Like the color that blankets just about every inch of Assembly Hall, Illinois’ Orange Krush can make a lasting impression.
The Krush, an organization with more than 1,100 students, puts about 500 of their members courtside for every home game. They organize chants, wave their arms and cheer like mad. But what makes them great, their members say, is what they do off the court.
To be a member of the Krush, students must pledge to raise money for every 3-pointer the Fighting Illini make. Last season, with about 700 members, the organization raised nearly $100,000 for 20 different charities.
For their dedication to the Illini and off-court contributions, Sports Illustrated on Campus recently called the Krush “the best student cheering section in the country.”
“I absolutely agree,” said Matt Perkes, president of the Orange Krush Foundation. “With the combination of our home record and what we’ve done off the court with our charity work, we’ve proved … we’re the premiere cheering section in the country.”
Illinois is 76-3 at home in the past six years — best in the nation — and the team currently boasts a 19-game win streak in Assembly Hall. But Krush members are even more proud of their work off the court, said Shannon O’Brien, president of Illini Pride, an organization that supports all 19 of Illinois’ varsity sports.
“The Krush is so much more than a cheering organization,” O’Brien said. “We do a lot of good for the community.”
With membership at an all-time high, the group expects to raise $200,000 to $300,000 this season. The Krush has raised about $600,000 since the Krush Foundation was created in 1998.
Bruce Weber, after taking over as Illinois’ head coach last year, embraced the Krush. He occasionally buys the whole section food before home games, Perkes said, and he has planned a fan cookout before Illinois’ March 3 game against Purdue.
“That’s very cool of him to do that,” Perkes said. “It’s just another perk to being part of the Orange Krush.”
For their fundraising, Krush members get the best seats in the house, creating a hostile arena that has impressed opposing players.
“It makes a big difference when you got a lot of people in the same color in the same gym,” guard T.J. Parker said. “(Illinois) and Michigan State are the toughest places to play in the Big Ten because the students are so involved it’s unbelievable.”
NU senior Davor Duvancic said what surprised him about playing at Illinois was how sportsmanlike the crowd’s chants were. He contrasted that environment with playing in front of Michigan State’s Izzone, the Big Ten’s other premiere student section.
“(At Michigan State), the fans know everything about you, and they really get on you,” Duvancic said. “But Illinois has a great cheering group in the sense that they don’t talk too much about the other team, they just cheer for their team all the way through the game.”
The reason for that, Krush chairwoman Erin Stites said, is because Krush organizers want to preserve the group’s positive image.
“We like to keep our name clean and not fight fire with fire,” said Stites, who’s responsible for putting together “Hoops Scoops,” pamphlets containing information about opponents, before every game.
For the contest tonight, Stites said the pamphlets will mention how Illinois players were treated in their Jan. 15 game in Welsh-Ryan Arena. Weber and some of his players complained after the game — which they won 78-66 — that NU fans threw food at them and crossed lines of decency.
“We’re a little upset about how our players and manager were treated at Northwestern,” Stites said.
But instead of calling for revenge, Stites said Hoops Scoops will ask fans to take the high road.
“We have a great reputation,” she said, “and we want to keep it that way.”
The Cats’ team manager, junior Matt Cohen, said he isn’t concerned about Illini fans getting on him as retaliation for NU fans allegedly abusing Illinois’ team manager earlier this season.
“They’re 27-0,” Cohen said. “If they’re too worried about me, getting water and doing what I do, then that’s sad on their part.”
Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].
