Junior guard Jada Perkins brings the ball up the court near the end of the first quarter of the Lady Bulldog’s game against Clark Atlanta. As the shot clock begins to tick down, she crosses over and passes the ball to junior guard Tiffany Rechis in the corner. Rechis then makes her third three-pointer of the quarter as the Union student section screams in jubilation.
Or at least, the 40 or 50 students who showed up did.
Since Union University has the opportunity to host the South Region of the NCAA Divison II tournament for the third time in four years, it should be a time of celebration for the school. And in many ways, it actually is. The opportunities for the university and the city of Jackson are very much still there.
“Having the opportunity to host the NCAA South Regional women’s basketball tournament is great exposure for our university,” said Union University athletic director Tommy Sadler. “This is also a very good thing for our city. Those teams will be staying in hotels and eating in restaurants while they are here for the tournament. Putting on a great tournament is important so that when the teams who play here and fans who come to watch remember Union in a very positive manner.”
To be sure, it is definitely a wonderful time for the Union athletic department. However, that fact makes it all the more ironic that the Lady Bulldogs have been failed for most of the year by those who should be supporting them the most – the students.
Senior night was possibly the time when the lack of support was most evident. When the game started, there were three–three–students besides myself at the game. Several more would trickle in as the game went on, but they hardly made the crowd look any better.
Natalie Smith, a graduate assistant on the team and a former player, longs for the days when hundreds of students came to watch her play.
“Hosting is great for the athletic department, but now it doesn’t really affect student life-hardly anyone comes,” she said bluntly. “I wish it was a bigger part of student life. When I was a part of the team and we hosted, the stands were packed all three nights. I’m not totally sure of why people wouldn’t want to enjoy a nice evening of good basketball. There’s an obvious difference between fans in 2015 and in 2018. We would love to see this place packed out again with students.”
And for at least one night, the place was full of students once more.
Just one day after the game against Clark Atlanta, Union students came in the hundreds to support the Lady Bulldogs against Embry-Riddle. There may have not been guys who painted up or wore game day suits, but for the first time in a long time, it actually felt like Union had a student section. My favorite part of the night was when some random woman walked up and said that the person who had a whistle needed to stop, or else they would have to leave the game. That person promptly began whistling once again as soon as the woman left.
It was great.
Here are some facts: The Lady Bulldogs came into the tournament as the number one seed in the South Region. They also now have 30 wins on the season, something they haven’t done since their last season in the NAIA. If the Union Women’s team is this incredible, then they deserve the student support that they received against Embry-Riddle every single night that they play.
Hosting the NCAA tournament means a lot for the Union athletic department, so let’s show the Lady Bulldogs how much that they mean to us. They have been one of the best teams in the nation all year long, and they have one final game at Fred Delay this season. If they win, they will advance to the Elite Eight. If they lose, their season will be over. I urge all Union students to come out and support them at their final game in Jackson.
After all, I think it is about time that we make Fred DeLay feel like 2015 once again.
Yes! Thank you! 2015 alum here who founded and led the student section group “Fred fanatics” our senior year the Fred was rocking, all students on their feet, and we had organizing cheers that the whole gym participated in. I was shocked on Saturday at the lack of enthusiasm from the students. The students should be ashamed of theirselves for the way they support our women!