The Northwestern Athletic Department unveiled a new name for the student section at basketball games during the Halloween HOOP-la Thursday night.

Eight students walked onto the court during the festivities and removed their shirts to reveal the new name painted onto their chests in white: The Wild Side.

The name beat out NUisance in the final on-line voting. Six other suggestions — Carmody Central, The Carmody Club, Bill’s Collection, Purple Haze, Carmody’s Army and Carmody’s Crew — had been eliminated earlier in the month-long selection process.

Matt Johnson, a Weinberg junior, was responsible for adding Nuisance to the fray. But he said he wasn’t discouraged when his suggestion was overruled.

“A name’s a name,” he said. “I’ll be called anything, so long as it gets students out there.”

Mostly, Johnson said he was just excited so many students took interest in the poll.

“I’ll do anything it takes to be the proverbial sixth-man for the team,” he said.

About 100 students turned out for the event, held in the Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center.

Students were given free pizza and T-shirts. They were also treated to a slam-dunk contest by players on the men’s team and a question-and-answer session with head coach Bill Carmody.

The Wild Side will replace the Welsh-Ryan Rowdies at home basketball games this season. The previous student-section organization is being phased out, said Chris Boyer, director of marketing for the athletic department.

At NU’s 19 home games this year, the student section can be found on either side of the court behind the nets.

The men’s season starts Nov. 9 with an exhibition against the EA Sports All-Stars.