Blue, gray, in the sky

By Kaleb Underwood     9/9/10 7:00pm

Rice students packed the METRORail last Saturday and headed to Reliant Stadium to watch the football team open its season against the No. 5 Texas Longhorns. The Owls lost the game 34-17, but the enthusiasm and spirit shown by Rice fans signaled the beginning of a great year for Rice athletics, Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Ticket Sales Ryan Holloway said. Brown College junior Melissa Fwu agreed with Holloway's sentiments.

"I am very proud of our team; they played a great game against a high-ranked Texas team," Fwu said. "Students were excited to watch the team play so well."

On Sept. 2, more than 2,800 students picked up tickets for the game, the largest student ticket pickup in the 98-year history of Rice University, Holloway said. Athletic Director Rick Greenspan made sure that the athletic department purchased a ticket for every Rice student, undergraduate and graduate, so that they would have an opportunity to attend the game.

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Holloway said a remarkable 1,000 students arrived to pick up tickets at Willy's statue when they became available.

"We were overwhelmed," Holloway said. "It was a wonderful problem."

The ticket office also recorded good sales on Tuesday for the Owls' first true home game on Sept. 18 against Northwestern University, Holloway said. Since this game will be at Rice Stadium, students will have free admission by showing their Rice ID.

Prior to the Rice-Texas game, the Varsity Sports Liasons, students from each college responsible for encouraging student attendance at varsity athletic events, hosted a tailgate outside of Sid Richardson College for all students. The VSLs provided tailgate staples in the form of hot dogs, bratwursts and burgers, as well as blue and gray body paint, to the several hundred people who attended.

Jones College junior Cyndi Oaxaca attended both the tailgate and game with her friends and said she was pleased with the student turnout and enthusiasm.

"It was pretty chill but with an intense desire to beat Texas," Oaxaca said. "I liked the spirit shown by Rice students."

After the tailgate, students headed to METRORail stops around Rice to make the trip to the game. So many game attendees - both students and Longhorns fans - were using the rail that some had to use innovative methods to beat the congestion at the rail stops around Rice. Brown College senior Ricky Solis and his group took the northbound train two stops north of Rice before riding the southbound train to Reliant Stadium in order to get ahead of the crowds.

"We went up a couple of stops to get ahead of the Rice traffic," Solis said. "We had an epic time getting there."

Fwu attributed the congestion to a large Rice turnout, as well as to UT fans who parked at Rice. She said the congestion confirmed that Houston's transportation infrastructure is still not effective at handling large crowds.

Holloway credited the VSLs and the college presidents for creating the large turnout by getting the word out and encouraging Rice students to attend the tailgate and game. The VSLs will be hosting events throughout the year and keeping the student body up-to-date on Rice athletics, especially high-profile games.

Holloway commended Rice students on their enthusiasm and said that there is not a lot of apathy among students, like at most larger schools.

"There is a ton of pride at Rice, especially within the colleges," Holloway said. "We want to take some of that pride and transfer it to varsity athletics."

The Rice Rewards program has been created to do just that. Students will receive a punch on their rewards card for every athletic event they attend, which can be redeemed later for prizes - such as jerseys, coolers or shirts - specific to the points earned. Holloway credited the new program for the large student turnout at the volleyball game against Texas Tech University on Aug. 27. The program will also be used in conjunction with inter-college competitions, and special double-point nights are being planned.

Oaxaca said that she attends home games regularly regardless of giveaways, and if she misses some it is to focus on her academics.

"I like to go to the home games, and that won't change just because I am [off campus]," Oaxaca said. "It depends on my homework load and how I am feeling."

Holloway encouraged all students to find time in their schedules to take a break and go to an athletic event with their friends.

"I understand that studying is important, but get involved and dabble in everything," Holloway said.

Students don't have to go to every game but should try to attend several home games of every sport to support the Rice student athletes, Holloway said.

Higher student attendance creates a great atmosphere and helps sell season tickets, Holloway said. This will lead to a higher recruiting budget, attracting higher caliber athletes, and ultimately more wins.

For basketball, the department is planning Autry Army Recruitment Night one week prior to the first home game, where students will be registered as members of the Autry Army and taught Rice cheers at Tudor Fieldhouse, Holloway said. Home games include the University of Arizona, Louisiana State University, Texas Christian University and conference rival University of Memphis.

The baseball student section will be named the Reckling Rowdies next season and will be moved from Section EE behind home plate to the lower level, directly behind the visitor's dugout.

"We want our students close to the action, where they can yell at those guys," Holloway said.

Former VSL Dan Henkoff (Hanszen '10) said he supported the change in name and bringing students closer to the action and said both changes were discussed in VSL meetings last year. Despite the efforts of the athletic department, Henkoff said that there is one more thing that can be done to attract more students to games.

"The fact of the matter is, though, that what really brings people out is teams that win or are at least competitive and fun to watch," Henkoff said. "Play hard, like you did against Texas and Memphis last year [in men's basketball], and the fans will keep coming out.

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