AKZ

Rowdy leadership shot itself in the foot a few years back, just as others have suggested. The "big guy" and his cohorts worked to alienate a lot of people with their odd "in crowd" attitude. Going on road trips a couple years back there was always this sense of "either you are loud and obnoxious like the rest of us or you don't belong". This wasn't the case with everyone, but it seemed that many of the higher ups in the organization at the time took this mentality. Look, we all wish that the JAR was full of students who really put their heart and soul into Akron athletics. The truth is, most of us were(are?) looking for something interesting to do with the small amount of spare time we had. It's in the Rowdies interest to cater to the less interested student, and do the best that they can to avoid the "in crowd" vibe that I sensed 2-3 years back. Just be welcoming and everything else will work itself out(Win, baby win!). BTW...I think it was great that the BB team talked to students about going to the game. It seemed to bring a lot of new faces to the JAR. Hopefully they keep that up!

I would like to note that despite the fact that the MAC center is 20 minutes from campus, Akron was able to throw together a full student section that was louder than even the home crowd(at least, that's what they're saying on the Can't boards). I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that the students were given a single, solidified section with a decent view of the game??? Hmm....

I think you're missing the point. Not everyone is outgoing enough or cares enough to sit with the Rowdies. It's great what you guys do, but I think it would be to your advantage to remember that some people have ridiculously heavy course loads. It just isn't possible to head down to the court-side every game and learn all the chants. Not everyone has the time/cares enough. The Rowdies do a pretty good job with things. This has more to do with the design of the JAR. The casual student fan is what's at stake here. We all know that the same 50 students will show up to every single game.

I'm suggesting that the student section is louder and more unified at the Q, and that is absolutely a result of arena design. The design of the JAR kills the student section atmosphere. The Rowdies who sit court-level are not the average student. The current seating arrangement basically forces the students to scatter across the GA seating, because unfortunately, not everyone is as devoted as headaviatorrowdie. Many people are just looking for something fun to do during a study break. This isn't the Rowdies fault. Rather, it's the ridiculous design of the arena that's at fault. I have no short term solutions, just hope for the mid to long term. Once again, if a new arena isn't in the cards, I really hope they just get rid of the track and run the seats all the way down to the floor(I'm picturing chairbacks from where the Rowdies sit to where the bleachers are).

Does anyone else find it odd that there's usually a large chunk of students who make the trek up to Cleveland for the MAC championship, yet the student section at the JAR typically has about 40 students max? It has everything to do with the design of the JAR. There are tons of students scattered about the general admission seating during a typical regular season game. During the Can't State game, there was a large group of students standing in the general admission area behind the basket(not the floor seats...but above, where it is usually sparsely filled). The University handed out signs for the students to wave during the game(good idea). I noticed that at the next home game, a lot of those casual students came back, holding those signs in their hands. They had such a great experience at the Can't game, and they expected the same thing the next time around. The problem was(and is) that there wasn't enough students to re-make the Can't experience, and most of the casual students would rather sit on their hands in the GA rather than head down to the floor seats with the more serious AK-Rowdies. The more serious AK-Rowdies on the floor seats(bless their souls) are rather isolated. And many of them know each other--or at least that's the impression I get. I'm not so sure that the average student feels comfortable just heading on down to the floor seats. If there was a single, large student section with ample seating, I'd guarantee more students would show up for the game time experience. And I agree with others; it's ridiculous that Akron can't find a way to reorganize their student section and bring in more students. Akron has more students living on campus and in University Park than Xavier and Dayton's entire student population. We're way overdue for some serious change. If a new arena isn't built in five years, please just get rid of the damn track and expand seating all the way to the floor.