More than 11,000 fans will pack Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Friday night, but for the remainder of the year, many Cal Poly sports don’t receive the support they deserve.
Mustang News Editorial Board
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Once again, it’s here. Thousands of students will rush to Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Friday night in hopes of watching Cal Poly trounce UC Santa Barbara’s soccer team.
And though these thousands will be screaming their Cal Poly support, swearing at referees and hoping for another storm-the-field victory, it will be nothing more than an annual anomaly at Cal Poly. Because aside from one night in late October each year, sports at this university don’t receive the support they deserve.
Generous estimates from Cal Poly athletics say the average football game draws 2,000 students and each soccer game brings in 1,300. Assuming those numbers are on point, only one in nine students bother to come out to a game.
Friday, we expect 11,075 attendees to be there. The vast majority will be students.
Aside from its obvious impact on school spirit — an issue so lacking at Cal Poly one Associated Students, Inc. presidential hopeful ran an entire campaign on it this past year — fan support is an important factor when it comes to game play. Athletics Director Don Oberhelman told Mustang News earlier this week he and head soccer coach Paul Holocher believe Cal Poly can win a national championship if only the stands fill up more regularly.
“We have to have the students there,” Oberhelman said. “They make the atmosphere, they make the energy. Students have the ability to impact the outcome of a contest. If they come en masse, support our programs, they can impact the outcome of a contest.
“One can’t do it, 50 can’t do it. Six thousand sure can.”
But it’s not just soccer that’s worth attending.
In the past year, the football team won a share of the Big Sky conference title and earned a spot in the FCS playoffs. The women’s basketball team won the Big West tournament for the first time in history and traveled to the NCAA tournament. And the baseball team earned its second-ever bid to the postseason and won for the first time in the NCAA tournament.
Though each of those culminating tournaments took place away from San Luis Obispo, each team provided quality play week in and week out on Cal Poly’s campus. Students came in force to some more notable games, including the baseball team’s series against Norte Dame, but often they deserve a better showing.
The men’s basketball team turned Mott Athletics Center — which generally sells out for its UC Santa Barbara game and fills stands for weekend matchups — into a formidable home because of the number of students who showed up. The team is currently riding a 14-game home winning streak in conference play.
When speaking with players after the more raucous events, they leave no doubt that students in the stands can help turn the tide in the game.
That leaves only one question to be answered: Will students take a break from their studies and make that difference more often across more sports?
If you doubt how much fun it is to cheer on your school with your most passionate peers, keep Friday night’s energy going for Saturday’s football game against Northern Arizona. You’ll see what you’re missing.
This represents the opinion of the Mustang News editorial board, which includes J.J. Jenkins, Carly Rickards, Sean McMinn and Olivia DeGennaro.