Prepare to Enter the MADhouse
November 19, 2009 • By James Gwinn,
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JMU Expecting Consistent Fan Base at Basketball Games
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Duke has the Cameron Crazies, Pittsburgh has the Oakland Zoo, Michigan State has the Izzone, and now JMU joins with the naming of its student section at basketball games — the MADhouse.
An e-mail was sent out to the student body Oct. 6 asking it to vote on which of the four choices they thought would best represent the students.
“We got the suggestions for the names from our Facebook group, the JMU Dukes fan page,” said Alyssa Gerlando, director of athletics marketing.
The athletics marketing staff then compiled a list of names and narrowed the list down to four: the MADhouse, the Cage, the Purple Pulse and the Dukes’ Den.
The survey’s results, from first to last place were: the MADhouse, the Cage, the Dukes’ Den and the Purple Pulse. The MADhouse won by a significant margin, though exact figures were not released.
A tagline has also been added to the title — “Where the 6th Man Lives.”
“There is going to be a lot of advertising to make students knowledgeable about this,” Gerlando said.
Advertising plans include Facebook, JMUSports.com, e-mail, dining hall table tents and flyers.
In past years, students could sit behind one of the baskets or in the 200 level sections of the Convocation Center across from the scorer’s table.
This year, the lower and upper levels behind the baskets in the Convo will be strictly for JMU students. The area will be painted purple and students must wear purple to sit there. This section will move the student seating closer to the floor and encourage fans to distract opposing players from making free throws.
“I know we are going to have a better turnout [than last year], because we have two great basketball programs,” Gerlando said.
JMU’s basketball programs are on the rise and looking for student support. The men’s team is predicted to finish fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association with the help of sophomore Julius Wells, a second-team All-CAA projection and last season’s CAA Rookie of the Year.
The women’s team won 24 games last year and is predicted to finish second in the CAA this season, led by last season’s first team All-CAA junior guard Dawn Evans.
“We decided to name the Convo student section because we wanted to give our students an identity,” Gerlando said. “The JMU students play such a vital part in creating a great game-day atmosphere. We want our student section to be energetic and intimidating to the visiting teams. We truly need our students to be the ‘Sixth man’ in the Convo.”
Freshman sports fan Matt Schoner is excited about the new section.
“It’s gonna be the sixth man baby!” Schoner said. “It all starts and ends with the fans. We get the players fired up to go out and perform well.”
Others, however, are reluctant about the naming and question its potential for success.
“Giving a name to some seats isn’t going to make me want to go to a basketball game,” JMU student Allison Bailey said. “I would rather receive more tangible incentive like a T-shirt.”
For further motivation, the Student Duke Club is offering its members a free T-shirt after they attend six games and free sweatshirt after 16.
The goal of the new student section is to draw more fans to the games.
JMU averaged 3,805 fans at home games last season. That was an increase of 173 from last year’s average.
Madison ranked fifth for fan support in the CAA last season behind Old Dominion (6,730), George Mason (6,295), Virginia Commonwealth (6,106) and UNCW (4,142).
JMU’s basketball fans were previously given the title of the “Electric Zoo” when attendance peaked at 6,802 per game for the 1989-90 season. The hope is to rekindle that hype.
Taylor Adkins, faculty advisor to the Student Duke Club, said in an article in the Daily News Record in March,
“In football right now, on a Saturday in the fall, students know you’re supposed to go to JMU football games. That’s what you do, you don’t question it. JMU is football. These students don’t think twice if we’re good, or who we’re playing; it’s ‘that’s what I’m supposed to do.’ We’ve got to get that ‘that’s what I’m supposed to do’ attitude to apply to basketball.”
The women’s team tipped off its season Wednesday against Georgetown, and the men play their home-opener against University of Maryland-Baltimore County Nov. 28.
CORRECTION: This article was updated at 2:27 on Thursday Nov. 19, 2009, to correct the spelling of Adkins.
Contact James Gwinn at gwinnjw@jmu.edu.
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3 Responses to “Prepare to Enter the MADhouse”
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James,
Good article. Glad you are getting the message out there about going to the basketball games. However there are a few minor points I would like to correct. First, just the student section will be the MADhouse. The overall atmosphere, which includes students, alums, and other JMU fans, still is and always will be the Electric Zoo. Also, be careful when you source the DNR. The DNR misspelled Taylor’s last name, it is Adkins, as well as at that point in time of the quote, he was the faculty advisor to the SDC, but he has since been hired as the Assistant Director of the Duke Club. Probably would have been better to get a fresh quote there.
Class of ‘07.
Go Dukes!
Ok…lets get something straight right away…
“JMU’s basketball fans were previously given the title of the “Electric Zoo” when attendance peaked at 6,802 per game for the 1989-90 season. The hope is to rekindle that hype.”
Quite possibly one of the biggest errors ever printed by the Breeze. Godwin Hall/The Convo was the Electric Zoo, is the Electric Zoo, and will always be the Electric Zoo. Most students/Breeze Staff were too young to even remember what the Electric Zoo was. It was ranked by ESPN at one point as one of the toughest places in the country to play at.
The MADHouse is great but is simply the students behind the baskets…its a nice addition to The Electric Zoo. At no time has anyone suggested “The MADhouse” replacing the Electric Zoo.
I think the Breeze needs to write a retraction or maybe an entirely new article called “The Electric Zoo proudly welcomes the MAD House to its new home.”
The Name “Electric Zoo” originated in the early ’80s when JMU made its run of three consecutive NCAA tourney appearances. I still have a bed sheet banner made from that time. Starting in Godwin Hall and Moving to the Convo. At the same time the tradition of tossing toilet paper rolls after JMU’s first points of the game were scored. When the games moved to the Convo toilet paper was replaced by purple and yellow streamers.
Jim Killian
Class of ‘86