Part four of this five-part series leading up to Virginia's first game Nov. 12 will take a look at the relevant changes for student fans in 2006.
Last season marked year one for Virginia's newest student fan group -- Hoo Crew. Current Hoo Crew President Dave Weiss described the group's origin.
"A couple friends and I sat down two years ago and decided that Team Cavalier wasn't accomplishing what we thought a student fan group should," Weiss said. "At first we were encouraged to merge with Team Cavalier to see if we could change it a little bit. That was great for a little while; we got 100 kids to travel to the Florida State football game."
During that offseason, however, Weiss and friends decided to take additional action. They went to the athletic department, asked for and received a reserved section at men's basketball home games. To sit in this section last season, Hoo Crew members were required to pay $20 dues, wear their Hoo Crew t-shirt and adhere to a strict attendance policy. These policies created a somewhat strained relationship between the fan group and the rest student body -- something the group's leadership worked hard to improve this offseason.
"Obviously there was a certain amount of animosity among the student body as a whole [last season]," Weiss said. "This summer we sat down and looked at what was and was not working. Rather than being divisive, we viewed this as an opportunity to be more inclusive. That [idea] motivated all of the rule changes."
This season, Virginia students wishing to join Hoo Crew will have no minimum game requirement, no membership fees and will still receive a free t-shirt.
"The goal of the group isn't just to support basketball," Weiss said. "It's to support University athletics as a whole. That's what the Orange passport system is doing."
New in 2006, the Orange passport works in conjunction with the SHOTS ticketing system. Hoo Crew members with an Orange passport can earn Sabre points by attending specific Olympic sports events as well as other Hoo Crew-organized events. Through SHOTS, a person's Sabre point total equates to how early that person can enter the John Paul Jones arena. Non-Hoo Crew members can also earn Sabre points simply by attending men's basketball games.
"At the end of the day, we realize that we have one chance to re-brand Virginia basketball," Todd Goodale, associate athletic director for marketing and promotions, said. "And the student effort is a very important part of that. We need to encourage student attendance and create a unified, passionate student section at games."
In addition to Hoo Crew, the athletic department believes the SHOTS system can improve student attendance at games. After coming under some criticism in the past for being cumbersome and complicated, SHOTS now features a new website and a timed-entry system that will allow students to know both if they got a ticket, as well as exactly when they're allowed to enter the arena.
The Virginia athletic department appears to have made student fans a priority this offseason. Cavalier fans can only hope the changes made to Hoo Crew and SHOTS will result in an improved student atmosphere.
To request tickets for Virginia's first game Nov. 12, students should visit uvashots.com starting this Sunday, Nov. 5.
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