2008 Woodie Awards
Davis wants more students
Chris Martin
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Sports
When watching Middle Tennessee's men basketball team play at the Murphy Center, there is one glaring eyesore at every game.
It is not the play of the team, the condition of the arena or any other aesthetic anomaly. It is the complete lack of students in the stands.
Most of the time, the student section is mostly populated by the band. People at MT aren't the only ones noticing the dearth of college kids in the Murphy Center-other schools are noticing too.
"Some remarks have been made that our students don't get involved in games," said MT head coach Kermit Davis after Tuesday's practice. "That's why our arena's not very loud."
This is a very unfortunate fact. Davis doesn't want to appear as though he's attacking students, but he is challenging them to beef up the home game attendance.
"When our students come, they're good, they know how to act," Davis said. "We need them to come in a big way."
It seems almost inconceivable the lack of student support at MT, especially when one considers the size of the university.
"We've got the most students of any university in the Sun Belt," Davis said. "We need to get our students to come."
Davis has been able to boost attendance since he was hired as head coach. During Davis's tenure, home game attendance has increased 68 percent. However, the student section continues to appear noticeably empty. He has not grown complacent with his recent success when it comes to filling seats.
"When we first got here, you could shoot cannons off, nobody came to games," Davis said. "Right now home games are averaging over 4,000 [in attendance]. It would just be nice for those games to have a legitimate 7,000 people to come to those games."
It is easy to understand some of the reasons students don't want to attend games. For one, the Blue Raiders don't boast the tradition of a school like Western Kentucky.
"We're young in tradition," Davis said. "Men's basketball hasn't gone to the NCAA tournament in 20 years."
It is not the play of the team, the condition of the arena or any other aesthetic anomaly. It is the complete lack of students in the stands.
Most of the time, the student section is mostly populated by the band. People at MT aren't the only ones noticing the dearth of college kids in the Murphy Center-other schools are noticing too.
"Some remarks have been made that our students don't get involved in games," said MT head coach Kermit Davis after Tuesday's practice. "That's why our arena's not very loud."
This is a very unfortunate fact. Davis doesn't want to appear as though he's attacking students, but he is challenging them to beef up the home game attendance.
"When our students come, they're good, they know how to act," Davis said. "We need them to come in a big way."
It seems almost inconceivable the lack of student support at MT, especially when one considers the size of the university.
"We've got the most students of any university in the Sun Belt," Davis said. "We need to get our students to come."
Davis has been able to boost attendance since he was hired as head coach. During Davis's tenure, home game attendance has increased 68 percent. However, the student section continues to appear noticeably empty. He has not grown complacent with his recent success when it comes to filling seats.
"When we first got here, you could shoot cannons off, nobody came to games," Davis said. "Right now home games are averaging over 4,000 [in attendance]. It would just be nice for those games to have a legitimate 7,000 people to come to those games."
It is easy to understand some of the reasons students don't want to attend games. For one, the Blue Raiders don't boast the tradition of a school like Western Kentucky.
"We're young in tradition," Davis said. "Men's basketball hasn't gone to the NCAA tournament in 20 years."
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