofcollege athletics.
Beyond a team’s success on the field or court, a program isoften recognized for its loyal fan support.
College basketball fans recognize Duke’s Cameron Crazies asmuch as they recognize the program’s four national titles. College footballfans knew about Texas A&M’s 12th Man well before they had everheard of Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.
At Miami, the student body’s support of athletics has notalways matched the university’s success in various sports. But that trend offair-weathered student support at “The U” is beginning to change.
“We got off to an awesome start with the Bethune-Cookmangame,” said, Brian Bowsher, Miami’s digital media strategist. “I was prettyblown away with the student turnout for that.”
The students followed the season opener with several otherstrong showings. They were out in full force on Oct. 20, as the Hurricaneshosted in-state rival Florida State. More than 9,000 students (9,800) cheeredon the Canes against FSU, setting a student attendance record for Sun LifeStadium.
The increased fan support continued during basketball season,with students flocking to the BankUnited Center to support the Canes in bigwins over Michigan State (1,290 students) and Maryland (1,227 students).
“The growth that we’ve seen from today going back to theearly stages of the season has been big,” Bowsher said. “Walking into thebuilding for the first couple of games, you felt like ‘this is a nice arenawith decent crowds but not a lot of life.’ But what we saw at the Maryland gameand the Michigan State game and what we’re expecting for Duke is incredible.Hopefully the students have a great time. For those who can’t get in, hopefullythey can experience it for the Florida State game.”
Javier Hernandez, 21, is a junior at Miami and he has seenthe fan support grow exponentially since he first enrolled at Miami three yearsago.
“It’s night and day, from freshman year to now, it’scompletely different,” Hernandez said. “I remember in my freshman year, eventhe games where there would be high attendance just didn’t feel like a collegebasketball game.”
This year, Hernandez has seen a student section that isengaged in the on-court action and is actively supporting the Canes from theopening tip until the final horn.
“I’m really excited about what’s going on now,” Hernandezsaid. “It’s no longer a situation where students only go to the games sometimes,and when they are there, you barely notice them. Now, they go to games and theyare active participants. They are very involved and most importantly they’reloud.”
Miami’s student section has a long way to go before itdevelops the same reputation as Duke or Texas A&M, but Hernandez isconfident that the student body will become a consistent supporter of Hurricaneathletics.
“Miami is always going to be different just because it’sMiami,” Hernandez said. “We may never have the same vibe as schools in traditionalcollege towns, but I think what we’re seeing now is the Miami twist to thecollege town vibe. People here still plan on going out, but now they areplanning to go to the game and support the team first. I think there is some of that college townfeel. I’ve started to notice the buzz around campus on game days and I think itwill only grow in the future.”
Wednesday’s game against No. 1 Duke is already sold out andthere are fewer than 300 tickets remaining for Sunday’s match-up againstFlorida State. Only 1,300 students will be able to attend the Duke game withcomplimentary admission and that has sparked a unique experience for Miamibasketball.
Students will be allowed to line up on the “Larranaga Lawn”adjacent to the BankUnited Center at 10 a.m. on Wednesday in the hopes ofgaining one of the coveted student section seats. The university anticipateshaving more than 1,300 students in the building for just the seventh time inBankUnited Center history.
“Hopefully, Maryland is just step one and we continuegrowing,” Hernandez said. “I think the basketball team winning definitelyhelps. But, I think now that the atmosphere is in place, students are going towant to go just for that.”
With the Hurricanes sitting atop the ACC heading into theDuke game, Bowsher feels Wednesday’s match-up against the top-ranked team inthe country will be huge for building fan tradition at Miami.
“Obviously the success that Coach L has put on the court hashelped tremendously,” Bowsher said. “I feel like the students have ralliedbehind that, seeing the effort that our student-athletes are giving, andthey’re coming out to support. Hopefully, one feeds the other and it snowballsto create something special here in Coral Gables.”
