Two TCU students are stepping up–in a very literal way–to bolster student involvement at football games this season.
They stand on ladders in the aisles of the student section and call themselves the “Amp It Up’ers.” They lead students in cheers and are overtly enthusiastic toward the game in hopes of electrifying the crowd.
Although this is the “Amp It Up’ers” debut year, students and fans are noticing a difference in Amon G. Carter stadium because of these self-proclaimed “rebels on ladders.”
Cry for change
Photographs taken during the fourth quarter of TCU’s matchup against Kansas last season went viral. The images, which show an empty stadium when TCU held a mere one touchdown lead, elicited disappointment and concern from fans and journalists.
“It’s embarrassing and extremely worrisome that students and fans last season chose to leave the games so early,” said sophomore mathematics major, Carissa Kintzle. “I know TCU students have pride in our athletics but I don’t know why they choose not to show it.”
Stefan Stevenson, a reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram, tweeted a picture he took of the empty stadium during the Kansas game with this caption:
“you could cut the tension [in the stadium] with a knife.”
His tweet received over 14 replies which poked fun at the low attendance in Amon G. Carter stadium that day.
Similarly, Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports wrote that the photos taken during the fourth quarter of the game that day were “startling.”
According to an article posted on TCU 360 last fall, Student Body President Cody Westphal said the Student Government Association would take measures to increase school spirit.
TCU’s athletic department took initiative to identity the reason why fans were leaving football games early.
Assistant Director of Sports Marketing Jackie Torda said that the athletic department asked students and season ticket holders for feedback in hopes of making changes to ensure that fans would stay longer at games–but more importantly, have a better overall experience at Amon G. Carter stadium.
But mere feedback was not enough. Torda said the marketing department knew that in order to effect big change they needed to make big changes in how they ran the game day.
In February 2014, TCU hired an independent strategic communication consultant, Guido D’Elia, to review TCU’s game day process and in-game entertainment, said Torda.
The athletic department has met with D’Elia throughout the spring semester and summer, and he has attended TCU’s games against Samford University and the University of Oklahoma.
“Although we can’t control how the football team performs, to some degree we can control the fans’ game day experience,” Torda said.
Torda said that D’Elia’s overarching recommendation for the athletic department was to be more receptive to the mood of the game. In turn, the marketing department is now working off the cusp of what happens in the game.
For example, Torda said that now when TCU scores a touchdown instead of going to a sideline alumni presentation, they play a popular song or feature a dance cam on the jumbotron to keep the crowd pumped up and on an excited high.
D’Elia’s visits brought other changes as well.
Nine speakers that amplify the marching band and jumbotron sound were added to the student section, said Torda. One thousand rally towels will be handed out at every home game in addition to other game-day freebies for students.
Torda also said the athletic department purchased handheld video cameras so that cameramen can walk through the student section to get closer shots of students having fun, which they can then project on the jumbotron.
Students affecting change
Torda said that school spirit proves a priceless commodity to get fans more involved. The athletic department knew that it would have to take measures to show fans how to do so.
“It’s the student section in college sports that dictate the game’s overall atmosphere,” Torda said.
Consequently, Torda said that the concept arose amongst staff in the athletic department to place student leaders in the student section to energize the crowd by example.
Members of the athletic department met with Spirit Coordinator Lindsay Shoulder, who oversees the Showgirls and Cheerleaders, and SGA President Cody Westphal to receive recommendations for students who would best fill the roles as a student section leaders, Torda said.
Ultimately, Evan Anglin, a senior film, television and digital media major, and Isuru Perera, sophomore mathematics major, were chosen as the student section leaders.
Perera, said that they call themselves the “Amp It Up’ers” because the title fits well in conjunction with the football team’s marketing slogan for the 2014 season: Amp It Up.
“This season, all the makings for the unity of our community are there, but students just needed a push to utilize these things and be energized,” Perera said.
For example, the marketing department created a video now being played at every home game based on TCU’s traditional “Riff Ram Bah Zoo” chant. While “Riff Ram’s” roots stem from the 1920s, the chant has never become a tradition on game day.
Torda said the marketing department is wanting to change that. After the video concludes, the athletic department’s goal is to have fans in the stadium participate in the chant.
This is where student section leaders play a key role in prompting students to start the chant, Torda said.
When students see the chant on the jumbotron, Torda said that other fans in the stadium will feel comfortable enough to join in and do the chant in their section.
“From my freshman year to games this season, things have drastically changed in the student section,” Kintzle said. “Instead of only hearing the ‘Riff Ram’ chant at Frog Camp, this was the first time a majority, let alone any, students are actually doing it.”
Alexander Nethers, a senior finance major, said that videos released by the sports marketing department on Facebook also get fans excited for games.
Similarly, he said that the videos the marketing department plays during the games pump up fans of all ages to cheer louder for the Horned Frogs.
The student section leaders aim to lead by example. Perera said he and Anglin hope their overt school spirit and over the top excitement at games is contagious.
“The excitement resonates like a vibration from one person to another and then to a section of the student crowd and then eventually to the entire student section,” Perera said.
Other students are saying they recognize this change in atmosphere at Amon G. Carter stadium, too.
“Last season my friends and I would automatically leave at halftime, and we’ve found ourselves wanting to stay for longer, not even because of the football but really because the student section is just a fun atmosphere to be apart of,” said sophomore strategic communication and Spanish double major Anna Hickok.
Kintzle said she looks forward to games this season because she knows that the student section leaders are going to be facilitating a high-energy atmosphere.
Nethers said that positive impact the “Amp It Up’ers” are having on the student section is obvious.
“I mean you really feed off the people around you, and I’ve been cheering so much more this season because everyone around me seems to be cheering and it just seems like the right thing to do.”
Beyond Football
Assistant Dean of Student Development Thomas Studdert said the sense of community fostered at football games extends far beyond the confines of the stadium.
He said this sense of unity leaks into various aspects of TCU students’ overall collegiate experience and plays a pivotal role in students’ academic success.
“Research shows that students who are connected and involved with their college or university on multiple levels (both in and out of the classroom) not only do better in the classroom, but also persist to graduation at higher rates,” Studdert wrote in an email.
Torda said the athletic department monitors the amount of students and fans that scan their tickets or I.D.s to get into the game. She said student attendance has been significantly higher this season than in previous years.
“The games are sort of a moving target, its evolving, as long as we are continually making it a better experience for fans, we are happy,” Torda said.
Additionally, Torda said that the athletic department believes the increased attendance and longer involvement at games are indicators that students are more engaged and having a better time at games this season.
“Students are arriving early, wearing their colors in accordance with each ‘color theme’ and they are loud and engaged throughout the entire game,” said Torda. “They have been a major factor in the team’s success and the home field advantage that we create. We believe that we have the best student section in the Big 12.”
Torda said the athletics department is “overwhelmingly pleased” with how the changes they have made are improving the home game atmosphere. The athletic department will continue making adjustments to better the game day experience for fans at Amon G. Carter stadium, Torda said.
The “Amp It Up’ers” said they are always thinking of ways to improve their performance.
Their sole request to students: “Be willing to have a good time.”
Moreover, Nethers said the university’s football program has been a talking point with job recruiters. He said the more united the community is behind the football program the more advantageous the university appears overall.
