A small group of dedicated Wildcat fans waited Wednesday night by the Rock to buy tickets for the upcoming Wildside road trip to the Oct. 15 Northwestern football game at Iowa.
“The road trips are always a lot of fun,” said Weinberg junior Ali Riegler, who was in line for a ticket. “I like to support the team, and it’s a good way to spend a Saturday.”
With several recent events on campus, including the highly publicized Wildside 101 event featuring Pat Fitzgerald, organizers for the NU sports fan group have created a big name for the organization since its inception last year.
Wildside president Alex Wilcox said much of the credit goes to Megan Dunham, the group’s founder.
“She was the president last year and really spearheaded what the group is now,” the Weinberg junior said. “She made it something great. Now I’m trying to build on that.”
Several student-run fan organizations existed before Wildside, Dunham said, but they always folded halfway through Fall Quarter. She said she vowed to make Wildside succeed.
“At that point, I stepped in and said, ‘No way, we’ve got to stop this and make it last,'” said Dunham, a McCormick senior.
By the time basketball season rolled around, Dunham and her executive board figured out what was working and what was not. For example, Dunham said, the group began to focus more on activities that took place during the games.
Wildside sought to reach out to incoming freshmen with Wildside 101, Wilcox said. Fitzgerald and several players talked to the audience about football strategy and NU traditions.
“If it comes down to trying to create excitement, what better way than to have spirited students to get that message across?” said Shawn Sullivan, director for sales and marketing for the NU Athletic Department. “Whether it’s a special event like Wildside 101 or Saturday’s game, we want to have that excitement.”
Sullivan and the athletic department are crucial to the operation of Wildside because they provide links to corporate sponsors for funding and logistical support in organizing ticket sales for road trips, Wilcox said.
Wilcox said he cites what he sees as inadequate turnout among students at sporting events as his motivation to boost fan support. Although NU has fewer students than other schools in the Big Ten, Wilcox said he hopes student involvement can eventually rival that of NU’s opponents.
The scope of Wildside goes beyond football. At a Wildside watch party for the game against Army on the Lakefill, multiple NU teams spoke to students, including the women’s soccer team, who promoted their upcoming game. Wildside also hopes to make another basketball road trip this year, Wilcox said.
Wilcox said his goal is to promote interest in NU athletics.
“It’d be great if demand (for attendance at sporting events) was as great as we have room for,” Wilcox said. “Especially for some of the less exciting games, if we could really focus on getting those filled up consistently.”
Sullivan said the athletic department does not overlook student enthusiasm at games.
“A crowd at any event is bolstered by the student section,” Sullivan said. “The student group makes the experience. They drive volume and cheers and provide that home team advantage.”
