By Cade Kennedy, Sports Editor
Over the past 40 years, there has been a tradition that has carried on throughout the sports section of this paper.
Every other year, the sports editor writes a column about how students and fans need to show up and support our teams. Earlier this year, I kept this tradition going without even knowing. Despite it being said time after time, it still stands true: We need students, staff and even northwestern Oklahoma to rally around our teams.
This is part one of a multi-part series that focuses on the problem of attendance at Northwestern athletic events.
In this series, I will look at the history of this problem, what can be done to fix it and what has been done.
I decided to track down our attendance numbers for the past season, and the results were unfortunate, but expected.
For three of our seven sports that take attendance, we finished last or second to last in attendance in our conference. For other sports, we finished slightly above average, coming in at either fourth or fifth.
Some people might see this as good enough, or mention that because we are one of the smaller Division II schools in the NCAA, we should be happy to be around average.
I strongly disagree with that, as there is no reason that we should settle for good or average. No matter what we do, we should always strive for greatness.
This problem usually starts with the athletic department, as many schools with attendance problems simply do not have a good team, which leads to this question: Why show up if we are going to lose?
However, we don’t seem to have that problem, as soccer, baseball, volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball have had good seasons, but average to bad attendance.
This means that we are dealing with an entirely different problem on our hands: a lack of advertising and marketing for our teams.
I can’t tell you how many times I have walked around campus on gamedays only to find that few people seem to care about the games.
I would expect this in a state on one of the coasts, but not in Oklahoma, where sports are such a major part of our culture.
If we could make more of an effort to tell students when the games are, besides putting up one sign or sending an email that may not be read, we should go out of our way to let people know when Northwestern plays.
I understand that not everyone cares about sports, and that is completely understandable. However, I don’t “get” people who say there is nothing to do in Alva and then never go to a single game. Sports are a great way to make new friends and have fun. You only have four years here, so why not make the most of it and go have some fun?
If we can get enough people to show up at our games, then we have a legitimate shot to have the highest attendance number for a Division II school in the state of Oklahoma.
Last year, we led the Great American Conference schools in Oklahoma with an average football attendance of 2,917 people.
The highest school was UCO with an average attendance of 3,297. That’s a difference of only 380 people, so it is entirely possible that we could have the highest attendance in Oklahoma.
One of the ways that we can get people to show up is by creating an official student section that could help promote games, coordinate promotions and provide an electric atmosphere that is desperately needed at our games.
By creating this student section, we could give students a reason to come to games that they may not have previously cared about. Most importantly, we would be finally moving into the 21st century by having a student section.
Creating a student section isn’t the only way to help our programs, as we need a full buy-in from the administration to the students and even the alumni. If we can get everybody on the same page, there is no reason we can’t go from good to great. That is where we want to be, right?
One of the most prominent facts about athletic programs is that they are the best advertising campaigns your university has. If you support the teams at your university, there’s a possibility for teams to thrive.
This can set off a chain reaction that can transform a university into a known brand instead of just being a regional school.
Don’t believe me; just look at what is happening around our conference.
Southwestern has received several donations to continue building its football program despite going 0-11 last season. Southern Nazarene, on the other hand, has provided no support to its football team, and it shows, as it usually finishes at the bottom of the conference.
I’m not asking you to throw every dollar you have towards athletics; I’m just asking you to show up to games and support our teams. Even just that little support can go a long way.
So, do we want Northwestern to be a school that just settles for average, or do we want to be at a school that strives for excellence? If you want to strive, I encourage you to join me in the Ranger Initiative.
What is the Ranger Initiative you might ask? It’s the goal of getting as many people as we can to come to Northwestern games. If you want to help create a great environment, reach out to me at cmkennedy18@rangers.nwosu.edu.