New basketball props amplify student energy

By Evie Vu     11/19/24 11:09pm

As the basketball season begins, fans may find the student section filled with new chants, signs and a larger-than-life foam cutout of Shrek’s face. Megan Vila, assistant director of marketing for Rice Athletics, has developed new props to raise school spirit and increase the energy at games, she said. 

Drawing inspiration from her previous role at Washington State University, Vila prepares chant sheets for the student section for every game. Each sheet lists Rice-specific cheers for the students to yell out during the game to support the Owls and heckle the opponents.   

“The purpose of the sheets is to amplify the energy the students already bring to the game,” Vila said. We want to hype them up more and get them more into the mood.

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On the other side of the sheet, Vila reports the rosters for both teams, making it easier for fans to identify and support players. Alternatively, students can use the opposing team’s roster to distract them. 

The flyers mostly build on pre-existing chants and cheers that Rice has used for decades, but Vila said she also utilizes the collaborative environment of the marketing office to write the flyers.

“My boss, our marketing assistant and I come up with new chants ourselves,” Vila said. “We have [student] interns that come into the office, and they’ll do the bottom section of the sheet that talks about the opposing team.”

In addition to laying down the flyers on the seats in the student section, Vila has begun to put newspapers out — but not for actual reading. When Vila was in high school, she said, two rival schools would bring newspapers to their basketball games. 

“During visiting lineups, they would hold them up and read them just to kind of play on the theme of hating the other opponent,” Vila said. 

Vila’s final project to date uses memes to distract the opposing team. She mounted big cutout photos of characters and celebrities from popular culture for students to wave. As an opponent steps to the free-throw line to take a shot, students can yell and shake the cutouts to capture the player’s attention, so that they miss the shot, benefitting the Rice team. 

Vila has also started playing memes on the scoreboard. Even though the player’s back is to the screen, they can see the reflection of the meme directly on the backboard.  

Abigail Zimmerman said though she was confused at first, ultimately she enjoyed the new memes. Zimmerman attended the men’s basketball game Nov. 16 against Northwestern State University and the women’s basketball game Nov. 17 against Sam Houston State University.

“I thought that it was goofy,” Zimmerman, a Sid Richardson College junior, said. “At first I thought it was just one meme, not multiple. I appreciate the whimsical spirit it brought to the game.”

Vila said she noticed the positive student reaction to her efforts. 

“The students definitely get into it,” Villa said. “When I look over from my table, I see everyone pointing at the video board, holding the memes up or starting their own chant that’s not even on the sheet. It lets me know that it’s working and that the atmosphere is enjoyable for them.”

Rice Rally co-president Hannah Wixom said she thinks students are excited to get involved in new ways at the games.

“It helps everyone be on the same page with cheers and traditions,” Wixom, a Sid Richardson junior, said.

Vila said that the students already do a great job building enthusiasm for the game and uplifting the players, but believes there is always room to make it even better. 

“My goal is to amplify the experience for students that already has been established at Rice,” Vila said.

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