New seating changes in the Humphrey Coliseum for the upcoming basketball season has many Mississippi State students cheering wildly – and some crying foul.
In his “Thursdays with Greg Byrne” column on Aug. 27, the MSU athletic director announced there would be a new seating configuration for basketball this fall, which would split the student section behind each end zone.
Byrne said the new plan would add more courtside seating for donors, as well as put students behind each goal where they would have more impact on the game, such as during opponent free throws.
He said it would create a more exciting atmosphere, while adding 66 lower level student seats for a total of 1,405.
However, the move essentially pushed out one student-based cheer group that had been a mainstay of the sideline floor-level student section.
Senior geoscience major Will Bryan, the maroon-wig-wearing president of Rick’s Rowdies, said at the end of last season the group had been considering sitting in more than one spot.
“We met with Greg Byrne in March and expressed to him that we’d like to be able to extend, but not lose our seats,” Bryan said. “And the next thing I knew, reading it in his Thursday column, the seats were being split up.”
At first, the decision upset the group, who felt like they were already creating a great atmosphere in the Hump.
However, Bryan said when the group convened about where to sit, they realized that placing members under each goal had benefits.
“Suddenly, we had the access to affect the game on both ends of the court,” he said. “In the past, we were yelling at everyone else. And now, we’re going across court.”
Bryan said the group will be using a points and rewards system to assign seats to members, which will kick in when SEC play starts in the spring, giving time for members to build up points by attending meetings and non-conference games.
However, not everyone is happy to have the student floor seats full of Rowdies, who say they are working out an arrangement to reserve the prime seating for its members.
Bryan said if the plan gets approved by proper MSU athletic administrators, the Rowdies will receive all gray floor-level student seats, as well as the first eight rows of the lower-level maroon student seats.
However, Bryan said all seats are fair game one hour prior to tip off.
“Also, the first twenty non-Rowdie students will be able to sit in the maroon seats,” he said.
Bryan said the system would encourage students to join the group.
Some students say this simply is not fair to all.
Jake Black, a junior business major, said until the Rowdies start donating money to the athletic department, they should not get preferential seats.
“We’re students just like them. We wear white on game day,” he said. “We’re going to be at the Kentucky game two hours early. For them to have exclusive seating just doesn’t seem right.”
Katie Campbell, a junior sociology major, said no students should get reserved seats.
“The only seats I think should be reserved should be for paying customers and family members of the team,” she said.
Bryan said he believes the seating situation is fair, saying every student has the opportunity to join the Rowdies.
“When the basketball team plays at the Hump, they need to see the fans in the lower level seats going crazy for them, not sitting down barely interested in the games,” he said. “The Rick’s Rowdies wants every student on campus to be a Rowdie and take part in the perks that come along with it.”
At the time of publication, MSU Athletic Director Greg Byrne had not responded to e-mails or calls regarding the seating situation.
In two preseason games, the Rowdies have made their mark in the floor seats next to the south goal in the Hump.
At Saturday’s exhibition against Georgetown College, the Rowdies were present in wigs and warpaint, armed with “Beware of Dog” signs – a few prepared and practiced cheers.
As Georgetown guard Jamal Ferguson was focusing his thoughts on making the first of two free throws midway through the second half, a motley crew in maroon and white were quietly coiled in their seats near the goal.
As Ferguson released the ball, the Rowdies leapt in a loud crash of sound, tweaking the shot enough as it bounced off the side of the rim. The crowd cheered as the Rowdies sat back down, ready to do it again.
Senior forward Jarvis Varnado said he loves playing defense with the Rowdies acting up just over his shoulder.
“It really boosts the team,” he said. “You know if I block a shot, [the cheers] just boosts this whole team and we want to come back down there and defend again.”